Credencial del Peregrino

When a pilgrim — a peregrino — finishes the Camino, they can receive a certificate from the Cathedral, provided that the peregrino had walked (or rode a horse) at least 100 kilometers (around 62 miles), or had ridden a bike at least 200 kilometers. In order to prove the distance traveled the peregrino carries a credencial, also called a "Pilgrim's Passport". It is also used to "prove" to the alburges that one is a peregrino and not just some tourist looking for a cheap bed for the night.

The credencial is a small booklet, a little like a real passport. Like a real passport, a peregrino gets the Credencial stamped at various points along the route. Rather than getting it stamped when entering a new country, however, the peregrino seeks out stamps from alburges, churches, bars, and cafes. It is recommended that it gets stamped at least once a day when one is more than 100 kilometers away from Santiago, and twice a day once one is closer. Many peregrinos like to collect stamps — or sellos — more frequently than that.

A credencial can be picked up at the Pilgrim's Office when one starts their camino, or it can be ordered in advance from the national pilgrim's association. Each association prints a different credencial. Being American, my national association is American Pilgrims on the Camino. If you ask them, they'll send you a credencial for free.

Here's what I got from them:

If my math is right, it has spaces for 56 stamps.

Woot! A camera!

I bought a camera!

In a previous post, I went through my thought process about which camera to take on the Camino. In that post I ruled out the Nikon S9700, but recently online shopping site Woot was selling them at a great discount, and I made the purchase.

I had mentioned that the camera had a reputation for breaking. The ones being sold by Woot are refurbished, so I assume that the one I'll be getting was affected by the problem, but that it's now fixed. I plan on giving the camera a thorough workout during Woot's 21-day return period. If it's defective, I will return it.

I also mentioned that I thought that the Sony was a superior camera. I still believe that to be the case, and with a $10 difference between the two, I would still recommend the Sony over this Nikon. But the sale price made this camera $100 cheaper, making this the better deal.

That's it for this post, but there's more in the works. I have picked up some other gear, and I'll be making future posts about that. I will also post my thoughts about the camera once I get it in hand.

Camino Camera Confusion

I like photography; it is one of my greatest hobbies. My cousin Beth introduced me to single-lens reflex cameras in the late 1970's and it was love at first sight. I got my first job when I was 14, and saved up all summer to get a Pentax K-1000. I have always had and used an SLR since then.

A few years ago when I took Sammie to Hawaii, I re-evaluated my needs for the trip. I wanted a camera I could toss on the beach without fear of it being stolen (or at least small enough to hide), so I bought a simple point-and-shoot digital.  It wasn't anything spectacular, but it got the job done.

When I was packing for my Alaska trek, I put the point-and-shoot away and took my DSLR. It was a pain carrying one lens in my pocket and another on the camera, then swapping them out while hiking up to a glacier. On the other hand, the pictures I brought back were simply amazing.

In the guidebook, “Jack from Ireland” says that bringing a camera will inhibit a deep experience. Maybe that’s the vice of experience, seeing that he took all the pictures in the book, but that’s simply not an option for me. So, ignoring his advice, now it's time for me to wonder what camera I should bring with me on the Camino.

Last year I bought a used 18-250mm travel lens, so I don't have to worry about lens swapping. But the camera is still pretty bulky and heavy, especially once the lenses is mounted. Do I really want to carry around that much weight?

So, like I did for Hawaii, let me evaluate my needs.  The ideal camera would:

• Be light weight.
• Be at least 16 megapixels (I like to crop).
• Take standard batteries that I can buy along the way, instead of carrying a charger and a plug converter, and taking up valuable "outlet space" at the albergue.
• Have an integrated GPS receiver. If I'm travelling for a month, it would be nice for the photo itself to know where it was taken.
• Have zoom capability of at least 375mm (full frame equivalence).
• Be able to handle the elements.
• Involve as little cash outlay as possible.

So I did a search for cameras. I viewed the zoom and GPS as non-negotiables, so I eliminated anything without both. I also eliminated anything that would cost me over $300 (things that I already own or have access to cost me $0, so your mileage may vary). My search yielded these five options:

Camera	Weight	Batteries?	Pocket?	Zoom	Cost	Notes
Pentax K-30	1171g	YES	NO	375mm	Free	Weight includes Sigma 18-250mm lens and Pentax O-GPS1 receiver. Camera is weather-resistant, but lens isn't. I already own this, so nothing to buy.
Pentax K-01	1081g	NO	NO	375mm	Free	Weight includes Sigma 18-250mm lens and Pentax O-GPS1 receiver. No view finder, which is irritating, given the camera's weight and bulk. I already own this, so nothing to buy.
Nikon CoolPix P520	550g	NO	NO	1000mm	Free	Can borrow this, but walking around with something borrowed is more stressful to me than walking around with my own stuff. Even though it's lighter than the previous options, would still need to be worn around my neck full-time.
Nikon CoolPix S9700	232g	NO	YES	750mm	$275	Would have buy this. The fact that it can fit in the pocket is a very nice benefit. Has some bad reviews on Amazon for breaking.
Sony CyberShot HX50V	246g	NO	YES	720mm	$285	Would have buy this. Another "pocket camera". Pretty good reviews.

The K-01 is out—90 grams is not enough to justify its limitations over the K-30.  Between the CoolPix S9700 and the Cybershot HX50V, the Sony seems the superior camera, so that rules out the Nikon.

Of the remaining contenders, the Pentax is the most powerful and the Sony is the most convenient, with the Nikon being the happy medium. I’ll have to give it more thought, but it’s nice to know what the options are.

The Gear Page

I hinted at it earlier, but I have a page where I'm keeping track of my packing list. The page includes not only the items, but their weight, cost, and where I got them. Things I don't have yet are listed, but blank.

Speaking with Forked Tongue

In choosing to walk the Camino Portugués, my brother Don and I have committed to two spending a month or so walking across two countries where we don't speak the local language. I told Don that he was in charge of Portuguese and that I would take care of Spanish.

To help me with my Spanish, I've started the free lessons provided by Duolingo. It's a pretty neat site. It provides a number of exercises to help you learn a language. Each exercise is one of the following activities:

• Given a written phrase in English, type the Spanish phrase.
• Given a written phrase in English, select all the correct Spanish translations of those listed.
• Given a written phrase in Spanish, type the English phrase.
• Given a written phrase in English, speak the Spanish phrase. It uses speech-to-text technology to determine if you're right.
• Given an spoken phrase in Spanish, type it out in Spanish.

It's a pretty neat system, and I like it a lot. I definitely can't complain with free! They offer other languages (including Portuguese). While I don't expect this will make me anything close to fluent, it will at least give me enough Spanish to survive.

That reminds me; I need to add a Spanish phrase-book/dictionary to my gear list!

Fit for a Pilgrim

I previously mentioned how I wasn't completely satisfied with the (lack of) fitting help I got when buying my backpack. I went back to Eastern Mountain Sports today, and explained the situation to an assistant manager.

She said that she could help me, and lived up to that promise. She loaded my pack with weights, and explained what each of the adjustments did. She also had me try on another size, and took the time to show me in the mirror exactly what we were looking for in a fit. By the time I left, I felt confident that my pack was the right pack for the trip.

What's a Camino?

Whenever I've gone shopping for Camino supplies, regardless of the store, the salesperson always asks me what I'm going to be doing with it. I'll usually ask back, "Have you ever heard of the Camino de Santiago?" The answer has always been "no". I've given up asking the question.

Today when the assistant manager asked the usual question, and I just muttered back something about hiking across Portugal and Spain. "Doing the Camino?" she asked. Apparently she's helped outfit a lot of people for the Camino.

Conclusion

So, in the end my experience with Eastern Mountain Sports was positive, and I will probably go back there for future supplies.

Boy, I Have to Carry that Weight

There are two pieces of gear that I want to get early: my backpack and my shoes. Why? Because I want get used to wearing them both under load.

I had read some things and decided that an Osprey backpack was probably the way to go. Looking them up online, I saw that Eastern Mountain Sports was one of their authorized resellers, with special equipment to help them size you to a pack. Awesome!

So one day last week I stopped by the store after work. Sure enough a young lady was buying a backpack, and the employee was helping to fit her to the pack by adjusting straps and such to give her a good fit. This is the kind of service that I’m willing to pay for rather than just buying online. So I stood around a bit, but he was busy with her, and I really had to pee, so I left.

I went back today and stood around the backpacks for a long time before someone finally came over to me. She talked to me for a few minutes, and I left with a Osprey Talon 44. While she was helpful in selecting a pack, in no way did I get the custom fitting help that I was hoping for. Maybe I should have been more assertive and asked.

I’m thinking I might go back with the pack in hand during lunch this week and asking someone there to spend the time to make sure this is the right size for me. I’m going to be wearing this thing everyday for a few weeks; I think it’s important to make sure it’s a good fit.

Update: I went back and they took very good care of me!