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Camino: Flashpacking

Imagine making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the Medieval Ages.  The only clothes you have are on your back and you are completely dependent on the generosity of the pilgrim hospitals along the Camino.  The only way to record your journey is the old-fashioned way – your memory.  It’s a romantic thought but I’m glad I live in an age where I can digitize my memories.  I didn’t go full flashpacker-mode on my 2009 Camino but I did bring along my iPhone and utilized it in several ways along my pilgrimage.  Below are the iPhone apps that I regularly used before, during, and after my Camino.

This free organizational tool was used before, during, and after my Camino.  I almost enjoy planning for a trip as much as the trip itself and I used TouchToDo to track the various tasks I needed to complete before I left for Europe.  I also used the application for the same purpose during my Camino and have continued to use it upon my return to organize my memories and for this blog.

Files Lite is handy app to store and view PDF and other documents on your iPhone.  I stored cross-sections of the Camino etapas from Mundicamino that gave me a heads-up on the topography of the day’s Camino.  I also stored the weekly guides from Creighton University’s online retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

I’ve been on five overseas trips yet my mother still worries.  Would you expect anything else from a mother?  Of course not.  So, in order to pacify my mother’s anxiety, I found free WiFi spots and sent e-mails to my family and friends to update them on my progress.

The natural ambiance of the Camino was mostly sufficient as a soundtrack but at times I put in earbuds to listen to a Spanish podcast or give my Camino a musical soundtrack.

I had a digital camera but at times it was easier to snap a photo with the built-in iPhone camera.  Here’s a Flickr set of all the Camino photos on my iPhone.

Another way to calm your family is to post a Facebook status update while on your Camino.  Again, it’s dependent on finding free WiFi spots unless you want to run up an exorbitant phone bill by using international roaming.  I also uploaded my iPhone photos to Facebook.

I didn’t use this app as much as I now wish I did but there are a handful of audio files from the Basque etapas that I hope to incorporate into videos for this blog in the near future.

Units is a handy app to convert kilometers to miles for use metric-illiterates.  I also used it to convert euros into dollars – you’ll need a WiFi connection to get the latest currency exchange rate.

If you’re a polite pilgrim you can use this app to light your way in the early morning hours in the albergues.  Tired pilgrims will thank you for not giving them a rude wake-up.  It can also be used while you’re walking the Camino before the sun has risen.

What did I do when I was the only pilgrim at an albergue, which happened a handful of times?  Besides writing in my journal and planning the next day’s Camino, I spent the time playing Mancala and analyzing the statistics and players of each World Series winner since I was born in 1981.

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