Friday, December 08, 2023

How to fix leaky Moen Karis bath faucet (from Costco)

I purchased Moen Karis (84346SRN) single handle bathroom faucet back in 2022 from Costco. I installed it around Spring 2022. It started leaking after about 1.5 years. I'm sharing in this blog my experience fixing this leak and I believe the process is similar to most single handle bathroom faucets. 

Moen's warrants their faucets will be leak free to the original purchaser for as long as you remain the home owner: "If this faucet should ever develop a leak or drip during the Warranty Period, Moen will FREE OF CHARGE provide the parts necessary to put the faucet back in good working condition and will replace FREE OF CHARGE any part or finish that proves defective in material and manufacturing workmanship, under normal installation, use and service".

I contacted Moen via this form and sure enough they promptly shipped this replacement cartridge kit which the part is confusingly labeled as "202233 Screw kit" in their website. 

202233 Screw kit
202233 Screw kit (cartridge replacement)

Notice the form requires uploading a picture so I provided this picture of the leak:

Leaky faucet
Leaky faucet

Steps to replace the 202233 cartridge on Karis faucet

Step 1: first start by closing the hot and cold water intake.

Step 2: next, use the provided Allen key to unscrew the bolt from the back of the faucet.

Step 2: unscrew bolt
Step 2: unscrew bolt from back of faucet

Step 3: once the screw comes out, just pull the faucet handle upwards.

Step 3: pull faucet handle up
Step 3: pull faucet handle up

Step 4: you will see that there is a plastic cover part around the faucet (with a chrome finish). This is merely decorative, but it needs to be removed. This part just pops out, if it doesn't come out try turning it around and wiggle it until it comes out.

Step 4: remove plastic cover
Step 4: remove plastic cover

Step 5: remove the black plastic nut. This turned out to be most difficult task. I first tried the installation part that comes with the faucet and I still had lying around. This is supposedly "Moen Installation tool 118305", but it's just not large enough. Even in the questions and answers, Moen Plus Support answered this is 13/16" on the large end. It needs to be 7/8" instead, which Moen confirmed after I contacted them.

Step 5: attempt 1 - using installation tool
Step 5: remove nut - attempt 1 - using Moen installation tool 118305

My second attempt was to use a regular 7/8" wrench but there is just not enough room horizontally to grab the nut.
Step 5: attempt 2 - using 7/8 wrench
Step 5: remove nut - attempt 2 - using 7/8" wrench

My 3rd attempt was to use a regular adjustable wrench, but had same results, not enough room horizontally and the wrench was too wide to try it vertically.

Step 5: remove nut - attempt 3 - using adjustable wrench
Step 5: remove nut - attempt 3 - using adjustable wrench

I dit not have a 7/8" socket to try, but I knew a regular socket would be too wide to fit. I headed to my local Ace Hardware store and they suggested trying this "Tub & Sower Valve Wrench Set". It comes with one that was 29/32" which I thought would be close enough, but it ended up being too large to fit in (luckily I was able to return this).

Step 5: remove nut - attempt 4 - using 29/32" snug socket
Step 5: remove nut - attempt 4 - using 29/32" snug socket

I was about to give up and I reached out to Moen and they kept insisting that any 7/8" wrench would work. I searched for "snug 7/8" wrench/socket" in Amazon and came up with this "Amazon Basics plumbing adjustable wrench" that I thought was worth a try. I first tried horizontally and no movement at all... but then I tried vertically (as shown in the picture) and voila! The nut finally came out very easily.

Step 5: remove nut - success with Amazon Basics plumbing adjustable wrench
Step 5: remove nut - success with Amazon Basics plumbing adjustable wrench

Step 6: remove cartridge by pulling it out

Step 7: install the new cartridge. Just need to align the openings.

Step 8: install the plastic black nut. It's always a good idea to apply silicone grease around it. Use the same plumbing wrench to tighten it.

Step 9: replace the chrome plastic cover - almost forgot about this one!

Step 10: replace the faucet handle.

Step 11: put back the bolt using the Allen key.

Step 12: reopen the water supply and test it. In my case the leak was completely gone!

Here is a time lapse video showing the whole replacement process:


















Wednesday, November 29, 2023

My T-Mobile Trade-In with Apple nightmare ...with a happy ending

I am T-Mobile customer on the Go5G Plus plan and when the iPhone 15 was announced I decided to trade in my iPhone 12 which qualified for a $0.00/mo over 24 months offer. I chose to place my order via Apple.com. Here are the details of the promotion, which I followed to the letter:

Order details

Here is the chronology of events:
  • September 15: placed my order via Apple.com opting for the trade-in offer above paying only $38.78 for taxes and confirming all the terms as expected:


  • September 21: received "Your trade-in is in the works" email notification from Apple again showing all the terms were correct:
Trade-in terms


  • September 22: received iPhone 15 on launch date!
  • September 23: received trade-in kit box
  • September 28: sent iPhone 12 in trade-in kit box via FedEx Home office (kept tracking receipt - VERY IMPORTANT!)
  • September 29: FedEx tracking shows trade-in kit was delivered
Trade-in tracking


  • September 30: Received "Your Trade-in is a success" email from Apple!
Trade-in confirmation
  • October 2: Received my T-Mobile bill without the trade-in credit, so ended up paying $23.09... but the terms of conditions do specify that it may take 1-2 bill cycles for the credit to appear so I decide holding off from calling T-Mobile...
    • iPhone 15 - Black - 128GB
    • ID: 20230914...., Balance: $554.00, Installment 1 of 24 $23.09
  • October 30: My 2nd bill is not yet issued, but I see no signs of the Trade-in credit on T-Mobile, so I decide to contact customer service via chat on the application. I provide all the details above to Lizeth: terms, dollar amounts, etc. They asked me for the IMEI of my trade-in (iPhone 12) which luckily I had saved. They asked for the receipt, which I provided but it was from Apple so they do not seem to have any record about this. I provided a screenshot and also a PDF with all the details from Apple about the order. That still was not sufficient. They then asked me to provide the tracking for the trade-in which luckily I had also saved. That was not enough, so they told me they needed more time to research this and then they scheduled a follow up call for November 8th.
  • November 8: I get the call from Lizeth from T-Mobile but missed it because I was on a business call I couldn't get out from. They left a voicemail indicating they still need more time to research this and that they will call me back on November 15.
  • November 16: I get a call back from Lizeth indicating they still had no resolution for me but that it had been escalated on their end and I would get a call back the following day.
  • November 17: Lizeth calls me back to let me know that they had no record on the trade-in and that there was nothing further that T-Mobile can do to solve this. I then asked to escalate this to a supervisor. The supervisor calls me back stating the same thing and suggesting that I reach out to Apple. I had already contacted Apple via chat and they had given me all the details I had provided to T-Mobile, so I asked how Apple can get in touch with T-Mobile to resolve this since me providing the information from Apple was not enough. The supervisor then suggested that I called Apple and bridged a call with T-Mobile. I proceeded to call Apple and explained the situation. David from Apple agrees to speak to T-Mobile customer service, so I called T-Mobile. After 20 minutes on hold, T-Mobile answers the call and it was like starting over. I explained that I had Apple on the line but apparently he was not interested on talking to them. After 20 more minutes of T-Mobile doing research I decide to bridge the calls and David shares all the information that T-Mobile asks for. After another 20 minutes of no progress, I ask to speak to a supervisor that can actually solve this. Another T-Mobile supervisor joins the call and after some research she claims she found the order and that is stuck in "running" and that is why the credit was not applied but not to worry, I would get my credit in 2-3 business days and just asks me to wait for a few minutes. I thought "finally!", after 10-15 minutes of being on hold, the supervisor comes back and says that the order was actually a business order and that was not eligible for the promotion. I explained this was a personal order and I have never had a business account with neither Apple or T-Mobile. I had to drop for a show at that point and asked her to solve this and give me a call back. She agree to call me back in the week but it didn't sound like I should expect a different outcome. This call ended up being 1hr 37 minutes with no progress. Kudos to David from Apple for sticking around this long!
  • November 20: I had no idea what to do at this point. I was going to wait for the call back but I felt I was just going to hear the same story. I felt defrauded and the worst part was that the offer was still active and I followed it to the letter. I thought I could not be the only one going through this situation. So I googled, and came across this reddit post that turned out to be a lifesaver! This confirmed that I was not the only one going through this, and this was a post from 2 months ago. Multiple users were reporting that the only way they got this solved was by contacting T-Force. I had to also google how to do that, but apparently that is just a different customer service team from T-Mobile that is only reachable via Facebook or Twitter (now X). I had contacted T-Mobile via Twitter in the past so I decided to give it a try. I sent an initial message with the summary of my issue. I immediately got prompted to verify my T-Mobile account, which I did. I then waited 20 minutes for a response, which didn't sound promising. To my surprise Becky responds back apologizing for this issue but that she was going to fix this right away. I was obviously very skeptical at this point. I asked for confirmation that we were talking about the same offer and she confirmed it again apologizing as if this was a very common known issue. That very same day in the afternoon I get a text message confirming the promo was getting applied to my line:
    • T-Mobile promo message: Line XXXX is scheduled to receive a monthly bill credit for Apple Retail Trade ID230182 as long as you maintain eligibility
    • That promo ID is by the way something T-Mobile customer service kept asking for, but Apple was not able to provide.
    • I checked my T-Mobile online account and the trade-in credit was finally showing correctly applied!
    • Becky let me know that there was a small possibility that the promo could get rejected so she scheduled a follow up for the next week.
  • November 27: I kept checking my account almost every day and the credit was still there, which Becky confirmed that all still looked good but she scheduled another follow up the next week to do a final check after my November bill cycle!
Lessons learned
  • I have done all my trade-in promotions directly with T-Mobile with no issues. In fact I did another one this year and that was correctly applied right away. This does not justify this issue. Apple needs to demand that T-Mobile gets their act together or stop offering this trade-in promotion via their website. The main reason why I chose to do it with Apple this year is because the trade-in credit over 24 months makes it $0, where T-Mobile gives you part of the credit as an instant credit instead of spreading over 24 months, which adds a small amount to your bill (e.g. $6.67) and I preferred not increasing my bill.
  • T-Mobile Customer Service quality has suffered greatly over the past few years. I also speak Spanish, I dealt with another issue earlier this year, and I ended up calling customer service in Spanish instead because they seem to have better and faster response.
  • You may wonder why I'm sticking with T-Mobile after dealing with these issues, well, they still seem to have the best value in terms of service/offering, but just hope you don't have to deal with customer service.
  • If you are having a similar issue, contact T-Force right away! I wrote this blog to hopefully save you some time and anger dealing with this! 

Friday, September 29, 2023

Pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago

On September 2023 my wife and I embarked on one of our best adventures in our life, a pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago de Compostela. In this guide I will share some tips, recommendations and highlights from our pilgrimage.

Plan your trip

Where to start?

There are many ways (caminos) to get to Santiago. The most popular way is the French, and specifically the last 100km of the way, which is the minimum distance required to earn the Compostela (certificate). If you choose to take this route, most people will start at Sarria, which is actually 115km away from Santiago. This guide assumes that you are starting in Sarria.

How many days do you need?

The next decision is how many days do you want to walk. Most people in healthy age/conditions will choose to complete it in 5 days. If you do the math, that is an average of 23km per day, hence some people will break it in 6 or even 7 days. Because of limited travel days, we had to complete it in 4 days. I strongly do not recommend doing it in less than 5 days, unless you are in a similar situation, in which you essentially combine the last 2 segments which is a whooping 38km in one day.

5 day itinerary

  1. Day 1: Sarria – Portomarin (22.2 km)
  2. Day 2: Portomarin – Palas de Rei (24.8 km)
  3. Day 3: Palas de Rei – Arzua (28.5 km) - the longest segment. If you want to do it in 6 days instead of 5, a good town to add is Melide which is right in between the 2 cities, making each segments under 15km.
  4. Day 4: Arzua - A Rua (18km) - an alternate town is O Pedrouzo, which is next to A Rua. Some pilgrims may walk all the way to Lavacolla which is past the Santiago airport and less than 10km away from Santiago. 
  5. Day 5: A Rua - Santiago (20k)

What to pack?

I wish this video was available in English because it has very good information and tips. Here is my list:

  1. Backpack - Decathlon Quechua MH500. Even if you don't intend to carry your bag in your pilgrimage, this is a really great backpack for traveling and carrying all the stuff you'll need in the pilgrimage. 30L is a good size for 5 days, I would not recommend anything smaller than 28L. If you use something larger than 30L be careful with the weight. The recommendation is less than 10% or your weight and no more than 10kg total. This bag already comes with the rain cover, otherwise a bag cover is a must if you will carry it in your walk.
  2. Small backpack - Salomon Trailblazer 20L. I didn't use this particular one, but if you opt to have your hiking backpack/luggage transported, you will need a small, comfortable and lightweight backpack that you will carry during you pilgrimage with your essentials. This can be anything from 10L to no more than 20L capacity. 20L may seem like a lot, but keep in mind what you want to carry here: light rain jacket, poncho, charging cable, spare battery, headlight, water bottle, emergency kit, etc.
  3. Waterproof hiking shoes, e.g. Moab Speed Gore-Tex. I really liked these ones. I could have gotten away without gore-tex because it did not rain enough for the shoes to get wet. The most important thing is that you try the shoes on a trail and know that they will be comfortable for very long walks.
  4. Hiking socks - socks are almost as important as the shoes. You want comfortable socks, they don't have to be water proof, but ones that you have tried and know are comfortable for long walks.
  5. Light rainproof jacket - it will likely rain one or multiple days.
  6. Poncho - I brought a cheap one, but it is a must, in addition to your rain jacket.
  7. Trekking pants - I was not a fan of these pants but ended up using all walking days. You want them to be thin and lightweight. I bought the convertible type, but did not end up using them as shorts, because I quickly learned that the pants help blocking sand/small rocks from getting into your shoes.
  8. Trekking pole - in our case, we used one each, which I think it is enough, but I strongly suggest using one, it really helps. We actually bought them at one of the souvenir stores at Sarria, they are about 12EUR and lasted the entire pilgrimage.
  9. Water bottle (~24oz), e.g. hydroflask. 
  10. Hat - this can be a water proof hat or it can be a baseball hat, whatever you find most comfortable for blocking sun and water.
  11. Technical/Running shirts - use them every day, it will help with sweat and they are also lighter and dry quicker in case you need to wash them during the pilgrimage.
  12. Clothing for 5 days: pijama, underwear, etc.
  13. Travel laundry sheets - even if you don't plan to wash your clothes, these can come in handy
  14. Spare sandals (e.g. Teva) - I almost did not take these, but my wife strongly recommended them. As soon as you get to town, you will want to switch to these so that your feet can take a break from the shoes.
  15. Sunscreen - small to be able to reapply throughout the day.
  16. Emergency kit - primarily bandaids in multiple sizes and vaseline for bruises
  17. Feminine products - if applicable
  18. Cottonelle wipes - just in case!
  19. Cash - i.e. Euros and make sure you have small bills (i.e. 5-20)
  20. Portable USB battery - make sure it is not too heavy but also large enough to give you close to a full recharge in case needed.
  21. Headlight - just in case you want to leave early while it is still dark, or end up arriving late.
  22. Phone charger cable
  23. International data plan - in my case, I had it included with T-Mobile and you can get decent signal throughout most of the way.
  24. European travel adapter - if applicable
  25. AirPods - I'm not a fan using AirPods, but it really helped listening to a podcast specially on the harder parts.

When to travel

I heard that statistically in terms of low rain/heat the best time to travel is late May/early June. In my case we traveled mid September and it was very good in terms of weather and not too crowded.

During your pilgrimage

How to get to Santiago

Look for tickets to SCQ. Most European airlines travel there, e.g. Ryan Air, Iberia/Vueling, Air France, Lufthansa, etc.  There are multiple daily flights from Madrid so that may be your best choice for connecting. Arrive at least a day earlier from when you are starting el Camino. You will learn that there is no Uber, Cabify or similar ride sharing services in Santiago. There is a bus from the airport to Santiago, otherwise try arranging a taxi with your hotel, as they may be able to get you a cheaper fare.

There are multiple places where you can get your Pilgrim Passport, but if you have time I recommend you get it while at Santiago just in case. You can get this at the Pilgrim's office, which is behind the Cathedral. The office is open daily from 9am-7pm.

Alternatively if you fly to a nearby city, e.g. Madrid, Porto, Vigo you could take a train to Sarria. Remember that most courier services will transport cabin bags under 15kg.

How to get to Sarria

Apparently there was no direct bus to Sarria from Santiago until recently. The bus departs daily at 11am and gets you to Sarria by 1pm. You can buy these tickets with Monbus. When you get to the terminal if you see a lot of people waiting for the same bus, do not panic, I learned that they actually send multiple buses based on demand, just make sure you get on the ones that are nonstop to Sarria.

Day 1: Sarria - Portomarin (22km)

Most people will stay the night at Sarria and start their pilgrimage the following day. In our case, because we were time constrained we actually started walking that very same day. If you do that, I recommend eating lunch before leaving Sarria, as we did not find many places to eat that were open (maybe because of the time).

In this segment we noticed an abundance of 2 things: apple trees and oxen ("rubias gallegas" - blonds from Galicia). We were told the apples are for pilgrims and oxen. Because we started late, we encountered very few pilgrims (less than 10). We were able to reach Portomarin before sunset (by 8pm).

Oxen (Rubias Gallegas)

Where to stay at Portomarin

We stayed at Hotel Vistalegre, which is a gem. It is right by the Portomarin city sign and a really nice hotel. Our flight to Santiago was diverted to Bilbao and were sent via bus by Lufthansa (which refused giving us any compensation because the flight made it to Bilbao within less than 3 hours), so we had barely slept the prior day. We slept incredibly well at this hotel. This hotel was not available when I initially booked our travel months ahead, but I assume due to cancellations, a double room was available just 2 weeks before travel. We booked this through Expedia.

Portomarin city sign

Day 2: Portomarin - Palas de Rei (25km)

Because we had barely slept the prior day, we decided to sleep in late and departed Portomarin around 10:30am. Make sure to stop by the downtown church (San Nicolas) before leaving. Because we departed late, there were not too many pilgrims but a lot more than the prior day. The hotel receptionist said we should be able to reach Palas de Rei by 5pm, but we were maybe too tired, because we did not reach there until around 6:30pm.

Palas de Rei - San Nicolas

We carried our hiking backpack the first 2 days. Because we only had 4 days to complete El Camino we decided we were going to send our backpacks with the local couriers at least for the last day. Because I was able to buy small backpacks in a local store at Palas, we ended up sending it since day 3 and it was one of the best decisions in our trip. It made a huge difference.

Where to stay at Palas de Rei

I booked Pension San Marcos at Portomarin through booking.com. I also switched to this hotel 1-2 weeks before the trip as it was not available early on. They have both private and shared rooms. The private rooms were really nice, except for a room emergency light that could not be turned off. This hotel is also right on El Camino and next to the local church (San Marcos). Most pilgrim masses are at 7pm.

Day 3: Palas de Rei - Arzua (25km)

We started our walk at a more typical time (8:30am). We definitely saw more pilgrims at this time. We reached our half way point (Melide) right around 1pm. Melide is a good city to sleep in, if you want to add an extra day. We had heard several recommendations about Pulperia Ezequiel as the best pulperia in Galicia and it did not disappoint! We obviously tried their octopus. Something we did not try here but later try was the zamburiñas (scallops) and they were delicious. Their local white wine was also pretty good and like in most of Spain, very affordable.

Octopus from Pulperia Ezequiel

On our walk to Ezequiel we had seen a restaurant named Alborada that sold homemade ice cream and we stopped there afterwards and it was delicious. Their food also looked really good, so that is another recommendation in case you do not like octopus.

Where to stay at Arzua

Arzua is one of their largest towns you can stop, so you will likely find more choices to sleep. I noticed there were several whole apartments available when booking travel. We stayed at Casa Teodora which is pretty good and chose to dine at their restaurant as well.

Day 4: Arzua - O Pedrouzo (19km) & O Pedrouzo - Santiago (19km)

Again, I do not recommend combining these 2 days into one, unless you absolutely have to. Because we had our longest day to go (38km), we left earlier at 7:30am and reached our halfway point (O Pedrouzo) around 1:30pm. We only stopped for lunch there, this is one of the few towns that el Camino does not go through the middle of the city, but only around it.

The last part of El Camino was nearly deserted in the afternoon. We only saw some bicyclers. We reached the outside the city of Santiago around 7pm and made it to the Cathedral before 8pm!

Cathedral of Santiago

What to do once you reach Santiago

By the time we reached the Cathedral we were exhausted so we headed to the hotel afterwards. The next day, we stopped by the pilgrim's office to get our Compostela. The earlier you go there, the less people you will find. It was not too crowded by 10am and we were in and out in about 15 minutes. We then headed to the Cathedral to visit the tomb of Santiago. You enter the tomb from the left side of the Cathedral. It will take about 30 minutes to complete this depending on how busy it is. We then headed to the right side of the Cathedral to attend mass at noon. It was standing room only even though we entered by 11:30am. I recommend attending the pilgrim's mass at 7am or 9am if you want to avoid crowds.
Pilgrim's Mass


Where to stay at Santiago

We stayed at Hotel Palacio del Carmen. This is now owned by Marriott and we had points. This is a very nice hotel. You should be able to get a decent rate if you book a few months in advanced, but there are many other good options to stay.

Things I wish somebody had told me and general tips

  1. Not as many water fountains. We were told we would find multiple water fountains where you can refill your bottle. That was not our impression. I would say they were scarce, so I recommend taking a medium size (16-20oz) water bottle. The large water bottles (1.5 liters) are very cheap (1.5EUR in most places), so I recommend stopping by a coffeeshop to buy one and refill your bottles as needed. Also you will notice at blue can drink called Aquarius. This is a sports drink and it comes in multiple flavors. The orange one wasn't as good as the lemon one which tastes like a very refreshing lemonade. Aquarius quickly became a favorite in our stops.
  2. No public restrooms. There are no public restrooms throughout el camino at all. The restrooms available are from restaurants and coffeeshops. Most restaurants will let you use their restrooms, others may ask for a donations and others are signaled as only for customers. In most cases, we used the restrooms when we had to stop for water or buy a banana/snack.
  3. Best app - Buen Camino. This app was very useful. It will give you a list of towns in each segment as well as some general tips/warnings (e.g. dangerous crossings). It also gives you the profile, as well as the approximate distance by type of road (trail vs road).
  4. Trails, trails, trails! I wish somebody had told me that most of El Camino except for the last 10km consists of trails. They are not very technical trails, but some trails are rough with some challenging uphills and downhills. Trails in general are better (softer) for your knees, but they require significant more effort compared to roads. I was not expecting to get this tired from walking 13+ miles on trails, but I was, almost comparable to running a half marathon per day. Not only your feet will hurt, but muscles in my upper legs were very sore. This is why it is important to rest most of the afternoon and do El Camino in at least 5-6 days.
  5. No Uber or Cabify (popular in Spain) service. You need to request a cab by calling a phone and it seems most taxis will not stop by hailing them. Our ride back to the airport was surprisingly cheap $22EUR, but we were told that is a negotiated rate by the hotel and apparently it is the same rate within the city. I recommend scheduling your taxi through the hotel if that's an option.
  6. Most pilgrims start and end early. We noticed most pilgrims start their walk between 7-9am. If you prefer walking with the crowds, then start early. If you prefer going solo start late, after 10am. However you will notice several restaurants and coffeeshops close by 5pm, so plan your walk and stops accordingly.
  7. Don't forget to stamp your passport (2 seal per day required). This is required to get the Compostela, i.e. a certificate proving you completed the minimum distance (100km). It is a pretty cool souvenir with your name and it is written in Latin. Almost every single establishment will have their seal, so no need to stop everywhere, you can stamp wherever you stop for food/drinks.
  8. El camino is very well signaled. You will notice the iconic signs everywhere there is a fork or turn. These will have the remaining distance to Santiago. Alternatively you may see yellow arrows or printed signs, specially when going through towns. It is rare to not see a sign within 200-300m, so if it you do not see one, double check to make sure that you are still on the right way.
  9. Book your hotels ahead of time. Unless you are young and do not care where you sleep, you should book hotels ahead of time. The most popular booking site appears to be booking.com. Most hotels do not require pre-payment and can be canceled up to a few days ahead. The only downside of booking ahead, is in case that you have to re-arrange your trip in case of an unexpected delay. Most hotels are cheap, $50-$70 for a double room with private bathroom. You will not be without a bed to sleep, there are many albergues (hostels), however plan to arrive earlier (by 3pm) if you do not have a place booked. If you book a few weeks in advance, you should be able to find hotels alongside El Camino. The last thing you want to do is have to walk a few miles away from El Camino when you are very tired. Some hotels that are not near El Camino may offer ride to and from El Camino.
  10. Don't carry your backpack! We carried our hiking backpack the first 2 days and it was a nice experience. Some hardcore people may say it does not count if you hike without your backpack, but you will see that the walk is hard on its own, so don't try to be brave unless you are a young soul. The backpack transportation service is extremely reliable and inexpensive. You drop your bag in your hotel, usually before 9am and they will drop it in your next hotel that day by 2pm. You can book your backpack transport with the postal service. It costs 4-5EUR per day, and you can book you 5-day itinerary for 20EUR. We did not book it ahead of time, instead we got an envelope from the hotel and just added 4EUR on the envelope and attached it to the bag. The courier company we used was JacoTrans. These prices are for backpacks or cabin suitcases under 15kg, but I saw some larger suitcases so they may have a different rate for those.
  11. Speaking Spanish really helps. I noticed some of the locals in the small towns did not speak English. In fact in some cases their primary language was Gallego, but most everybody spoke fluent Spanish.

I hope you enjoyed this guide and if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask in the comments. Buen Camino!

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Mexico City Travel Guide

I often get asked by friends when visiting Mexico City for tips on places to visit and restaurants to eat. I grew up in Mexico and I still visit Mexico City 1-2 times per year, so this list should be fairly current, but I will try to keep it up to date based on my most recent travels. Most of these recommendations are for Downtown Mexico City. These tends to be a relatively safe city. My recommendation is to stay alongside Reforma Avenue. The area from Bosque de Chapultepec towards Palacio de Bellas Artes (through Reforma and then Juarez Avenue) and then to Zocalo through Madero street is "tourist safe" for the most part.

Landmarks to visit

Chapultepec Castle

The is a must see, right in the heart of Chapultepec. You can can walk up the hill and you can also visit the castle. Entry is free on Sundays and they're closed on Mondays.
Chapultepec Castle

Museo Nacional de Antropología

Another must see and one of my favorite museums in the world. Do not miss seeing the Aztec Calendar and the Papantla Flyers (outside the museum).

The Angel of Independence

This is heart to miss, located right on the heart of Reforma Avenue on your way from Chapultepec towards Bellas Artes.
Independence Angel

Palacio de Bellas Artes

Also a must see. Check the schedules as they may have performances while you visit.

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral

This is right across the Zocalo, also a must see when you head there.

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Even if you are not Catholic, this is one of the most visited shrines in the world. It is the site of the appearance of our Lady of Guadalupe. I suggest you take an Uber there, even though it is not far from downtown, with traffic it can take up to an hour to get there.

Teotihuacan Pyramids

Obviously Teotihuacán pyramids are a must see if you have the time. It will take almost a full day to visit as it is about an hour away. You can check the rates for Uber, otherwise I recommend asking your hotel if they have any local tours, it may be safer that way.

Places to eat downtown

El Califa

I've been to these 2 locations, both are great, it just depends which is closer to you. Some suggestions on what to order:
  • Chicharrón de queso
  • Gringa de pastor
  • Gringa de arrachera (steak)
  • Tacos al pastor (specialty)
    • Pastor is pork meat prepared on a "trompo" (similar to how they prepare meat for gyros)

El Cardenal

They have very traditional Mexican food, I recommend mole poblano or tamal de mixiote, but everything we had here was delicious.


Cafe De Tacuba

This is very historic. There's a Mexican band named after this cafe.

La Parroquia de Veracruz

This is located 2 blocks away from el Zocalo. I am originally from Veracruz, so now you can enjoy a taste of Veracruz here! Some recommendations on what to try:
  • Café lechero - it's a tradition how they serve it
  • Gorditas dulce con salsa de mole
  • Bomba con nata (traditional pastry)
Here is the address:

The House of Tiles - Sanborns Casa de Azulejos

This is a historic landmark. Sanborns is a national chain of restaurants, they used to be better restaurants and not nearly as good compared to the ones above, but food is decent if you are near one. This location is worth visiting even if you don't eat here:

El bajío 

Also serves traditional Mexican food. They have multiple locations, this is one located downtown:

Cielito Querido 

This is one of many good coffee places. Please do not go to Starbucks, you can get much better coffee elsewhere. I recommend trying cafe de olla (it's sweetened already don't add sugar) or chamoyada de tamarindo (not coffee it's a frappe drink made of tamarindo which is sweet and spicy)

Café Punta Del Cielo

I really like their coffee, I recommend you buy some to go (you can also find it at most grocery stores):

Los Bisquets Obregon

Another popular chain similar to Sanborns/Vips, I like it better but is not as common. They also have a great café lechero if you can no't make it to la Parroquia Veracruzana. This is towards Polanco, so not as close to Reforma.

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Trip to Portugal and Spain (Days 10): Lisbon

 Getting back

We didn't want to risk getting a flight delay or cancellation on our way to Lisbon so we decided to fly back at least one day before our flight back to the US. I found a direct flight from Valencia to Lisbon in the evening. We also bought the family fare which includes checked in luggage and because we bought this a few weeks ahead of time we got a very low fare of about $50 per person. 

Jeronimos Monastery

We had not visited the Monastery so we took an Uber that way. We purchased our tickets ahead of time. The monastery is gorgeous from the inside so I do recommend going it if you have time. You can also get a nice view of the inside of the church of Santa Maria de Belem while you are there.



After the visit, we got in line to enter the Church of Santa Maria de Belem which is next door. That entrance is free, and you do have to exit the Monastery in order to get in. The line wasn't too bad and it is also worth a visit. The tomb of Vasco de Gama is inside the church, you will see it when your way out the church.

Santa Maria de Belem Church (view from inside the Monastery)

Vasco de Gama tomb

Torre de Belem

We couldn't live Lisbon without visiting Torre de Belem, which is 1km away from the Monastery. We read that the best view of the tower is from the outside, so we chose not to enter.


Where to eat

We had so many places where we want to eat our second to last meal in Lisbon. One of them was Ramiro which was highly recommended but we chose to leave that for our next visit. A second choice was Portugalia Cervejaira which has multiple locations. We ended up going for a less conventional location which turned out to be a great choice. The name of the restaurant is Rosa da Rua. This was a small buffet restaurant and we definitely recommend it.

Church of Sao Roque

We had been exploring most of East hills of downtown Lisbon where the Cathedral is located, but we had not been on the west hills, which also have some very nice views from Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara. We also discovered by chance the Church of Sao Roque which is one of the earliest Jesuit churches in the world.

View from Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara


Church of Sao Roque

St Anthony's Church

We then headed into St Anthony's Church which we had seen from the outside only. This is on the east hills of downtown a block away from the Cathedral. This church was built on the site where St Anthony of Padua was born.


Heading back

Afterwards we chose to have our last dinner at Fabrica de Nata and we stopped for one more sunset at Cais das Colunas before heading back to our hotel. Our flight departed the next morning. Luckily the US had just dropped their COVID test requirement so that was one less logistic to worry about. The airport lines were not too bad, including the Passport Control line, which was about 20 minutes, but something to account for.

This concludes our trip. We really enjoyed this visit to Portugal and Spain. We would certainly love to go back to Lisbon in the near future. I would say it is an underrated tourist destination that deserves more praise. I hope you enjoyed my tips and hope you are able to leverage some recommendations. Do not hesitate to comment or ask for more details if you are venturing that way!

<< Days 8-9 (Valencia) | Trip Itinerary








Trip to Portugal and Spain (Days 8-9): Valencia

Getting to Valencia

Why Valencia if it's on the other end of the Iberia Peninsula? Typical Spain tours would go from Seville into Granada, Cordoba, Madrid, etc. One of the main reasons for this trip was to visit my sister and her family who lives in a small town 1.5 hrs away from Valencia. We were initially going to take a 5hr drive through Spain to visit her, but they decided to meet us in Valencia. I found a direct flight from Seville with Vueling. Vueling had a nice family fare which includes checked and carry on in luggage in addition to seat selection with the ability to make changes (for $70 USD per person).

Sightseeing

Our hotel was near the Aquarium, so we ended up walking via a walkway that goes through the Museum of Arts and Science and takes you all the way downtown (3km away). 

Hemisferic

We then decided to get lunch. It was a little early for lunch so some places were closed. We ended up going to Restaurante Alma, which had a decent paella.

In the afternoon we spent some time in the hotel pool and later met with some friends and did some more walking. For dinner we went to another place near hotel: La Taberna. They had very good tapas and food was pretty good. I was surprised that they had under 4 stars rating in Google, but looks like the main complaint was that it was overpriced.

Catedral de Valencia

The next day we went to visit the Cathedral of Valencia which is one of top destinations we wanted to visit because of the Holy Chalice. It is a beautiful church with a museum inside it. And of course we had to climb the Micalet (tower) which has a really nice view of Valencia.

Holy Chalice


View from the top of the Micalet


We then stopped to buy some turrones and then had lunch at es.paella, where we tried something I had not had before: fideua, which is essentially a paella but made with noodles instead of rice. It is now one of our favorite family dishes now.



Despite this a very short visit, we really liked and enjoyed Valencia. It is a very modern and beautiful city and we will certainly be back to visit with more time.









Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Trip to Portugal and Spain: Days 6 and 7 (Seville)

Getting there

Initially I considered driving a rental car but that would have been a 6.5hr trip and I did not want to deal with rentals across countries. I came across a direct flight via RyanAir. My kids warned me about flying RyanAir as they have the reputation of being one of the worst airlines in the world. I thought it couldn't be worse than Spirit Airlines and I was right. I booked the family plus fare which includes 4 pieces of 10kg luggages plus one 20kg luggage all of which have to be checked in. It ended up costing US$70 per person. The flight was on time, our luggage was delivered so I was actually quite happy with the experience. The only nuisance was that while checking with the RyanAir application I was prompted to upload COVID requirements to travel to Spain. They redirected me to download the official government application from Spain: SpTh. Based on the country I was traveling from (Portugal) I was not required to provide any COVID documentation, but the application required uploading one, so I ended up uploading my vaccination records and nobody asked me anything about them.

Unlike Portugal, Uber service was not available. The ride sharing options were FreeNow and Cabify. I ended up using Cabify. It was slightly more expensive compared to Uber in Portugal, but still much cheaper compared to Uber fares in the US. Most of their cars, if not all, were black Skoda Superb which is very similar to the Volkswagen Passat and with plenty of room for luggage.

Where to eat

We arrived in the middle of a heat wave. Temperatures reached 42C/100F which we were told is more common in July/August, but not in early June. It was also a very dry heat. We took a Cabify into downtown. Some streets within downtown are very narrow and our driver insisted in getting us as close as possible, even though we offered to walk. We tried to eat at Bodega Santa Cruz, one of our recommended stops but it was way too crowded. We ended up eating at La Sacristia, which ended up being pretty good. From our experience, you can't go wrong with a restaurant with tapas, which most restaurants at Spain offer.

Seville Cathedral and Giralda Tower

This was our first stop after having lunch. I chose not to purchase the tickets online because we didn't know exactly at what time we would arrive to the Giralda Tower which is what requires a timed entry, but thankfully there was no ticket line around 5:30pm. The inside of the Cathedral is magnificent. You can find the tomb of Christopher Columbus inside the Cathedral.


Christopher Columbus tomb

The access to the Giralda Tower is from inside the Cathedral. They didn't seem too strict about the entry time, but they do scan the tickets. The views from the top are great and unblocked. Instead of stairs you climb via ramps and they are wider than your average church tower, so if you are not a fan of climbing towers, this is an easier one that you should consider.

The Giralda Tower

View from the top of The Giralda

Because of the extreme heat, we decided to head back to our hotel and enjoy a swim in the pool which was very refreshing. Afterwards we had dinner at a nearby restaurant at a coffeeshop called Ananas and was surprisingly good and healthy.

Plaza de España

On our second day, we decided to walk to Plaza de España which was 2km from our hotel. Even though it was almost 80F in the morning, it was much bearable than the day before. Plaza de España is a must to visit and walk around. It is also a must for any Star Wars fans. The architecture is gorgeous and it has so much detail that it will take several visits to fully appreciate. 



Real Alcazar

From the Plaza we walked to Real Alcazar, which is a Moorish Royal Palace and another must see destination. We had bought tickets ahead of time so that saved us some time entering. The palace is beautiful with so much detail and multiple rooms to see. Here is just a sample of the rooms you will see inside the palace.




More to eat

We then stopped to get lunch at Bodeguita Reyes Antonio Romero. It was one of the dining recommendations we got and it was well worth it. They have multiple locations, the one we visited is in between the Cathedral and the Plaza de Toros. We arrived around 1pm which is early for lunch and the place was empty, so I was afraid we were not on the right place. We had several tapas as well as montaditos (small sandwiches), they were all really good. We tried morcilla, piripi, chorizo, bacalao and their jamon serrano was one of the best we had in our trip. 

Before heading back to our hotel we stopped by Amorino to get a treat. It is right across the Cathedral. We then headed to Iglesia de El Salvador which is included with the Cathedral tickets. Unfortunately because it was Sunday, it is not open for visits, so we missed it, but be sure to check the schedule before heading there as it is a few blocks away.