Things to know about camping when you are 41

Although that was not my first time on a campsite, it has been a long time since then. I have to admit that staying at a campsite for longer than one night and with a temperature way lower than 35° C is a totally different experience. Also sleeping in a tent after you joined the club of 40 and had your prolapse surgery might differ from sleeping in a tent while still being in your 20ties. 

And as with every new adventure, I have learned a couple of things about camping in your 40ties that I don’t only want to share with you but also want to put on paper for my next camping trip to remember. Because you know … not only your back gets worse but also your memory.

Let’s start with the most important and also most challenging one. 

The Biggest Challenge: Going to the toilette

This may seem like something totally easy to do, but on a campsite, the first thing you learn is to bring your own toilet paper. So wherever you go, just have a roll of toilet paper with you. But honestly, not forgetting your toilet paper is not the challenging part. The hard part is to hold to your oh-so-precious toilet paper while doing your business. 

Imagine the following situation: you are going to the public toilet, fighting tons of mosquitos on your way to one of the 6 toilet booths. You are opening the first door and notice that it is a Turkish toilette. Your friends have warned you, but it still is a bit of a shock seeing it in real life. For all of you who don’t know what a Turkish toilette is, the best description would probably include words like “squad”, “splash”, “pee everywhere”, “cramp”, “yayks” … and yes, “yayks” is definitely a word! Ok, let’s move on … So after seeing the Turkish toilette and remembering some really wet and disgusting moments, you decide that you had your leg workout yesterday and therefor hope that behind door #2 you will find a European toilette. Bingo! You feel very lucky, so you enter, close the door, and try to figure out where to put your at the moment most precious possession – your role of toilette paper. After noticing that there is literally nothing to put to use, you figure out that your left armpit will have to do the job. Squeezing your toilet paper between your upper body and your left arm, you try to get rid of your pants just far enough to do the job but not too far to touch the wet floor. You pray that your Yoga classes during the last couple of years have paid off and you will be able to manage this balancing act. After finishing your job you grab the toilet paper and finish up while sending prayers to whatever Gods you are praying to, to not drop your precious possession. After a couple of close but saved ones, you leave the booth and realize that you have remembered to bring the toilet paper but not the soap. Thankfully someone has forgotten their soap, so you put the toilet paper on the counter, use your predecessor’s thankfully provided soap, and feel damn lucky. At least until you realize that you didn’t bring a towel with you, your toilette paper ended up in a pool of water on the sink, and your journey to the toilette gifted you with at least 7-9 fresh mosquito bites. If I am honest with myself I’ll need to admit that this experience can definitely be improved for the next bathroom trip. So after spending a couple of days on a campsite, I found my way on how to tackle the “toilette”-thing during a camping trip. 

How to tackle going to the toilette on a campsite

• Prepare yourself mentally
• grab a bag with a long handle so you can hang it on your shoulder
• pack some toilette paper, soap, and a small towel
• spray yourself with bug repellent, even if it is just a short trip
• bring some paper towels for cleaning up the soap box before you put it back in your bag with the toilette paper
• leave your sunglasses somewhere safe because otherwise, they might end up in places you wouldn’t want them to be

The biggest Misconception: 24°C == 24°C

I have the feeling that 24 °C on a campsite is slightly different from 24 °C than somewhere else. Maybe it is because I am just not used to it, but spending your whole day outside and then also sleeping outside just with a tent separating you from the fresh night breeze is something you shouldn’t underestimate or in my case overestimate. I was pretty sure that long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt would be enough in addition to having a sleeping bag. But now that I think of it … this is basically what I am sleeping in at home, where I have my warm bed, a thick cover, and especially not to forget 6 concrete walls that are protecting me from any kind of wind, breeze, or just fresh air.

So sitting outside with long trousers on our first night while having a perfectly prepared and super delicious fish for dinner, I started wondering if this setup would be enough for me to survive the night. After climbing into my tent, and doing all kinds of moves and stretches my Yoga teacher would be proud of, I managed to end up in my long PJs. I climbed into my sleeping bag, zipped it up to my chin, and tried to figure out how cold on a scale from 1-10 (10 representing me lying naked next to an Icebear in his favorite spot on the Northpole) I already was. A decent 4, which was not too bad.

But what I didn’t realize at that point was, that obviously, it would get even colder during the night. So after waking up for the first time and putting on my socks, waking up a second time and putting on another layer I woke up in the morning with socks, leggings under my PJs, and three layers beneath my long sleeve top. I assume that the decent 4 turned out to be a close-to-Icebear-cold 10 😉

How to tackle surviving a cold night on a campsite

• remember that you are sleeping outside and no matter how warm you think it will be, it will feel way colder
• prepare really warm PJs even if you are leaving for the campsite from a city that feels warm and the weather forecast predicts sun – the nights are different
• have additional layers to put on, just in case

The toughest Workout: Getting out of bed vs. getting out of your tent

I know that probably for a lot of you, this is a walk in the park, but getting up in the morning on a campsite was a whole new challenge for my back. After having had issues for a long time with my back, having had at least 5-6 prolapses in one and the same spot …the typical L5/S1 … I finally decided to have surgery this year. And not to be going “offroad” topic-wise, but I have to admit that this has been one of the best decisions this year – scratch that – in my life. Nevertheless (and there will be a special post about my “Journey to the center of my spin”) I still have issues with my back. Especially sitting for a longer period of time or lying in an uncomfy bed, making some harsh movements, or overdoing it with my workouts (which I pinky-swear never do – don’t look at me like that Sara!) can be harsh on my back. I was a bit anxious about having to spend several nights lying on the floor on an inflatable bed. Never have I thought that that wouldn’t be the issue. The bed was super comfortable (I like the idea of adjusting the firmness of the mattress to my daily needs by pumping it up or releasing some air … thinking about how to adapt that for my bed at home?!). I slept like a baby. At least after I got the temperature and freezing thing under control. The challenge was to get out of bed! For more than 3 years I have been waking up, going to the toilet, washing my face, brushing my teeth, drinking a glass of water, and then immediately starting my day with my back exercises. Why? Because otherwise I literally wouldn’t be able to move! But getting out of your 60 cm high bed in your bedroom is slightly different than rolling off your 15 cm mattress in a tent where you can’t stretch your whole body before having to squeeze your 23-year-old mind which is trapped in a 41-year-old body out of the small whole of your tent, by being as fast as possible to make the opening for the in-line-waiting mosquitos as short as possible. 

So after a slightly painful first attempt, I realized that before going all Catherine Zeta-Jones in “Entrapment” I needed to stretch in a sitting position before squeezing my butt out of my tent. Warmup: check! After cleaning up and trying to get my campsite hair under control and squeezing my butt back into the tent again to get dressed, the second part of my morning workout began. This included the following workout flow: entering the tent by doing a bear crawl, switching from a high-plank position into lying down on my back, doing a half bridge to get my pj’s of, moving into a side crunch to reach for my pants, doing a V-Up to get my legs into the shorts, doing a half hip-thruster to get those pants up to my butt, switching into the bridge again to close them and having to rest for at least 5 minutes before moving on to the upper body workout. 

With all my doubts concerning the combination of “my back issues” and sleeping in a tent, I have to admit that it was not an issue at all. On the contrary, I probably slept even better than in some fancy hotel rooms! It probably also has a little bit to do with my sleeping juice aka “Greek Wine” that I have been endeavoring during the lovely campsite evenings 😉

How to tackle getting out of your tent

• just do the “Catherine Zeta-Jones” combined with a little bit of “Matrix” “Ditch-the-bullets” moves and a sprinkle of “Mission: Impossible” spirit and you are good to go

The Big 3: Things to pack for your camping trip

Here we are not talking about the most obvious things like tents, sleeping bags, gas stoves, headlamps, and all this camping gear that you can get for a reasonable price at Decathlon. No. We are talking about those essential things that no one will tell you beforehand, but you have to learn from your own experience.

Wet Wipes

If you buy wet wipes for the kitchen, disinfection wipes, or just simple baby wipes (which you probably can get almost everywhere), those beauties are essential for any camping trip. No matter if you need to clean the table after your delicious seafood dinner because honestly, you made a big mess, or if you need to wipe up the grill after having grilled the blue fish for last night’s lunch, or if you need to wipe clean your feet before jumping into your socks for a quick errand run to the campsite shop. No matter if you have to get rid of this nasty Deet layer without having to jump under the shower for the 5th time today, or you want to clean the toilette at the campsite before having your “me-time” or wanting to give your tent a fresh touch after a couple of nights and some sandy feet, just grab one of those wipes, swirl it around a little bit and your table, your feet or your tent will have this fresh smell of Baby But 😉 And who wouldn’t want that?!

And if you are into saving packing space, if you get the Baby wipes you can also use them as wet toilette paper. Just saying 🙂

Flip Flops … or maybe …

Obviously, those are the shoes that you would think of bringing to a campsite, right? If you want to spare yourself some space you would even go for just one pair of plastic flip-flops you could also wear under the public shower. Just saving you some space in your backpack! But staying at the campsite, having to wear warm socks in the evening, and then having to put your shoes on, to grab one more beer from the campsite’s shop is just too big of a hassle. So what to do?! Yes, exactly. Just go with the flow and be one of those people you have been making fun of just a couple of years ago. Those crazy, asocial, and strange-looking tourists think they know what the current top fashion is. Suddenly you realize that you have become one of them. Or if you are not ready to go there yet, at least admit that wearing Flip Flops with socks is just the easiest and most convenient way to deal with the urgency of grabbing one more beer because your friend just drank the last can and you just can’t switch to wine after still being a bit hungover from the two bottles of Sukuri. So being too lazy and in need of a beer, you squeeze your socks-layered toes in your flip flops and make your way through the campsite being embarrassed for your choice of fashion and having the feeling that everyone is judging you as you have been doing just recently. Even this f… annoying tiny dog who was keeping you up half of the night switching with the screaming baby was eyeing you in a funny way as if he would know better what the current “top-to-wear” Vogue style is. Nevertheless, you’ve made it. You walked with your chin glued to your collar bones, Hoodie up, wearing your sunglasses although the sun set hours ago,the shortest possible way to the shop, grabbed the beers (plural because you decided not to have to go this walk of Flip Flop – Socks shame again) and returned as the hero of the night to your current home base. 

After having been in this situation for a couple of times more you realise you’ve become one of “them”. Now you are walking self-conscious, with your head held high, hoodie down, and no sunglasses, like the king of the jungle campsite, and are even proud of your newest fashion choices, meaning toes covered in socks and squeezed into Flip Flops, wearing your socks over your jogging trousers (don’t give that f… mosquitos any chance to smell blood), your Metallica T-Shirt (which probably gives away an estimated range of your birthyear) and your favorite companion – the shoulder bag.  

And to be honest…I know this is soooo 70ies or 80ies but I might switch from Flip Flops to … wait for it … Adidas slippers. Not sure if the combination of Adidas slippers with socks is a better choice, but at least it should be healthier for your toes and it is even more comfortable. 

Shoulder Bag

I am a total fan of backpacks and there is literally no time when you would see me without my backpack. And I am talking about the “going for a fancy dinner in my dress (this happens like once or twice a year) and having my backpack with me” kind of crazy. But on a campsite, I realized quickly that having a shoulder bag where you can just throw in all your stuff is way more comfortable than having a backpack. Don’t ask me why! There is really no reasonable explanation for that. Take it as it is and be prepared to take a shoulder bag on your next camping trip. 

Use cases: 

• going to the public bathroom and having all your cosmetics, soap, clothes, towel, etc. in one bag
• grabbing some coffee and those amazingly delicious pastries from the campsite bakery
• going to the beach with your goggles, book, phone, sunscreen, water, etc. 

Market niche idea: a special bag for camping trips, like those plastic bags for carrying glass bottles with up to 6 compartments so that the bottles don’t bump into each other. The idea would be to have a plastic bag (I know, not a fan of plastic but it would be highly reusable), with 3 compartments. Thinking of one compartment for the “has to stay dry” stuff like toilet paper and tissues. One compartment for your cosmetic bag which in my case always gets wet. And another compartment for your clothes, towel or whatever else you need. 

The Food and what the Greeks drink

Anyone who knows me realizes that at some point I will ask the question “Do you wanna share this with me?”. And believe me, this is not because I am such a generous person but because I simply want to try all the dishes a country/region/city has to offer. And in order to do so without exploding and making a total mess I love to share food. If you want me to be in heaven, take me to a place with small tapas-like local dishes! 

During this camping trip, there was not one meal that we didn’t split among the three of us. No! That is not entirely true. The savory pastries from the campsite bakery would have been big enough to share but have been way too delicious to do so. Thanks to the sharing food-mindest of the three of us, I had the chance to try a huge amount of typical Greek dishes and endear all of the southern delicacies. 

Fish & Seafood

Spending time at the sea you basically can’t not eat fish. We had fried anchovies – Gavros, and different types of grilled fish – Blue Fish, Kolios (an local type of Mackerel), and horse mackerel.

One of the best octopuses stuffed with cheese that I have ever had has been at a small Taverna just a short walk away from our campsite called Zorba’s. There we also had the local specialty “Muscles Saganaki.”. 

But nothing can beat a home-grilled Calamari that you got at the local fish store from a really nice lady. Honestly…nothing! And on top of that, the Calamari was accompanied by some delicious Shrimp. 

One more thing that I learned to love is the famous fish paste – Tarama. What else can you spread on some freshly toasted bread than an amazing fish paste, which also seems to be a local specialty? Yummy. 

Salad 

Greek salad is as you may have guessed traditional Greek and although I love Feta and the Greek version seems to be different than the one that you can get in Vienna, I am not a super fan of Greek Salad. The reason for that might be that I am a bit of a salad fanatic and expect a bit more from a salad than tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions … to understand that better you might have to try one of my salads 😉

Tzatziki, Olives, Feta, and Greek Yoghurt

Probably next to the fish and seafood all the things that I would need to survive.

Pastries

OMG … that was my downfall. Pastries with cheese, with spinach – Spanakopita or with leek … those heavenly treats have been a daily must-eat. If you have never tried them before while being in Greece you have to make a decision for life. Either never ever go near those delicious Pastries or be prepared to never be able to pass them without grabbing at least one piece. Your choice 😉

Drinks

As a person who lives in Austria, a country with a lot of really good wine, I need to admit that I have tasted some delicious white wine while staying in Greece. One of my favorites was a bottle of “Moschofilero” from the winery Boutari that was suggested by one lovely waitress at a Taverna. 

The other local drink is a very particular taste, the so-called “Tsipouro”. This is a strong distilled spirit and comes also in two types, pure and anise-flavored. To be honest, that is just not my thing, sorry. 

What’s next?

After having spent 5 days at the Thalatta campsite in Greece I am already eager to go on the next camping trip. Of course next time I will be way better prepared and ready to tackle some new challenges that will hopefully be awaiting me, because what is a good adventure without anything to put you out of your comfort zone?