crowds on the Camino

[Rosina Lila]

Hello Howard MURPHY,
I was glad to read your message which tells me that, happily, you are fully
recovered.
As to the "crowdiness" of the Camino, the Camino Pilgrim Net (an online
resource for Camino pilgrims) reports that in the year when Saint Francis
made his pilgrimage from Assissi, on foot, he was one of about a million
people who did so.  In contrast, the largest number of reported modern
pilgrims was in 1999, a Jacobean Jubilee year,  when, according to the
Santiago Archdiocese, about 150,000 of us completed the pilgrimage.  We were
considerably fewer in 2000, despite the fact of its being a Roman Holy Year,
and this last Summer it appeared to me that the numbers were even smaller.
All my pilgrimages have been in July-August... the most crowded months; but
when I wanted to walk alone, I just altered my pace, or took extended rests,
or lingered in the churches as the others went on; when I wanted to walk in
company I kept the pace of the others.
Although I did not stay in the albergues, I did visit them and spent time in
them, talking to other pilgrims or just resting, and enjoyed the visits very
much.  I not only did not want to hurry to arrive to the albergue  at a given
time, but also I wanted to be able to walk the whole day....., and, in fact,
I found walking in the late afternoon very enjoyable; further, a priest in
Roncesvalles when I made my first pilgrimage, recommended that those of us
who could afford to stay in hotels do so  and  free albergue beds for other
pilgrims  who may need them more.
Pilgrims who may want quieter and less peopled environs, might want to
commence the pilgrimage at Jaca. The Camino from Jaca to Puente La Reina is
peaceful,  has far fewer pilgrims than the French Way, and one can take small
aside walks to those wonders like the Leyre Monastery, with its breathtaking
views and architecture and its daily Gregorian evensongs, (which exemplify
the meaning of the word "enchanting") and to that piece of Paradise on Earth
called San Juan de la Pena. The food in that section is, also, somewhat
different and simply delicious (something called "migas".... if anyone on
this list knows how to prepare that dish please share the wealth.)
Thank you for your many private messages and kind thoughts.  I am quiet well,
but simply have been superbusy.
Blessings to you all, and most affectionate regards,
Rosina