The mountian - getting from st Jean to ronvevalles

[Bernard Milford]

Folks

I thought people might like to hear some of news of things I found,
starting the Camino Frances in early May and just getting back home
two days ago.  Some of this might sound as if it was a negative
experience.  It wasn't, it was one of the high points of my life.  But
most people expect that.  I'd like to mention some of the things I
didn't expect.

First, the Camino was CROWDED.  People were reporting that numbers for
May were up to twice what they were last year.  The night we got to
Roncesvailles, there were over 170 in the Monastery, the youth hostel
was full, as were the hotels. This was true throughout the 33 days it
took us to get to Santiago. This meant that every alberge was just
about full every night, and this put great pressure on things like
toilets, hot water and cooking facilities

Another unfortunate outcome was that there were lots of people in each
language group (French, German, English etc) which meant that people
were not forced to cross these groups for company, and communication
was sometimes difficult.  This was exacerbated by the competitive
attitude some people had to resources.  There were a number of times
that I witnessed tut tutting and finger waggling across groups due to
misunderstandings about cooking and kitchen "turns", people moving
backpacks that had been placed against alberge doors to "bagsie" a
place.  And similar less than kind interpretations of communication
deficiencies.

Not having done the Camino before, I don't know if the number of rather
competitive walkers was unusual.  There certainly were plenty.  Many
people (maybe 30 percent) would get up around 5 am, sometimes turning
on lights in the big dorms and glaring around as if looking for a
challenge, but almost always creating some disturbance.  The same
people would be found asleep at, say 4pm at the next alberge, and would
be upset that the "late comers" were making so much noise.  And there
were times when people were calling for quiet in the dorms at 9.30 or
so, an hour before dark and just after the restaurants opened.

There was at times a lack of tolerance of people's foibles.  A friend
of mine had a pillow thrown at her for snoring - mind you, she was a
champion, but she had a cold and how could she help it?  The
perpetrator apologised next morning, but at the same time told her her
snoring was "horrible".  Another friend had a class of water thrown on
him for the same offence.  How he didn't lose it I don't know, but he
kept his cool.

In all this, people coped.  We made some wonderful friends, from all
over  the world.  I would recommend, in general, people try to stay in
the smaller, private refuges.  Some serve dinner to everyone, and this
was a great way to get people to mix.  Shower at odd times, the heat is
usually back on by 10 pm. If you get to a refuge late, wait if you are
told there is no more room.  Many hospitaleros don't want to open up
spare rooms for just one or two people, and fair enough too, as they
have to be cleaned.  But when the numbers build up, more room often
appeared, and, frankly, I'd rather have a mattress on the floor than a
bunk in a crowded dorm.

My main piece of advice is this; a lot of the time on the Camino is
spent pretty low on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, especially if it it
raining.  Exhaustion, shelter, clean clothes, food and toilets take up
a lot of your thoughts.  I would try to eliminate any stresses to add
to these pressures.  For instance, don't promise an electronic update
at every internet cafe - tell your friends that you'll be in touch when
you can and take it easy.  Get used to the idea of wearing clothes for
longer than you would at home.  Budget for a couple more days off than
you think (with the stress on your body, you'll probably be forced to
anyway) And generally, be open, relaxed and slow.  Poco Poco was the
motto of one group of Spaniards I was in, and it's a good one.

Don't expect the Camino to be like living in a religious community, but
take people as they come, and you'll have a great time.

Bernard Milford

Peregrino




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