A curiosity

[Ignacio Franc és]

On Wed, 9 Jul 2003 10:28:52 EDT, Rosina Lila <BlaroliaAOL.COM> wrote:

>Ignacio,
>What, precisely,  are the "mistakes, errors and cultural
misunderstandings"
>that you found in the New York Times Camino article?

I cannot expect an article to be a complete guide of the Camino, thus I
can understand that the fist part of it focuses on the main towns, but
where is Galicia ? It looks like the writer ended up taking a bus to
Santiago and saw nothing so nothing is said. Where are the pilgrims ? No
one single interview with a pilgrim. Why do they come ? What do they find
in the Camino ? They seem to be only numbers on an statistic study.

The second part is even worse.

"Sanitation in rural Spain lags behind Western European standards. This
can affect the public fountains on which pilgrims depend. We found the
fountains between Burgos and León reliable, but many became sick from
those between Astorga and Ponferrada. Tap water at refugios and cafes was
safe. "

That is absolutely untrue. You can get ill anywhere in the world if you
drink untreated water in the countryside drom fountains used mainly by
catle. No public water tap in any rural spain village can be pointed as
the cause for any pilgrim illness. Almost every 20 miles you will find a
village with a public healthcarse system clinic where you can be visited
for free. You will only have to buy the prescription on a farmacy and you
can find a lot of them in the Camino as well.

"There are no public restrooms. Many travelers, as a result, relieve
themselves trailside."

You have public restrooms in any small village provided there is a bar and
you will find at least one in villages with only 200 people. All bars and
cafes must have public restrooms or they would not get their licenses and
most bar owners keep them fairly clean.

Many refugios have kitchens, and some offer breakfast or even supper. Buy
picnic supplies before noon; not all villages have shops or restaurants,
which may close for siesta in any case.

Most public refugios will not have kitchens or will keep them closed for
the summer season. Only very small villages will not have a shop or a bar
or restaurant. If the shops are closed from 2 to 5 it is not because of
any siesta time but because spaniards take their mean meal of the day
during this period. Unfortunately siesta is something that rearly anyone
can afford to have in spain nowadays except during your holydays.

Do you see what I mean when I say cultural misunderstanding ?

I can agree with you that probably this article is the best one an
american journalist without much experience on the Camino can write for
the NYT. You say it has served its purpose, great !

Buen Camino

Ignacio