2004 Holy Year Pilgrimmage- How Crowded Is Crowded?

[Eyskens]

Someone on this site presented projections of 400,000 pilgrims during
next Holy year.  When I was a 'Hospitalero' last year, Hospitaleros at
the other two Refugios in our village were talking about the upcoming
Holy year crowds with both anticipation (for the business they bring to
the village) and trepidation because the crush could very well overcome
the resources of the village.

I think everyone should walk the Camino Frances, especially if you can
only do the pilgrimage once, but if you find extremely crowded
conditions unsettling, you might want to try an alternate route; i.e.
the Via de la Plata, the Northern route or even the Portuguese route.

I was on the Camino (Frances) in May-June 2001 and in September 2002,
and the crowds seemed never ending.  Our Refugio had a line forming by
13:00 and we were 'full' even before we officially opened.  The other
two Refugios also quickly filled, and then the hotels.  As far as I
know, though, everyone was accommodated somewhere in the village every
night. The only pilgrims who were not, were the occasional bicyclist who
chose to go on rather than sleep on the library floor.

In other words, unless you choose to go in winter, you won't be lonely
anywhere on the Camino Frances, Holy year or not.

Jim Eyskens

-----Original Message-----
From: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage [mailto:GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU] On
Behalf Of Will Dean
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2003 12:04 AM
To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
Subject: 2004 Holy Year Pilgrimmage- How Crowded Is Crowded?


Hello all. I've been on this mailing list for awhile now and appreciate
all the advice offered.

I was originally going to walk this year, but my friend who would
accompany me couldn't go this year. So we pushed the date back to
May/June 2004. Now there is now a small group planning to walk together,
at least part of the time. (I will be alone part of the time, which I
think is very important.)

But yesterday, I came across this paragraph while re-reading the
Confraternity of St. James FAQ:

"Look at the statistics (especially the Holy Year peaks), and judge for
yourself how many pilgrims there are likely to be in 2004, the next Holy
Year . Then decide whether you want to be among them or not.  On the
whole, and unless you have a strong reason of your own for going in a
Holy Year, we really would advise going either in what's left of 2003,
or postponing your pilgrimage to 2005. "

Yikes! I know that the number of pilgrims has been rising each year, and
I know that each Holy Year is a spike in that increase, but how truly
horrible is the experience likely to be? I had hoped that by going
before July, we'd avoid the worst of the crowds, but now I'm having
visions of one long snake of pilgrims stretching continuously from St.
Jean to Santiago, with each refugio filled to bursting and shut up tight
to resist the onslaught.

So I guess I'm asking, How bad can it be? Will my friends and I
experience any of the peace and joy of pilgrimage if we go next year?

Of course, if it were easy for me to change my plans to go this year or
in 2005, I would. I've no religious reason for going during a Holy Year.
I still might be able to push my pilgrimage back to 2005. But I've
already delayed my trip twice, and my heart has been set on spring 2004.

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Will Dean
Seattle, WA
binkleyadrizzle.com