[saintjames] requests & news

[Rosina Lila]

Hi Athens,
I think that pilgrims are being encouraged to use Camino routes other than
the French Way because of concern for the pilgrims' own well-being and because
of a desire to preserve the historical and architectural integrity of the
Camino Frances. It would not be possible  to build all the albergues, bars and
other facilities needed to tend to almost one million pilgrims and still maintain
the present infrastructure of the Camino Frances.  Besides, it might be
dangerous..... imagine crowds of pilgrims competing with all those trucks to go,
let's say, up to O Cebreiro, because an increase in the number of pilgrims by
necessity would engender an increase in traffic (food, supplies, and so on, would
have to be transported for them).
As mentioned, they expect more than 700,000 pilgrims to go over the Camino
Frances next year.
It appears that the Camino Frances is the most popular not because it is the
most significant, or the oldest (that would be the Via de la Plata, on both
counts), but because it is the closest and most accessible to the rest of
Europe.
Pilgrims that I met in Santiago who had walked the English or the Portuguese
Way told me that those routes are  beautiful, interesting, full of impressive
churches, relics, castles, etc., and that pilgrims were treated with kindness
and much friendliness by the locals.
There is a town in the English Way that has a vessel which, reportedly, was
used in the weeding of Cana.  It is believed that it was brought there by a
knight Templar; brides from all over Spain go there to get married.  There is
also a town called El Temple built by the knights who were very active in the
area because of its coastal position, and on and on.
Fond regards,
Rosina
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