Spoiling the Camino/On being a pilgrim

[Michael Williams]

Thanks for the inspiring message- I was planning to go this May with an
organised group,part walking/part coach, but now am rethinking and will
probably go alone,on foot.
Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathy Gower <kathygoweraHOTMAIL.COM>
To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
Date: 07 January 2004 22:03
Subject: Spoiling the Camino/On being a pilgrim


>Sorry, forgot the message:
>
>Going through some papers I found this article from the Confraternity of
St.
>James, in the Winter 1997 edition, I believe.  It seems timely, given
>concerns about crowds, best routes, etc:  Credit goes to Laurie Dennett:
>
>To Be a Pilgrim ...  by Laurie Dennett
>
>This essay arose from a special meeting of the Confraternity Committee in
>June 1996.  We met to consider the fears raised by what some have seen as
>the recent over-popularisation of the Camino de Santiago. In the face of
>official efforts to transform the pilgrim journey into a species of mass
>tourism in 1993 our concern was twofold: for the physical integrity of the
>Camino and for the quality of the pilgrim's experience of the route. We
>discussed whether these fears were justified, and ways of mitigating the
>damage and preserving the essentials. The approach of another Holy Year in
>1999 made this a matter of prime importance. I am grateful to my colleagues
>for their contributions to our discussion and to this essay.
>
>There is no doubt that the number of pilgrims climbed dramatically during
>the run-up to 1993 (some statistics). We can hardly complain of this:
>promoting interest in the Camino and helping to transform interest into
>action are part of what the Confraternity is about. The question is whether
>the response to promotion has actually begun to affect the character of the
>route and of the  pilgrimage, which the Confraternity and the other
jacobean
>associations also exist to conserve.
>
>How to safeguard the physical integrity of the route is an ongoing problem
>with no very clear-cut solution. The Confraternity shares the obligation to
>defend the historic Camino when threats to it arise, ideally as part of a
>united effort with our European colleagues. In practice, it is difficult to
>protest if no protest is raised in Spain to give a lead, and sometimes,
>local interests and the press being what they are, this may happen later
>than it should. The best we can do is to be vigilant and as well informed
as
>possible, and let the Spanish Federation know of the Confraternity's
>support. We must also maintain good communications with the Council of
>Europe and UNESCO   both of which have formally 'adopted' the Camino. The
>former's commitment has taken the form of a great deal of
>monstrous sign-posting, rather than action which might have prevented the
>damage done in the run-up to 1993; the latter's involvement came only after
>the damage was done, thereby giving it the seal of approval - but they are
>all we have.
>
>The effect of the pressure of numbers, and of motorised travel on the
>'pilgrim experience' gave rise to a lengthier discussion. Since in recent
>years those using the traditional ways of doing the pilgrimage have been so
>far outstripped in numbers by car, coach and air travellers as to now be in
>the minority, it is worthmaking a fairly basic, but important distinction.
>The 'traditional ways' are those that involve making the journey by one's
>own motive power, implying an investment of physical effort or sacrifice,
an
>element of physical vulnerability, and a frame of mind that is open to
>encounter. For some people this last presupposes going alone, or with very
>few companions; the traditional ways also preclude, unless essential for
>medical reasons, the use of backup vehicles.
>
>The journey made in this way and in this spirit is the one that qualifies
>for the Compostela, whether over the stipulated minimum distance or the
>width of Europe. Why is the distinction between this kind of travel and
>travel by motorised means, in large groups, (even large groups of walkers
or
>cyclists), quite independent of the interior disposition of the traveler,
an
>important one? Some people might hold that it is not, that ways of travel
>may be 'different' in mode but not in quality. Perhaps it really comes down
>to whether one accepts what certain kinds of experience - the accommodation
>to silence, solitude, sharing, trials of one sort or another - invite
>personal growth on the pilgrim's part, beyond that usually required by the
>circumstances of everyday life. The person who embraces the vulnerable
>condition of the walker or cyclist, accepting what comes, is challenged by
>these kinds of experience daily, and although he or she may
>start out with no such expectation, the walker or cyclist whose aim is
>'merely' to have a cheap, boozy and reasonably, comfortable outdoor holiday
>may be challenged more than most. In other words, people with no particular
>spiritual orientation, attracted by the publicity surrounding the Camino
and
>deciding to walk or cycle for purely recreational reasons, often undergo a
>transformation of personal values that has a lasting effect on their lives.
>Motorised travelers, however sincere, are less challenged by circumstances,
>less  likely to arrive at that acceptance of dependence and
inter-dependence
>that is one of the Camino's gifts to the walker or cyclist in exchange for
>physical effort.
>
>The desire to reproduce the values of the pilgrimage in the daily life one
>return to is the natural outgrowth of that state of mind, and gives the
>experience of the pilgrimage much of its lasting resonance.
>
>We cannot, therefore, complain at the increase of 'recreational' walkers
and
>cyclists on the grounds that they do not approach the pilgrimage in the
>right spirit. The Camino has always been full of casual travelers, and it
>still seems to work its very considerable magic on a high proportion of
>them. But it does seem to me that numbers pose a threat in another sense. I
>happen to think that whether a pilgrimage is made on foot or in a
motorcoach
>matters a great deal, for an additional, fundamental reason - although it
is
>one that is apprehended only in the doing - that the pilgrim's journey is
>always a shared undertaking; he or she is guided, encouraged and aided by a
>network of 'dedicated others', living and dead, and the sustained
experience
>and conscious awareness of being so supported
>is profoundly educative. There is also the meaningful sense of commonality
>that develops among people who meet by chance as pilgrims on the Camino,
>exhilaratingly free of the usual judgmental preliminaries. Rapid, motorised
>travel, and travel in large groups which are self sufficient and have their
>own social dynamic, usually preclude these kinds of sustained experience.
>
>And a further point, turning to the effect of large numbers on the actual
>Camino: they can erode the unforced goodwill of those 'dedicated others'
who
>live along the route, inter-action with whom is frequently cited by
pilgrims
>as offering the most memorable experience of their journeys. There were
>enough stories of 'rip-offs' in 1993 to suggest that un-conditional
>generosity had occasionally given way to cynicism. In that sense, the
>'pilgrim experience' may already have altered, and the fears that we
>considered last June may well be justified. Some people feel that there is
>no 'may' about it, and that the pressure of the last few summers has been
>decisive.
>
>How can those of us who go on pilgrimage redress the balance? One might
>simply choose to avoid adding to the numbers. The obvious way is to go out
>of season if following the Camino Francés, or if the summer is the only
>feasible time to go to take one of the lesser-known routes, such as the
>North Coast Route. That said, there will still be a lot of people to whom
>the Camino Francés is irresistible and for whom June to September is the
>most convenient time. The Committee concluded that there were a number of
>things that could be done.
>
>Firstly, with regard to local people, one can be notably and unfailingly
>appreciative, the expression of gratitude being the hallmark of the
pilgrim.
>(On the wall of the refugio at Mansilla de las Mulas is a notice which
ends:
>'And don't forget: the tourist says "Give me ..."; the pilgrim says
>"thank-you"'.) Tourists feel they have a 'right' to expect this or that
>because they are paying for it; the condition of the pilgrim claims no
>'rights'. The things of the Camino belong to each and every pilgrim, to the
>extent of taking responsibility for safeguarding them, but not in any
>personal, proprietary sense.
>
>Secondly, one can behave, dress, spend etc in a simple, discreet way that
is
>in keeping with the most basic form of travel and with the spirit of
>encounter. That means not creating barriers between oneself and local
people
>by offending their sensibilities. (I observed two pilgrims in bikinis
>promenading through a Galician hamlet last summer, leaving the residents
>scandalised; pilgrims drinking other than moderately has the same effect.
>Need one say anything about such practices as picnicking in churches,
>littering, using the verges or the Camino as a toilet, leaving graffiti,
>gouging one's initials on trees?)
>
>With regard to one's fellow pilgrims, one can adopt an attitude of service.
>The more of them there are, and the more there come to, be in future years,
>the more need there is for the consideration that dispels anonymity. It may
>be no more than offering encouragement to someone who is finding the going
>difficult. But what about carrying a plastic bag while walking, to collect
>other people's litter, or making a point of keeping to hand some small
>useful objects such as penknife or needle and thread, with the specific aim
>of being of use to fellow pilgrims? What about resolving to do some
>unobtrusive act of kindness each day to improve the quality of someone
>else's journey? Or taking the initiative in the refugio and gathering a
>group together to share the experiences of the Camino. Or learning enough
>elementary first-aid to be able to deal with blisters, tummy troubles and
so
>one, for any companions as well as oneself?
>
>One veteran hospitalero commented after the onslaught of 1993 that the best
>thing the jacobean associations could do for the Camino would be to stop
>sending pilgrims down it. I disagree. By all means, let us keep encouraging
>people to make the pilgrimage to Santiago but let us be clear about a few
>things.
>
>There is the Camino one walks and the Camino one lives - often as a result
>of having walked it. There is no doubt, in my mind at least, that if in the
>approach to 1999 the physical Camino is further 'improved' by the
>authorities so as to eliminate its more challenging features and to make it
>'accessible' to untrammeled hordes using every modern form of conveyance,
>not only will the physical integrity of the route be altered for ever, but
>that essential component of the pilgrimage, the perspective of those
>'dedicated others', will also change. Increasingly there are more and more
>instigations to regard the Camino as a commodity and the growing number of
>pilgrims and travelers on it as captive consumers. Defense of the historic
>route is one of our prime collective responsibilities. But may I be so bold
>as to suggest that everyone who sets foot on the Camino has the personal
>responsibility to reinforce, through the way they enact their
>pilgrimage, its character of simplicity, self-sacrifice, openness to
>encounter. That will in turn reinforce the dedication which has been an
>essential element in sustaining it for the past millennium, so that it has
a
>fair chance of surviving into the next.
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Working moms: Find helpful tips here on managing kids, home, work —  and
>yourself.   http://special.msn.com/msnbc/workingmom.armx