[Gocamino] [saintjames] Re: July 25th, 2009

Sat Aug 1 16:37:33 PDT 2009

I should have made it clear that the?suggestions in my earlier message?were meant for three female pilgrims in my age group who plan a pilgrimage in the autumn.
What I advised has worked very well, indeed, for me and other pilgrims around my age.? Those of you who have been on the Camino in the late afternoon may have noticed that generally the pilgrims walking at that time of the day tend to be older and to carry light backpacks.? 
It isn't always feasible?for some of us to partake of the facilities of an albergue; I, for one, suffer from severe insomnia which compels me to get up and read for a while several times throughout the night.? Others may be over sensitive to noises.?Others revere their privacy. ?Some pilgrims that I know liked the albergues a lot and didn't mind the lack of privacy, but couldn't cope with the surrounding noises, particularly the snoring.
It would appear that falling?asleep for some people becomes harder with age, and noisy surroundings certainly would aggravate the difficulties And, as we all know, walking becomes a painful burden when sleep-deprived.
As to the backpacks, my own have never weighed more than 12-14 pounds (5 kilograms), but even that modest weight is too much for my 100 pound frame. There may also be considerations of health. Some of us have been ordered by our doctors never to lift anything that weighs more than 1/20th of our body weight, and certainly never to carry?such "weighty" ?items for long.
It is good, then, to know that there are viable and inexpensive?options.
Of course the albergues can, and should,?be enjoyed. I love to visit them and have dinner there or just hang out with the hospitaleros and other pilgrims, and I never cease to encourage young people to go to the Camino and stay in the albergues, emphasizing that besides the lofty purposes of the pilgrimage they can have a lot of fun at the albergues?and meet guys and gals.
Finally, If you can read Spanish you can bring up the newspapers around the Camino, like "El Correo" and "La Voz" and you will see they they are full of reports of, and complaints about,?overcrowded albergues and long waiting lines, with, as they point out, "the worse yet to come". By their nature newspapers are sensationalistic and most of their dire predictions can be taken with a grain of salt, but the overcrowding of the albergues is also being bemoaned by municipal authorities and pilgrims.
So far this year the number of Compostela-receiving pilgrims is quite larger than any other previous non-Holy Year.
Hugs!

Rosina

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?

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-----Original Message-----
From: Verena Maringer <verena.ma at gmx.at>
To: saintjames at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, Aug 1, 2009 2:00 pm
Subject: Re: [saintjames] Re: [Gocamino] July 25th, 2009

from my own experience i don't agree 
with quite a few things you wrote rosina. 

the albergues are fine.

usually no problem also arriving later in the afternoon, 
sometimes then i slept on the floor or in the garden, so what, most of the time i got a bed and it isnt that crowded even in july or august.

all the ideas you've obviously got about the albergues lack a certain
foundation of reality-experience. it's not that "packed", there's no " rush", you can just walk and sleep relaxed :-)
and the albergues are fun most of the
times, you meet the guys there!

the camino can be done quite pleasantly in a simple way: just walking. 

no booking and planning or sending lugage ahead needed, 
because no need for lot of things! 

all equipment we really might need fits easily in a 30l pack 
and there is no point bringing stuff we dont need, is it? 
it's really nice to keep it simple and walk with a 6 kg rucksack, 
this is enough for spanish summer conditions and almost everyone can carry this easily and can afford this way of pilgrimage.

especially young people from eastern europe countries who more and more come to the camino couldn't afford hotels and taxis and i can't see the point discouraging people...?

and finally the camino frances is best in infrastructure of course and hightly recommended for "beginners"

buean camino :-)

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
> Datum: Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:20:48 -0400
> Von: Rosina <Blaroli at aol.com>
> An: GOCAMINO at oakapple.net, saintjames at yahoogroups.com
> Betreff: [saintjames] Re: [Gocamino] July 25th, 2009

> Hi Janan, 
> With my own youth way behind me I can understand your concerns.
> To begin with, I would not recommend staying in the albergues? because the
> rush to get there limits walking to the morning since the albergues tend
> to fill up by one p.m. and, I found, walking is easier, and more pleasant,
> in the afternoon.? Walking 3 or 4 hours in the morning, then stopping for
> lunch and a rest, and walking another three or four hours in the afternoon is
> less tiring and more enjoyable, and it can be done if?one isn't in a rush
> to get to an albergue on time to secure a bunk..
> It is easier to book rooms in an inn, or a small hotel, ahead of time from
> town to town; usually the proprietor?of an inn will make arrangements for
> the next one, etc. The cost of such accommodations is not much more
> than?what a private albergue would cost, and there is the?added bonus of privacy
> and bathroom availability.
> Also, by this method, one can send the heavy backpack ahead (it costs
> about 3-4 dlls. to do so and there are taxis, etc., that?do this) and carry
> only the indispensable items for a day or so. Logically, this makes walking
> much, much easier and effective without the weight, and discomfort, of a
> heavy burden.
> The news are that this year, as most recent years, the Camino is
> chock-full, and the albergues are so overloaded that the municipal authorities of
> the various towns?are fitting up sports arenas and parks with tents for
> pilgrims. I really don't think that deferring the pilgrimage from 2010 to 2011
> would make that much difference insofar as crowds and places to spend the
> night are concerned.?And then, doing so you three would miss the
> extraordinary?opportunity of experiencing the?wondrous and special celebrations of a
> Holy Year, which will not come around for another eleven years.
> What I would counsel the three of you, strongly, would be to avoid the
> French Camino and opt for one of the other several routes which often are, in
> my view, more beautiful, more significant and more inspirational. The
> Camino del Norte and the Primiivo are quite?lovely and very welcoming; As you
> surely know, one need only walk the last 100 kms. to Santiago to earn a
> Compostela, and while the entire Via de la Plata maybe too much of an
> undertaking, the last 100-150 ms. through Orense are hauntingly?beautiful, and
> certainly free of?the frantic activity and crowds of the French Camino's segment
> from Sarria to Santiago which at times can be likened to Grand Central
> Station in New York City at rush hour.?
> Some pilgrims may disapprove of sending the backpack ahead, yet, in the
> first of my four caminos, ten years ago, I asked a priest?in Roncesvalles
> about it. He told me that?the church strongly disapproves of self-inflicted
> corporal suffering, and reminded me that when Saint Francis made his
> pilgrimage to Santiago he carried nothing but his walking stick and a bundle made
> of a handkerchief containing a Missal and some bread and fruit.?
> In fact, my very favorite Camino-related?work of art is precisely a
> painting of Saint Francis descending the Pyrenees on his way to Santiago wearing
> just such a garb.
> I can send you a copy of the painting, if you wish.
> Hugs!
> Rosina
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