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

Sat Aug 1 12:08:39 PDT 2009

Hi Verena,
My advice was meant for three ladies in my age group who plan to go in the Autumn..
What I suggested has worked very well, indeed,?for me and for many other female pilgrims around my age.? (Those who may walk in the afternoon will not fail to notice that the majority of pilgrims at those hours tend to be older).
I, personally, have never stayed in an albergue because I am?phobic about privacy and because I suffer from severe insomnia which compels me to sit up and read for an hour or two every couple of hours throughout the night.
But I do visit the albergues often, though, to?chat with the hospitaleros, sometimes to have dinner, or just to hang out..
The present overcrowding of the albergues and the long waiting?lines are much commented, and complained about, in the Galician newspapers, El Correo y La Voz,?and in the Spanish and Brasilian list-servs.
Also,?quite a few? friends of mine who have stayed in albergues did not enjoy the experience because of the lack of privacy and the noise, particularly the snoring.
It does appear that, even without the insomnia from which I have suffered all my life, people have more and more difficulty falling asleep as they get older, and noisy surroundings would not help..
Lastly, my backpack never has weighed more than 12-14 pounds (5-6 kgms.?), but even that weight is too much for a 100 pounds weakling like myself.
Young people who are physically fit should have no?such concerns.?You are absolutely right about that. I've encouraged and encouraged my own son and young nieces and nephews to go to the Camino and stay in the albergues. At their age the?fun that you refer to in your?message is?certainly significant, as is?meeting guys and gals, I should think.
Hugs!

-----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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