[Gocamino] Noticias desde Santiago

Tue Dec 28 13:14:26 PST 2010

Re Yesa: That was an issue as far back as my first trip in 2000, when I did the Arles route. I was very confused when I read "Yesa No." It sounded like a bad pun in English, but I soon learned about the  farms and villages that had to be abandoned, including one that was noted for its refugio.

In regard to development, in 2000 I saw signs announcing the development of a new, modern, residential  community. I believe that it was somewhere a little to the west of Santo Domingo de Calzada. When I went through there a couple of years later, construction had begun and the route had to be detoured around it. On the next trip through that region, in 2008, it was all complete, but with no signs of life. There was no one on the brand new golf course and most of the housing units (condos?) had for sale signs on them. There was no sign of any retail stores. I assume that, if there were any residents, they would have to go into Santo Domingo de Calzada to do their shopping. There as an old village a short way past the development and I stopped there for a snack in a small bar. That was the only place where I saw any activity. The village itself was quite small and did not appear to have any facilities other than the bar.

My impression is that such developments were financed by funds from the EU and that there was a lot of resentment in rest of the EU over such projects. There ;seems to be a strong feeling that it is just money going to waste, and it appears to me that this view is correct. Even the improvements in the infrastructure of the camino itself seem to have been more for the benefit of the contractors rather than the community. Some of the work was poorly done and the maintenance is often inadequate.

Bob S.

On Dec 28, 2010, at 10:28 AM, Glenn Jilek wrote:

The Economic Development thing is a different issue.

    The graffiti that I saw on the Camino Aragon was spray painted on the walls by and for the local consumption, not the pilgrims.  I or other pilgrims did not know what it meant when we saw "NO YESA" scribbled and splashed about.  I only found out a week or two later when I saw the petition that was for the pilgrims to sign.

    I worked for many years as a transportation planner and economic development is used as a prime reason for construction of infrastructure, but does not always lead to long term employment gains.  There is a real boost during actual construction sure, but then, many times the unemployment problem just shifts from one area to another.  There are a lot of "It depends" factors, and it is (at least here in the USA) far from being a sure fire solution to prosperity... although a very few people will get very wealthy from these types of projects.

Glenn

> Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 11:13:04 -0800
> From: ayoung2001 at yahoo.com
> To: gocamino at oakapple.net
> Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Noticias desde Santiago
> 
> Indeed it is sad news, but (yes, there is a "but"), I'm afraid that according to every expert opinion, the particular economic news we hear now is not going to be quite as short-term as previous ones. I will miss the unsurpassed beauty of everything I saw as well as anyone, but the concerns of millions -- and eventually billions -- of unemployed and desperate people will surpass those of pilgrims -- now the privileged among us.
> 
> Bless all this special season.
> 
> Ana
> 
> --- On Sun, 12/26/10, Glenn Jilek <guha2005 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> From: Glenn Jilek <guha2005 at hotmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Noticias desde Santiago
>> To: "GASpangler at hotmail.com" <gaspangler at hotmail.com>, "saintjames at yahoogroups.com" <saintjames at yahoogroups.com>, gocamino at oakapple.net
>> Date: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 8:15 AM
>> 
>> While walking the Camino Aragone in 2009 I saw a lot of
>> graffiti condemning the expansion of the Yesa Reservoir, and
>> later signed a petition about it that was circulating
>> through some refugios.  Wasn't the construction of that
>> industrial park around O Pino halted a couple of years ago
>> because of the uproar of Pro Camino people?
>> 
>> With the bad economic times facing Spain, it will be a
>> battle of money and employment vs historical
>> treasures.  I hope and pray that this organization of
>> Camino advocates can succeed because the short term concerns
>> about the economy usually wins those battles. 
>> 
>> I will be on the Camino again for almost 7 weeks starting
>> in late April, and I will appreciate every step through this
>> beautiful land more than ever now that I know how threatened
>> it is.
>> 
>> Glenn
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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