[Gocamino] Pilgrims' office and 2010 pilgrims

Mon Jan 17 13:50:28 PST 2011

Hello you all,
Having just returned from cold (very, very, very cold), rainy, unbelievably chaotic and yet wonderful and exciting Milan, I've found a treasure trove of Camino related messages, but I'm only passing on one or two now.
Friends who work at the Pilgrims' office have told me, for the first time ever, that 2010 and the tending to the 272,000 plus Compostela-receiving pilgrims put a tremendous strain on their facilities and time.  Some of them did not get a single day off in more than five months, and while the office "closed" at 9:00 p.m., the exigencies of record-keeping and inquiries-answering kept the workers well until mid-night most days. Their (very modest) salaries were not augmented by the extra time and terrific burden.
Having witnessed how very earnestly they carry out their duties, for such risible compensation, I often lament the fact that we pilgrims do not seem to appreciate their efforts and, in fact, sometimes subject them to unseemly and abusive demands.
The fact that the omni-capable and multi-lingual Mari had a baby at the end of December did not help the office much, although she did work until almost the last minute, and even if when she did not go to the office she worked from home.
Mari was delivered of a baby boy, David, on December 29th,which in the Catholic calendar is Saint King David's day.  Under Spanish law she will be on paid maternity leave for 16 weeks, plus an additional 21 days if she chooses to breast feed her baby. Her husband is also benefiting from a paid 17 days paternity leave. (In the United States, alas! there is no paid maternity or paternity leave...... not one single day!).  Additionally, as is the case in France and Italy, the Spanish government makes a 4,000 Euros gift ($6,000 US Dlls.) to a married couple upon the birth of a new child.
The baby will be christened around Easter, which may give those of us who go to Spain for Holy Week, an opportunity to jump over to Santiago for the occasion.  Fortunately, there is now a direct flight between Seville and Santiago.
At any rate, Mari will not be back at work until sometime in May. If anyone of you wishes to do so, you can send her, in any language,  your congratulations to:  peregrinos at archicompostela.org , I'm sure she'll be delighted.
Meanwhile, these are the 2010 full pilgrims' statistics. While purported to be in English, many terms are in Spanish, a consequence, I expect, of Mari's maternity absence.
Hugs!
Rosina
The pilgrimage to Santiago in 2010

Durante 2010, 272.384 pilgrims were received at the Pilgrim's Office. The number of pilgrims in the past Holy Year, 2004, during the same period was 179.944. Of those pilgrims, 120.550 (44,26%) were women and 151.832 (55,74%) men. 238.030 (87,39%) pilgrims arrived on foot, 33.009 (12,12%) by bicicle, 1.302 (0,48%) on horseback, and 41 (0,02%) pilgrims on wheel-chair.

Pilgrims by sex

Men (55,74%)

Women (44,26%)

Pilgrims by medium

Foot (87,39%)

Bicicle (12,12%)

Horseback (0,48%)

Wheel-chair (0,02%)

Pilgrims' Age:
79.951 pilgrims were younger than 30 years old (29,35%), 158.341 were between 30 and 60 years old (58,13%), and 34.092 were aged above 60 years old (12,52%).
Pilgrims' Motivation:
Religious: 149.016 (54,71%)
Religious and Cultural: 109.581 (40,23%)
Cultural: 13.785 (5,06%)

Pilgrims by age

30 - 60 (58,13%)

< 30 (29,35%)

> 60 (12,52%)

Pilgrims by motivation

Cultural (5,06%)

Religious (54,71%)

Religious and Cultural (40,23%)

Pilgrims' Nationality:
Spanish: 188.239 (69,11%); Most of the pilgrims came from Galicia: 34.130 (18,13%); Madrid: 33.817 (17,96%); Andalucía: 24.766 (13,16%); Cataluña: 20.521 (10,90%); Comunidad Valenciana: 17.203 (9,14%); Castilla León: 13.086 (6,95%); Castilla la Mancha: 8.997 (4,78%); Pais Vasco: 7.162 (3,80%); etc.
Foreigners: 84.145 (30,89%); Most of the pilgrims come from the following countries: Alemania: 14.514 (17,25%); Italia: 14.231 (16,91%); Francia: 9.151 (10,88%); Portugal: 7.793 (9,26%); Estados Unidos: 3.334 (3,96%); Irlanda: 2.303 (2,74%); Brasil: 2.122 (2,52%); Holanda: 2.070 (2,46%); etc.

Spanish Pilgrims

Galicia (18,13%)

Madrid (17,96%)

Andalucía (13,16%)

Cataluña (10,90%)

Comunidad Valenciana (9,14%)

Castilla León (6,95%)

Castilla la Mancha (4,78%)

Other regions

Foreigner Pilgrims

Alemania (17,25%)

Italia (16,91%)

Francia (10,88%)

Portugal (9,26%)

Estados Unidos (3,96%)

Irlanda (2,74%)

Brasil (2,52%)

Other countries

Pilgrims' Profession:
Regarding the professional fields, the majority of pilgrims are Empleados: 62.832 (23,07%); Estudiantes: 50.217 (18,44%); Tecnicos: 32.852 (12,06%); Liberales: 29.514 (10,84%); Jubilados: 25.418 (9,33%); Profesores: 16.752 (6,15%); Funcionarios: 15.729 (5,77%); Obreros: 14.140 (5,19%); etc.
Starting Points:
Most of the pilgrims received in this period started their Way to Santiago in: Sarria: 67.879 (24,92%); Cebreiro: 22.081 (8,11%); Tui: 18.114 (6,65%); S. Jean P. Port: 17.841 (6,55%); Roncesvalles: 13.633 (5,01%); Ponferrada: 12.819 (4,71%); León: 11.679 (4,29%); Astorga: 7.413 (2,72%); etc.
The Chosen Routes:
Most of the pilgrims chose Frances-Camino de: 189.384 (69,53%); Portugues-Camino: 34.194 (12,55%); Norte-Camino de: 17.990 (6,60%); Via de la Plata: 14.220 (5,22%); Primitivo-Camino: 7.696 (2,83%); etc.