[Gocamino] [Santiagobis] The Camino and Spain's Economic Situation

Sun Jan 30 06:11:42 PST 2011

Having recently visited mostly northern Spain (San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, Aviles, A Coruna, Santiago de C. and Salamanca) I can report that economic conditions are bad, but not dire.  Since I was Couchsurfing, I stayed with individuals in their homes in each of these foregoing  places so I believe I have a fairly good slant on things. I was told that the south of Spain with 20% unemployment was more severely affected than the north with 10%.  I have not personally verified these statistics.

If you are out of work, the outlook is bleak. Students are considering opportunities abroad since the job market is so weak.  Government employees, including teachers and professors, have been forced to take a 15% cut in salary. For most people, however, things are business as usual - shopkeepers, transportation workers, medical professionals and the like.  In Salamanca I saw a large, semi-abandoned, almost completed, new garden apartment development on the outskirts of the city - a product of the housing boom.

What impact this will have on the Camino is not clear to me.  Possibly fewer Spaniards will be able to travel for long durations.  My personal view is that the economic conditions in Spain will have only a marginal affect on the Camino since it has become such an international destination and a relatively low budget one at that.

Howard Mendes, NYC

-----Original Message-----
From: Rebekah Scott <rebrites at yahoo.com>
To: Santiagobis <Santiagobis at yahoogroups.com>; GoCamino <gocamino at oakapple.net>; Tim <tim at errecaldia.com>
Sent: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 3:02 am
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] [Santiagobis] The Camino and Spain's Economic Situation

Speaking from already-depopulated Palencia, in the middle of Castilla y Leon, I 
have to disagree. 
We are seeing a lot more homeless people on the camino, or unemployed people who 
have hit the road looking for opportunities. The number of men who come to our 
door asking for work has more than doubled -- the last couple were from 
Catalunya, they said they lost their jobs a year ago and hadn´t found anything 
since. (it´s always men.) 

Wages already were low, and now they´re going lower. Businesses are closing as 
regulators tighten the screws and rents and costs-of-living rise. 

How this directly effects peregrinos I am unsure... they may have more 
opportunities to share albergues, food and kitchen facilities 
with less-than-wealthy pilgrims this year. Hospitaleros may have to carefully 
scan credentials, and tell homeless people to sleep somewhere else. I know of at 
least two hostel-keepers who are in a very bad temper lately, dealing with more 
people who settle in and have have a shower first, then inform them later on 
that they can´t pay anything. (if the owner gets upset, the pilgrim tells him he 
is "violating the spirit of the camino!") 

I´ve had no trouble at all with any of the homeless who´ve stopped here. A year 
ago, they would have been indistinguishable from the rest of the pilgrims.  

Rebekah Scott 
www.moratinoslife.blogspot.com

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an 
invincible summer." -- Albert Camus

--- On Sun, 1/30/11, Tim <tim at errecaldia.com> wrote:

From: Tim <tim at errecaldia.com>
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] [Santiagobis] The Camino and Spain's Economic Situation
To: Santiagobis at yahoogroups.com, "GoCamino" <gocamino at oakapple.net>
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011, 1:35 PM

Hi Glenn and all,
    I don't think it will have a great impact. The fact is that it is 
very much a central and southern tragedy.  The Basque country,  
Pamplona, Vitoria, San Sebastian, Bilbao have hardly felt a thing In 
fact they are still enjoying growth, Asturias and Galicia have seen a 
downturn but nothing like the massive damage seen in Andalucia.  The 
whole thing was a speculative property boom which was, as I said, in the 
south.  The Catalans have also seen far less problems and so I feel that 
the Camino will be relatively untouched by it all. 
Tim

pilger05 wrote:
> I wonder how the current economic situation in Spain will affect the Camino?  
I just read the the unemployment rate is over 20%,  the highest in the EU. Any 
thoughts????
>
> Glenn
>
>
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