[Gocamino] Camino Guidebook 2011

[Robert Spenger]

Miam Miam Dodo has a guidebook for the camino francés. Like the other guide books from this publisher, it is in French, but I found it easy to use, even though I have a very limited command of the language. It provides a lot of details about the available accommodations as well as some rough maps. It is available from the Confraternity of Saint James. My 2008 edition weighs 280 grams and cost  19 euros. A note on the back cover states that it weighs 200 grams "sans l'introduction ni les variantes." So for travel you can tear out the part you don't want. The introduction was of no use to me, since  it was all in rather difficult (for me) French, but there is a 6 language glossary at the end of the guide that makes it relatively easy to decipher the descriptions of the accommodations. Prices, open seasons, hours, availability of meals, laundry and drying facilities, internet access (which a lot of albergues have nowadays), addresses, telephone numbers, animal accommodations, website URLs, kitchen facilities, etc. It also lists restaurants, post office availability, bus and train availability, health care facilities, information sources, etc. These are not exhaustive lists, but I think that there is enough to get the idea. Like I said, the maps are rough, but with all the markings available nowadays there is no problem, especially for a relatively large group that has already done the route.

Bob S.


On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:11 AM, hme347 at aol.com wrote:


Dear Friends, 


I will be joining a group of peregrinos for a 10th Reunion May 15, 2011.  We will meet in Pamplona and finish in SdeC.  I used the incomparable Lozano Guide ten years ago, which is now out of print and outdated. This excellent book, as the quote below states, sadly has not been updated by anyone.  Does anyone have a recommendation for me about another walking guide?  I'd be interested in your opinions on this before I purchase a new guide book.  Thanks.


Howard Mendes, NYC



"A Practical Guide for Pilgrims: The Road to Santiago, published in 1997, is, admittedly, outdated. Prices are still listed in pesetas, there is no mention of Internet cafés, and many new albergues have been built in the last 13 years. Sadly, Millán Bravo Lozano died a few years after he published A Practical Guide, and thus he has not been around to provide us with updated versions beyond 1997's fourth edition."

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