[Gocamino] Wise pilgrim

Wed Jul 31 08:30:15 PDT 2013

Amen!
I might be one of the last people on the planet who does not carry, or use, a cell phone, portable tablets or anything of the sort. In my recent trip to Europe my son got one of those gadgets for me so that I "could be as informed about things as I can be when at home".  I told him "What's the point of going to other places  then?"
After a super well-planned and organized (by a Wagnerite Society) trip to Milan for Richard Wagner's Ring at La Scala,  at the end of the Ring, on a whim,  I decided to take a sentimental journey to Assisi and go on to Rome, curious about  the new Pope and all.  I  arrived in  Rome without reservations, plans, companions, suitable clothes, or what have you.  Yes, it was dicey the first few days with the horrendous heat  (40 degrees centigrade which is about a million degrees Fahrenheit) and the hordes and hordes of people there everywhere. But after a few days of changing hotels every other day and making plans on the spot, I began to remember, and relive,  what it was like to be  way back then when going places : adventuresome and capable of being marveled by the unknown,  the different,  and the emotionally gripping, and facing the unexpected with curiosity and wonderment rather than annoyance or resentment....... just as I was in my first Camino in 1999.
By the way, I took a rapid train from Milan to Rome, and at one point the screen in the middle of the car disclosed that the train was going at 300 kms. per hour. I thought it wonderful to have such fast trains and avoid the hassle of having to take a plane.
Well, now we  know that everything has a price...... and what a terrible price at that.
My heart joins in prayer the people in Santiago who begin today the 7-days mourning period for the victims of the train crash.

Rosina

blaroli at aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Joanie Hess <jethess777 at aol.com>
To: cwlowery <cwlowery at pga.com>; richard <richard at fergusonsculpture.com>
Cc: gocamino <gocamino at oakapple.net>; santiagobis <santiagobis at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Jul 31, 2013 7:01 am
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Wise pilgrim

Well said!
I think the discussion, while noteworthy initially, has been run into the 
ground.  By now, most everyone is in one of two camps-- those that want such a 
gadget and those who don't.  I find the continuation of a discussion of why one 
would or wouldn't a bit like those striving to convert others to their way of 
thought (and the purpose behind it being the dissatisfaction that 100% of the 
folks don't think so in either direction).
At least lodging, what to pack, airline flights, new products that might be 
useful to today's pilgrim --  all the result of improved technology, BTW--  
keeps changing to the point where it is necessary to be alerted to such so that 
can make a pilgrimage happen.

Just my thoughts...
Joanie

-----Original Message-----
From: cwlowery at pga.com
To: Richard Ferguson <richard at fergusonsculpture.com>
Cc: †GoCamino OakApple <gocamino at oakapple.net>; Santiagobis Camino 
<santiagobis at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Jul 31, 2013 1:17 am
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Wise pilgrim

Yes Richard, it does seem natural that a person embarking on a long walk in 
order to develop a clearer understanding of the ancient meaning of life would 
have some reservation about carrying these gadgets.

And further, for these gadgets to become a topic on a forum such as this seems 
odd.

And further, for these gadgets these folks speak of, to become the primary focus 

of a forum such as this, one dedicated to the pilgrim in all of us seems 
ridiculous to an experienced pilgrim, say from 1300's.

We all have a tendency to be easily led, to accept as valid a notion brought 
forth by someone.

I speak up to shake this conversation into the idea that these gadgets, invented 

and marketed by slick salesman, have nothing to do with a pilgrimage, and the 
idea that they do is ridiculous. Or something else. Maybe evidence that the best 

intended souls, men and women who engage this forum, sharing their deep memories 

and epiphanies of the way, people who are educated, wisened, successful, have 
been taken in, like their children, by these salesmen and their gadgets,  
selling their wears to anyone who can buy them.

Its just a different perspective

-----Original Message-----
From: "Richard Ferguson" <richard at fergusonsculpture.com>
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2013 1:40am
To: cwlowery at pga.com
Cc: "Sil" <sillydoll at gmail.com>, "†GoCamino OakApple" <gocamino at oakapple.net>, 
"Santiagobis Camino" <santiagobis at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: Wise pilgrim

As a late adopter of smartphones, I just returned from my first overseas trip 
during which I had a smartphone with a working internet connection.   It did 
change the trip.  Sometimes I used it for navigation, other times for email, 
translation, Facebook, or just plain looking up things.  I did blog the trip, 
but with a laptop, not a smartphone.  I used the smartphone multiple times a 
day.

But I am having some second thoughts about doing a camino with all of that 
technology.  Certainly walking with a GPS is a different experience than reading 

a map and asking for directions.   Yet I would like to be able to email, or call 

home, or just call for a reservation.    

I suppose that I could leave my phone turned off until I have a real need for 
it. Or not buy a data plan, and only have internet access where I have WIFI. 

I think that part of my hesitation is that for me, asking for directions was an 
important part of my experience when I walked before.  Also, computers are a big 

part of my daily life, and if I carry my smartphone, that is like a continuation 

of my regular life.  Maybe I think that a pilgrimage should be a significant 
break with my regular life, stripping it down to the essentials.......

Last time I walked I had an email list, and emailed a report when I could, which 

kept family and friends informed.  To some extent, writing down your 
experiences, in a notebook or on a computer, has value, in terms of forcing you 
to think through and describe your experience.   I was thinking that a 
smartphone could let me write and email or blog my experiences.

Decisions, decisions......  

I am currently planning to walk in March-April, probably from somewhere in 
France to Pamplona, so I am starting to focus more on pilgrimage.

Richard

On Jul 21, 2013, at 2:13 PM, cwlowery at pga.com wrote:

> 
> Thank you for the responses gentlemen. I do feel blessed to have walked with 
nothing save a very small amount of food and water. And to walk in Silence.
> I feel blessed to not even be able to remotely understand how someone could 
make pilgrimage and try to carry so much. It seems so contradictory to me.
> 
> Jesus said judge not, lest. Yes, this I understand. And I am happy for anyone 
who finds their way, using whatever means they choose.
> 
> But for me, when asked by his disciples where will we sleep, He said, Consider 

the birds. Find Peace here.
> 
> When asked by his disciples, "What will we eat?" Buddha said the Lord will 
provide.
> 
> I believe these are important lessons they were teaching.  A pilgrimage can be 

a singular chance in one's life to leave the inventions of entrepeneurs and 
slick salesmen behind. Yes it is possible.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Sil" <sillydoll at gmail.com>
> Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 10:17am
> To: saintjames at yahoogroups.com
> Cc: cwlowery at pga.com, santiagobis at yahoogroups.com, gocamino at oakapple.net
> Subject: Re: [saintjames] Re: [Gocamino] Wise pilgrim
> 
> 
> 
> To add to Bob's list, we now have shirts that wick-away the sweat. Gortex 
shoes.  Telescopic walking poles. Sunglasses.  Motor cars, trains, buses.  
Telephones, email, Internet.  Elevators and escalators.
> And, we'd have to do without café-con-leche (coffee was only introduced in 
Europe in the 17thc) no tomatoes for those salsas, no patata tortiallas 
(potatoes were also only introduced in the 18th c) and many other delicious 
things we take for granted.  No - its not possible to replicate the medieval 
experience and every generation adds new technology to the walking pilgrim.
> 
> 
> On 21 July 2013 15:51, Robert Spenger <[mailto:rspenger at earthlink.net] 
rspenger at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Devices - like trans-atlantic jet planes? Albergues, not only with running 
water, but often heated? Like lightweight packs and well made walking shoes? 
Credit cards and paper money instead of heavy coins? The list goes on and on. It 

is not the same world; it is not possible to have the same experience as a 
medieval pilgrim. Nor is it likely that anyone on this forum has experienced the 

kind of life that the medieval folks lived just staying at home.
> 
> I have done several caminos without mobile electronic devices except for 
cameras. Now that I have an iPad mini (obviously not a necessity - just a fun 
toy) I would like to find out just how much I can do with it. It is a challenge, 

just like walking the camino in my 80s. Come to think of it, in the old days I 
would have been lucky to have made it to half that age. A couple of other 
devices come to mind. Corrective lenses have been around for a couple of 
centuries at least, but certainly not available for the 12th century pilgrim. 
Many modern folks would find it very difficult to get by without their glasses. 
I manage to get lost even with them. Also, in my own case, porcine tissue aortic 

valves were just a dream much less than a century ago. Now there is an 
indispensable device for me at least. it is not  electronic, but replacement 
heart valves were developed just about the same time that the transistor was.
> 
> Bob S.
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 20, 2013, at 9:27 PM, [mailto:cwlowery at pga.com] cwlowery at pga.com wrote:
> 
> Imagine when people walked this way without these devices you speak of. Can 
you? If so, do you feel that they have a different experience to yours? Imagine 
thousands of years ago. Tap away
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Robert Spenger" <[mailto:rspenger at earthlink.net] rspenger at earthlink.net>
> Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2013 7:29pm
> To: [mailto:Santiagobis at yahoogroups.com] Santiagobis at yahoogroups.com, "Saint 
James †Yahoo" <[mailto:saintjames at yahoogroups.com] saintjames at yahoogroups.com>, 
[mailto:gocamino at oakapple.net] gocamino at oakapple.net
> Subject: [Gocamino] Wise pilgrim
> 
> Well, I have overcome one major road block (camino block?). I kept getting the 

elevation plot for the first stage when I tapped on various arrows. I finally 
found out that scrolling down that page reveals the promised information. I have 

not found any directions in the application that indicate this procedure. Not 
very intuitive I might say. Or am I just too dense?
> 
> Bob S.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad mini
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> Sil
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