<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Lucida Sans Unicode" LANG="0">Hi Athens,<BR>
I think that pilgrims are being encouraged to use Camino routes other than the French Way because of concern for the pilgrims' own well-being and because of a desire to preserve the historical and architectural integrity of the Camino Frances. It would not be possible to build all the albergues, bars and other facilities needed to tend to almost one million pilgrims and still maintain the present infrastructure of the Camino Frances. Besides, it might be dangerous..... imagine crowds of pilgrims competing with all those trucks to go, let's say, up to O Cebreiro, because an increase in the number of pilgrims by necessity would engender an increase in traffic (food, supplies, and so on, would have to be transported for them). <BR>
As mentioned, they expect more than 700,000 pilgrims to go over the Camino Frances next year.<BR>
It appears that the Camino Frances is the most popular not because it is the most significant, or the oldest (that would be the Via de la Plata, on both counts), but because it is the closest and most accessible to the rest of Europe.<BR>
Pilgrims that I met in Santiago who had walked the English or the Portuguese Way told me that those routes are beautiful, interesting, full of impressive churches, relics, castles, etc., and that pilgrims were treated with kindness and much friendliness by the locals.<BR>
There is a town in the English Way that has a vessel which, reportedly, was used in the weeding of Cana. It is believed that it was brought there by a knight Templar; brides from all over Spain go there to get married. There is also a town called El Temple built by the knights who were very active in the area because of its coastal position, and on and on.<BR>
Fond regards,<BR>
Rosina<BR>
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