Camino Guide Books, Old and New, Good and Not So Good
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The photo shows a collection of guidebooks for the Camino I pulled off my bookshelves at random. There remain a number of others on those shelves, and my collection is by no means comprehensive. Writing and selling tourist guides is a big business in the world today, and there is hardly a place for which there isn't at least one readily available title in a major language. Perhaps a book for North Korea does not yet exist, I don't know, for I have not looked for one. Otherwise there are titles on all the countries I have visited, plan to visit in the not too distant future, and ones I may never get to; guides for countries so easy to travel in that a guide hardly seems necessary and ones for states so dangerous or difficult of access that few tourists venture to them.
The increasing popularity of the Camino means there are countless guidebooks in virtually every major language, and lots in less widely spoken languages, as well as sections on the Camino in more general guide books for Spain. I have not yet come across Camino guidebooks in Hindi-Urdu, Chinese, or Japanese, but I would not be at all surprised if they exist. Of course guidebooks for the Camino have a very long history, beginning with a section of the recently purloined
Codex Calixtinus. The quality of the books currently available is hugely variable as are the topics covered. Preparing to once again walk the Camino, I have been evaluating which one(s) to carry with me.
Walking means one wants minimal extra weight in the pack, and several of the books weigh-in at more than an extra pair of shoes! Some major demands and complaints as I evaluate titles:
1. Maps are essential, so why are many of the guidebooks provided with none or with crude and virtually useless ones? If I have time before I leave, I may post some comments on maps.
2. Up to date is essential, a difficult proposition in the past. With various digital techniques, it is much easier to update content, and good guides should reflect that.
3. Are color pictures really necessary? Indeed, in most cases are pictures necessary at all? In books like the estimable Michelin Green Guides where pictures are used to point out distinctive features of a site, then perhaps, but do we really need a color photo of the cathedral at Burgos or Santiago in a book on how to walk there? Is a pilgrim unlikely to recognize those large and visually dominant structures on arrival? Color printing and any printing of pictures adds to the cost and weight of books.
4. Content should be limited to information needed by the user along with a carefully selected and edited set of additional tips which the user might find of interest or use.
5. Bindings should be flexible and durable. Ideally they should be water resistant.
6. The books should be small and easy to carry.
While they were not perfect, the early incarnations of the Lonely Planet guides met most of my needs when I was young, poor, and bumming around Asia. They were lightweight, directed at backpackers, informative but with little information not of direct interest to the traveler. Their bindings were not great, but overall they were nearly perfect for one travelling light. Compare that to the company's current guidebook for Spain weighing-in at nearly 700 grams. My flip-flops weigh less than 500! In fairness to Lonely Planet, some of their books can be purchased as pdf files, and I purchased and plan to load the section on the Camino from
Hiking in Spain onto my iPhone for consultation enroute.
Based on evaluation of a pile of titles, I am currently considering three guides to carry, each of which meets most of my criteria listed above.
1. The CSJ guide to the Camino Francés which I undoubtedly will carry. Major fault: no maps.
2. Brierly, John. 2011.
A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino Santiago. Forres, Scotland: Camino Guides. ISBN 978-1-84409-192-8. Major faults: color photos and dubious quality binding.
3. Davies, Bethan, Cole, Ben and Hnatiuk, Daphne. 2009.
Walking the Camino de Santiago. 3rd edition. Vancouver, BC: Pili Pala Press. ISBN 978-0-9731698-4-3. Major faults: not up to date and dubious binding.
I must say the last title came as a major surprise when I found it at
Wide World Books and Maps in Seattle a few weeks ago. A decade or so ago I attended a reading at that same store when the authors gave what I thought was a very poor presentation, badly informed on too many issues relating to the Camino, and I did not even bother to buy their initial book (I am a sucker for books on the Camino as my sagging bookshelves attest). Although it is 2 + years out of date, their 3rd edition is well worth considering as a guide to carry.
Once in Spain I plan to look for titles in various other languages I can read, though this time, unlike on my past two treks where I used guides in German, French, and Castellano in preference to the heavy and out-of-date guides available in English (the CSJ guide was the exception, but it contained no maps, and in those days maps of the Camino were harder to get), I expect to use English language guides. I may just buy guides in other languages and have them sent back for later reading. When I return, I will once again post about guides, afterthoughts.
