Ready to Leave - Labor Day 5 September 2011: Maps

Scallop Shell Decoration on Building, 8th Arr., Paris

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Given the jobless rate, the stagnation of worker incomes, and the demise of unions as a countervailing power to oligopoly capitalism and the plutocratic accumulation of wealth in the US, Labor Day is a rather bitter joke, but this holiday does mark the end of summer. For me it is also the last day before leaving for Spain and the Camino. I fly to Madrid tomorrow evening then go on by bus to Pamplona where I begin to walk on Friday after spending Thursday to recover from jet lag and to once again sightsee in the capital of Navarra. For a change, I am completely packed with everything in order. Usually I fail to finish until a few minutes before leaving for the airport. As always, there will be the thought "what did I forget." Last time it was my jacket, so that was one of the first items into the pack yesterday. 

Spent a little time reviewing maps over the past few weeks, and I had planned to do an entire posting on maps before leaving, but that shall have to wait until I return. For use while walking, I evaluated two map sets currently available, and one of them is far superior to the other. On one or another Camino email list a map set published by Camino Downunder, Camino Santiago: 30 All Weather Walking Maps (ISBN 978-0-646-52975-2) was recommended, though I really do not know why. The set is a handy size and published on water resistant paper, but the maps per se are poor in the extreme. The route is shown in yellow on a shaded relief map but few details are shown. None of the landmarks which might confirm the location of the route are indicated on the maps, and no street maps for the larger towns and cities are included. While the back side of the map pages list accommodations, those are not pinpointed on the maps themselves. At a list price of Australian $39.50 (I paid almost $50 US when tax and shipping were included), the set is not worthwhile. The map pages in the Brierly guide (see the discussion of guide books several postings back) are far superior.

A much better and cheaper map set is the Camino de Santiago Map published by Vancouver's Pili Pala Press (ISBN 978-0-9731698-5-0). Also on somewhat water resistant paper, the maps provide sufficient detail as to be useful for wayfinding and for locating accommocations. Decent street maps are included for the larger towns, and points of interest along the way are indicated. I plan to carry this with me, and at $18 (Cdn $16) it is available from Wide World Books and Maps in Seattle. It is a map collection I recommend.