The rumors are true. A very large number of additional pilgrims, from listening most of them from Spain, join at Sarria in order to walk the 100 km required for the Compostela. Already crowded in tis exceptionally warm autumn, the Camino is almost like a one-way city street. Never today was I out of earshot of chattering peregrinos, and it was rare when no one was nearby. I fear that may be the rule all the remaining four days.
Lots of rather rude people on the path including the Frenchman playing a "boom box" with some of the most vulgar American rap "music" one can imagine. An Irish woman told him he was seriously offending English speakers, but he just shrugged and went on, blasting the noise as he moved forward. Cell phones are ubiquitous along with banal "I am on the Camino" calls to people back home. Why one needs to do this while walking, I will never know. Finally, and most distressingly, the shedding of trash is truly horrific with used tissues in almost every semi-hidden place. Perhaps it is time to institute standards of conduct for peregrinos on the Camino.
This began as a blog on the general topic of pilgrimage with postings including examples of pilgrimages, photos and musings on various matters related to that topic. It was abandoned in 2012. I am now Reviving it after abandoning tumblr. From January 2019 it will be more general with coverage of thoughts and travels, though pilgrimage will remain an important element.
04 October, 2011
02 October, 2011
Triacastela
Amazing how quickly a week passes when walking the Camino! That is especially true with three difficult days in a row: 1. The steep downhill from Foncebadon to Molinaseca; 2. The long slog through Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo; and 3. The exhilirating but exhausting climb to O Cebreiro. Those are behind me, and now all that remains is the final week through Galicia into Santiago.
It was distressing to se what a tourist trap O Cebreiro has become. Trinket sellers and overpriced food places (4 Euros for a breakfast consisting of a cafe con leche and 2 piece of toast) dominate, and three tour busses with guides speaking English arrived when I was having a beer. It is a lovely village with my favorite church on the Camino. Sadly, it cannot be reserved just for peregrinos.
The weather remains warm to outright hot as it is this afternoon. The Camino remains crowded with albergues full or nearly so. There seems always to be a peregrino or two in sight ahead, and a turn shows one just behind. The mixture of people walking is fascinatibg. Geographically the Spanish, French, and others from the Continent are most numerous, and half the population of Ireland seem to be walking, but the relative absence of those from the US is puzzling.
Canadians are numerous, I have met a dozen or more from BC and even a half dozen from New Brunswick. Many French-Canadians are also on the route. In contrast I have met fewer than a dozen from the US since leaving Pamplona. A great thesis topic would be the mix of nationalities on the Camino.
It was distressing to se what a tourist trap O Cebreiro has become. Trinket sellers and overpriced food places (4 Euros for a breakfast consisting of a cafe con leche and 2 piece of toast) dominate, and three tour busses with guides speaking English arrived when I was having a beer. It is a lovely village with my favorite church on the Camino. Sadly, it cannot be reserved just for peregrinos.
The weather remains warm to outright hot as it is this afternoon. The Camino remains crowded with albergues full or nearly so. There seems always to be a peregrino or two in sight ahead, and a turn shows one just behind. The mixture of people walking is fascinatibg. Geographically the Spanish, French, and others from the Continent are most numerous, and half the population of Ireland seem to be walking, but the relative absence of those from the US is puzzling.
Canadians are numerous, I have met a dozen or more from BC and even a half dozen from New Brunswick. Many French-Canadians are also on the route. In contrast I have met fewer than a dozen from the US since leaving Pamplona. A great thesis topic would be the mix of nationalities on the Camino.
25 September, 2011
Leon
Frog, mule and now lion, a veritable zoo. Of course the origins of the names may have little or nothing to do with their current links to familiar animals. While the lion is a symbol of modern Leon (sorry for the absence of accents; have not figured out how to do them on the iPhone), and lions in one form or another are almost ubiquitous in the art works representing the city, the origin of the name is from the Roman term for legion and not linked to large cats.
With glorious weather, a relaxed Sunday afternoon has been spent seeing a few of the highlights of Leon. Great luck allowed a visit to the cathedral without the expected Sunday crowd. Even greater luck brought me ino the Museo de Leon's annex at San Marcos, the church next to the Parador. Its three rooms, the sanctuary, the coro, and the chapter room, are awe inspiring examples of the gothic. Leon is a treasure house for fans of romanesque and gothic architecture, and San Marcos is one of its greatest jewels. I am only sorry that i did not discover it on earlier visits to the city.
Tomorrow back to serious walking and on toward Hospital de Orbigo.
With glorious weather, a relaxed Sunday afternoon has been spent seeing a few of the highlights of Leon. Great luck allowed a visit to the cathedral without the expected Sunday crowd. Even greater luck brought me ino the Museo de Leon's annex at San Marcos, the church next to the Parador. Its three rooms, the sanctuary, the coro, and the chapter room, are awe inspiring examples of the gothic. Leon is a treasure house for fans of romanesque and gothic architecture, and San Marcos is one of its greatest jewels. I am only sorry that i did not discover it on earlier visits to the city.
Tomorrow back to serious walking and on toward Hospital de Orbigo.
24 September, 2011
Mansilla de las Mulas
Frogs followed by mules, the great fun of toponomy!
A badly needed light walking day, actually the second in a row. The trek into Leon tomorrow is not a distance challenge either, though it is a challenge to deal with urban places after a week of hamlets, villages and small towns. I almost wish there were a way to avoid cities on the Camino, but each one of the big cities does have charm and importance to the route.
Great steps toward increasing the safety of peregrinos have certainly been made since 2001. While too many crossings of busy roads remain, the walker rarely has to contend with more than a few meters of roadside walking. On todays walk, an overpass brings the peregrino into Mansilla across the busy highway, and a it earlier in the day's walk it was no longer necessary to cross the busy RENFE line at grade. The danger to the pedestrian peregrino is now more from speed crazed bicyclists intent on reaching Santiago day after tomorrow but insisting on riding on the senda rather than the parallell road.
A badly needed light walking day, actually the second in a row. The trek into Leon tomorrow is not a distance challenge either, though it is a challenge to deal with urban places after a week of hamlets, villages and small towns. I almost wish there were a way to avoid cities on the Camino, but each one of the big cities does have charm and importance to the route.
Great steps toward increasing the safety of peregrinos have certainly been made since 2001. While too many crossings of busy roads remain, the walker rarely has to contend with more than a few meters of roadside walking. On todays walk, an overpass brings the peregrino into Mansilla across the busy highway, and a it earlier in the day's walk it was no longer necessary to cross the busy RENFE line at grade. The danger to the pedestrian peregrino is now more from speed crazed bicyclists intent on reaching Santiago day after tomorrow but insisting on riding on the senda rather than the parallell road.
23 September, 2011
El Burgo Ranero
I have long wanted to use that name in a posting, and this is a chance!
Almost to the end of the meseta, tomorrow it ends at Mansilla de las
Mulas. The crowding has abated a little. Not at all sure where the crowd coming out of Carrion de los Condes has disappeared to.
At a lovely small albergue in El Burgo Ranero, the first not full, I enjoyed the afternoon sunshine, wrote and read a little, and chatted with pilgrims from at least 5 countries, not including the US. In fact, aside from a woman from Miami and her American mother who lives in Brasil, I have encountered almost no Americans. Lots of Irish and Canadians along with a few Australians comprise the English speaking brigade in the great fog of languages on the Camino at this season, a subject to be addressed when not writing on an iPhone.
Almost to the end of the meseta, tomorrow it ends at Mansilla de las
Mulas. The crowding has abated a little. Not at all sure where the crowd coming out of Carrion de los Condes has disappeared to.
At a lovely small albergue in El Burgo Ranero, the first not full, I enjoyed the afternoon sunshine, wrote and read a little, and chatted with pilgrims from at least 5 countries, not including the US. In fact, aside from a woman from Miami and her American mother who lives in Brasil, I have encountered almost no Americans. Lots of Irish and Canadians along with a few Australians comprise the English speaking brigade in the great fog of languages on the Camino at this season, a subject to be addressed when not writing on an iPhone.
21 September, 2011
Calzadilla de. la Cueza
Almost half the way and not a single posting! Blame excessively hot weather the first week, my age and the strain of walking, an iphone as a computer terminal, and lots of people.
The number walking is truly phenomenal. In 1998 and again in 2001 I was accustomed to walking for hours and seeing one or two other peregrinos. This morning, while it was still dark, the parade of peregrinos out of Carrion de los Condes reminded me of the rush to METRO stations a little later in the morning in the DC suburbs. Doing the Camino this time is proving to be a vastly different experience in many ways from past walks. Solitude is not available on the Camino Frances this autumn! When I return,I shall comment at length on the changes. For the moment,composing on an iphone is taking all of the fun out of blogging!
The number walking is truly phenomenal. In 1998 and again in 2001 I was accustomed to walking for hours and seeing one or two other peregrinos. This morning, while it was still dark, the parade of peregrinos out of Carrion de los Condes reminded me of the rush to METRO stations a little later in the morning in the DC suburbs. Doing the Camino this time is proving to be a vastly different experience in many ways from past walks. Solitude is not available on the Camino Frances this autumn! When I return,I shall comment at length on the changes. For the moment,composing on an iphone is taking all of the fun out of blogging!
08 September, 2011
Pamplona
Tomorrow I start walking, today is a rest day to cure jet lag. In the decade since I was last here, Pamplona has become much more prosperous, and it appears as if the Camino has become much more popular. Before the heat of the day, I walked down to the bridge across the Arga and then up the ramparts to take some photos, and the number of pilgrims entering the city in the morning, on foot and on bicycles, was quite amazing, this nearly a month for walkers and at least 2 weeks for bicyclists, prior to Santiago. Of course European summer holidays are still on, and I talked with several only doing a couple of weeks, perhaps going as far as Burgos, before quitting for the year. Hope so, as I do not relish the prospects of a crowded Camino. Walking a decade ago was luxurious, I guess.
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