Impressions After I've Returned Home

[BenedettoCAN]

I just got back from doing the camino. I'm still experiencing after-effects. They are more profound than what you experience on the camino itself. Eventually on the camino, I had let go of any expectations and became uninhibited during the meseta. I just kept walking and wanted to get it over with at that point. It was more the process than the destination. I found Santiago beautiful but an anti-climax. It was not spiritual at all, for me. I realized that what made my camino were the people I met and the relationships I developed. I gave into that. My camino family became a constant on the camino even though I spent more of my time walking alone at my own pace. I would say, first, that the camino (for me) was physical, and then social. Spirituality or revelations didn't come until I got home. I didn't appreciate that for some churches you had to pay. I don't care if pilgrims get a discount. That's not spirituality, that's commercialism. Your experience may have been different than mine, of course. Each pilgrim walks his camino. All in all, my life HAS changed, for the better. I've become somewhat more impatient to live life. And, I see many rewards that I'm attributing to the camino. Maybe St. James is rewarding me for walking 800 klm in his name. If you just got back home what are your impressions?

[Covey]

I have noticed over the past five years walking the Camino that is becoming more commercial each year. The Camino seems to have turned into an industry in the main cities and especially Santiago. The first year I went to the Pilgrim Mass and was somewhat surprised to find that whilst my Catholic "Camino family" were praying and trying to follow the Mass they were somewhat distracted by the tour groups wandering around the Cathedral and walking up to the front by the altar to take photographs whilst other tour groups were climbing up to the statue of St James at the back of the altar to take photos as well.

Having attended the Pilgrim Mass you then took up your role as a tourist because you had completed your pilgrimage.

To me, the Camino is what you find outside the cities. Your Camino family lives, eats, sleeps and walks together and your bond with them is surprisingly strong. You meet strangers along the Way, and yet a few hours later, there is a bond, stronger often than the bonds with friends you have back home. There is a complete acceptance of people for who they are. There are no props, no fancy cars and designer clothes, just another human being pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone when they are really hurting, but not wanting to give up on their dream.

I no longer go in to churches because I don't see why I should have to pay to put the lights on. You used to be able to get in to the Cathedrals at Burgos and Leon by showing your Pilgrim Passport, but last summer they were refusing to allow pilgrims to enter Burgos Cathedral without paying. You know how far down the food chain a pilgrim is when you do the sprint across the dual carriageway on the way in to Burgos (or is it Leon?) and then walk down the drainage ditch to get to the pathway!

The Camino is part of the history of Northern Spain, and yet the cities really do not want the scruffy band of baggage mules any more. They want the high value tourists who arrive in their air conditioned coaches, stay in the nice hotels and eat expensive food in the restaurants. I have often thought that the 10pm lock up is more to do with clearing the streets of the "dirty ones" as we are sometimes referred to by the locals, before the nice folk go out for dinner.

What seems to have escaped a lot of the authorities is that an increasing percentage of the "dirty ones" are actually quite well off and quite happy to spend good money and have a decent meal and a bottle of decent wine.

Those who go on the Camino hoping to find the answers to their problems handed to them on tablets of stone by a hand appearing from the burning bush are likely to be disappointed. What the Camino does offer is the space and time to think, away from all the normal external influences of family, friends, convention, work etc, and the ability to talk about anything with people who will not judge you in any way.

Many I have walked with over the years say that when they went home, they felt very unsettled for quite some time. For a month or so the yellow arrows pointed the way each day, and now they were back having to plan their route through life again.

[Pavel]

As one of my fellow pilgrims said, real Camino starts with your way home. Camino gave me great gifts three times: when I walked and experienced a wonderful adventure, when I got home with almost endless batch of pilgrim stories to impress my friends, and now, since last Easter. The revelation I sought on the Camino came last Easter, I converted from passive anonymous Christianity to active Catholicism and found another perspective to see my experiences in.

[HuskyNerd]

To me, the Camino is what you find outside the cities. Your Camino family lives, eats, sleeps and walks together and your bond with them is surprisingly strong. You meet strangers along the Way, and yet a few hours later, there is a bond, stronger often than the bonds with friends you have back home. There is a complete acceptance of people for who they are. There are no props, no fancy cars and designer clothes, just another human being pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone when they are really hurting, but not wanting to give up on their dream.

Covey nicely captures the essence of the Camino in this paragraph. As a Methodist pastor I relearned on the Camino the simple message of Jesus that true Spirit is in friendship and love. Like Elijah, we look for the voice of God in the earthquake, the cyclone, the fire, but it comes in a still, small voice. The Camino is a place to hear this voice and it comes from surprising sources. It comes mostly from the new friends made, from self-reflection and meditation after many miles, from simple pleasures in bread and wine.

I, well, religiously enter all churches I pass on the Camino (if they're open). I joyfully give a Euro or five for admission to these ancient buildings out of a recognition that some of them are crumbling to the ground due to lack of funds for maintenance and restoration. Unlike in some other European countries, since Franco's death Spanish churches do not receive a government subsidy (Spain - Roman Catholic Church) for their maintenance. Especially in the Meseta it is mostly peregrinos/as who will see these amazing places, and the daily visits by pilgrims are now the primary foot traffic to the churches of these tiny villages.

Just imagine if you're the tiny congregation in the village of Villalcazar de Sirga (pop. 200) with a 800 year old church and its beautiful painted reredos to maintain. I don't begrudge the congregation for the 1 Euro coin slot that turns on the lights. I know that my Euro will help pay the priest, help the church's ministries to the poor (if it's lucky enough to have one), and remortar a stone or two that comes loose eight centuries after the church was built. Contrary to our sometimes-self-serving pilgrim mindset, Northern Spain does not exist purely for our enjoyment. An enormous infrastructure of hospitals and churches was built for pilgrims. The hospitals are long gone and the churches are the only remnant of the Camino's importance. Please don't begrudge the fact that modern pilgrims are also needed to help keep the doors open and the lights on.

Sorry for the lecture! I'm not sure about the grand cathedrals like Burgos, but please do help the poorer Camino churches by stopping in and sharing a tiny bit of kindness with these last vestiges of the amazing medieval Camino.

[HuskyNerd]

Oops, correction: ....if it's lucky enough to have a priest....

[BenedettoCAN]

I went to the mass at noon in Santiago the day after I arrived. It was horrible. I finally found a seat that I gave up to an elderly person and then found a place to sit on the steps at the back of the church and then gave that up to some poor old person who could hardly stand. I ended up sitting on the edge of a pillar that I gave up also. Then, I sat on the floor. There was a constant stream of people, tourists, school groups, passing in front of me. I couldn't see nor hear anything and just gave up and with the fellow pilgrim I was with left disappointed and upset and left empty by the experience. I tried again the next day and went very early and sat in a pew close up to the front. I lowered my head and tried to hide from any person who might expect me, being younger, to give up my seat. The mass started and I could see a constant stream of people behind the altar hugging the saint. It never stopped. I went up to communion reluctantly because I thought that I may lose my seat but I was determined to stand my ground. I found my way back and squeezed into a pew but the people next to me, tourists, just looked at me like I had butted in or done something bad. Excuse me, I had just walked 805 klm to be here. How far did you walk? I hated the feeling that I might have to defend myself to these people and that I deserved to be there. When the huge incense burner started swinging hordes of people pushed up to take pictures and jostled for position. I just stood there dumbfounded. What was going on? I have to say, I wasn't impressed. Very disappointing.

[HuskyNerd]

You are not alone, Benedetto, in being disappointed upon arrival at the cathedral in SDC. All the things you describe happen every day, I'm sure. They certainly happened during the 2 Pilgrim Masses I witnessed in 2008.

I wonder if it is fair to expect that one Mass could meet the needs of all pilgrims, residents, and tourists. I think thoughts like this each Sunday as I lead worship in my own church. I wonder just what kind of person it would take to truly appreciate the Pilgrim Mass, what inner spiritual calm it would take to find peace while the service is going nuts around you. I believe it's true that in Catholic theology the audience of the Mass is not us, but God. The focus is less on our experience than on the offering we are making in worship of God. Perhaps the Pilgrim Mass is intended for someone who shares this theology. I also know that a worship service depends both on the spirit of its leaders and the receptivity of its participants. Sometimes we're full of thoughts that make even the best worship service fall on deaf ears.

As a Protestant pastor I've many times found myself feeling excluded from the Catholic Mass. This exclusion, of course, is intentional for those like me who are not in the Catholic fold. Well in advance of the SDC Pilgrim Mass I'd assumed I'd feel like an outsider once inside the cathedral. So I was surprised when I found myself impressed by the diversity of people at the Mass and oddly thankful to be part of the crazy mix of Spandex-clad bikers, freshly washed pilgrims, luxury bus tourists, elderly locals and Spanish youths. The best part of the service was looking out over the sea of faces and seeing my close peregrino friends interspersed with the crowd. However, the truly spiritual moment was when I returned later in the day, sat in the cool quiet of the nave, prayed my own prayers of thanksgiving for a safe and joyful Camino, and quietly cried some tears of sadness that my pilgrimage was now behind me. This confirms in me that moments of spiritual depth are found primarily in personal prayer and only occasionally, even accidentally, in public worship.

Ever since my 2008 Camino those bittersweet feelings I experienced in the afternoon quiet of the SDC cathedral have stayed with me. Last year I paid for my 21-year-old son to walk the Camino so we could share the experience. it's nice to have a Camino veteran nearby with whom to share these feelings. This year I'm doing the last 2 weeks of the Via de la Plata as another, smaller taste of the pilgrimage. Next year I'll do the full Camino Frances together with my sister and son. We'll go to the Pilgrim Mass, of course, but I'll once again find a quiet, solitary moment away from the crowds and pray my prayers and shed my tears in sadness and joy.

[Covey]

I think the baggage mule pilgrims who have walked for weeks assume that the Pilgrim Mass is really for them, almost as closure for the weeks of pain and heartache, but those who arrive in the luxury coaches and buy a stick and a scallop shell think they are also pilgrims albeit having arrived in a somewhat less arduous manner!! It is a pity really that there is not a chapel in the Cathedral where the "true" pilgrims could say Mass along with their "family"

I often think that a more Spiritual experience is what you find outside the Cathedral in the square as a hundred or so newly arrived Pilgrims arrive and congregate, greet their friends, shed a lot of tears and then just sit quietly gazing up at the Cathedral which has been their goal for many weeks.

You forget the pain and the bad times when you wondered if you were going to be able to finish, and just sit quietly and feel pleased with yourself, happy that you have overcome everything placed in your way.

For me, the part I enjoy most is spending a couple of days in Santiago, and wandering down to the square in the morning around 10am and seeing which of the friends you met along the way have arrived. A hug and a word of congratulation from a friend often means more at that point in time, and in that place, than all the splendour inside the Cathedral.

And then it is off to Finesterre to sit on the headland by the lighthouse and have a picnic and a little wine, and then to the beach to watch the sunset, which tells me that the years adventure is finally over.

[Tanya Yaksich]

Hi,
Your posts are very interesting. However i would like some feedback on the accomodation and the number of Pilgrims on the Camino. I beleive 1821 pilgrims had their passports stamped yesterday, not including the "tourists". Does this mean on any given day 1000 plus Pilgrims will be "jostling" for a limited number of beds, be it in refugios, auberges or hotels??
News on the availability of accomadation, food,and weather conditions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks.
Cheers Tanya

[Covey]

When you say that "1821 had their passports stamped" does that refer to the number of Compostella issued by the Pilgrim Office in Santiago, or to the number of pilgrims sleeping along the way?

There will be more than 1800 pilgrims on the Camino Frances as a whole on any one day at the moment, but 1800 in one day seems very very high for Compostella in one day.

Last year some 120,000 Pilgrim Passports were issued for the Camino Frances, but not all finished of course. This year they estimated that number would double because of the Holy Year. Last year I finished in mid August and the Pilgrim Office stated that they had issued 550 the day before.

[BenedettoCAN]

Thanks HuskyNerd and Covey for your reflections. I grew up a very trained and devout catholic but at the point when I did the camino I had evolved into an atheist. I was looking at the camino when I did it from a point in my life where I had lost all faith in God. The camino did nothing to restore that faith I once had. It was just an adventure. If I found God or sensed my spirituality on the camino (I consider myself spiritual) it was in nature or in the connections I made with my fellow pilgrims. That faith was restored in me for sure. My faith in people and in the preservation of nature on this planet. I felt a real connection with those two things. We have to bring 'God' down to earth. He's found in the people and in our surroundings, and not in the church, albeit we encounter these same people there in a gathering of solidarity. We should let go of those conventional labels; I'm catholic, I'm protestant. We are all one sharing the same planet, or camino.

Tanya, being the holy year I expect that the number of pilgrims will increase as the year unfolds. I heard July and August are the worst, especially for touregrinos, or P100s. Those are the people who start in Sarria (I saw busloads of them getting off on the side of the road). After that there was only once that I feared not finding a bed but there was no problem. The hospisteleros were very helpful in helping pilgrims by setting up mattresses in a common room or some places had a reserve building with other beds. There are also private albergues as well as cheap hotels but that depends on how big the place is. The private albergues are a bit more expensive at about 9E and the hotels were about 35-45E. They are an option if you're stuck or choose to have your own room at any time during your camino. The number of pilgrims you said had their passports stamped is probably spread out across the whole camino from St J P de P to S de C. I often arrived early at the destination and had no problem with a bed but some of my pilgrim family took their time or were at a slower pace and after Sarria they had to move on to the next village (not much farther) because the albergue I was at was already full. But no one had any problem before Sarria. But, I think I would avoid July and August for sure. The fall I heard is a great time to walk it.

[BenedettoCAN]

Oh Covey, I loved Fisterra/Finisterre. It was a highlight of my camino. It was good to be by the sea and to have that time there. It was like Santiago as well, meeting people from the camino that you knew. Both places felt like home. I really recommend going there after reaching Santiago.

[BenedettoCAN]

Yes, Pavel, for me I noticed a lot after arriving home. My next project is to start a chapter of a humanitarian organization here at home and then go to Ethiopia in a couple years. The camino has really lifted me to another level of commitment to things I want to do.

[Covey]

You are right about going in the Fall. This year I am off again in September. There is much less "rush" then and a lot of the pilgrims are older, with more time to walk the Ways.

Once the universities and schools have gone back, then the "olds" can wander along the trail and relax. July and August seem to be "Teachers Time" with a very high percentage of teachers walking the Camino Frances in their summer holidays. I love the heat in July/August, but appreciate the quieter pace in Sept/Oct.

I like the term P100!! Have never heard it used before, but the Sarria to Santiago stage in July/August seems to resemble a conga dance because of the numbers walking. Leaving Santiago for Finesterre is back to the peace and quiet and to sit on the rocks at the lighthouse with a bottle of wine (or more!) with your "family" seems to bring one's Camino to a more natural conclusion than the tourist rat race at Santiago.

[HuskyNerd]

We should let go of those conventional labels; I'm catholic, I'm protestant. We are all one sharing the same planet, or camino. . . . I heard July and August are the worst, especially for touregrinos, or P100s. Those are the people who start in Sarria (I saw busloads of them getting off on the side of the road).

I agree, let's get rid of labels. It'll take some time to get rid of "Protestant" and "Catholic," so let's start with "P100" and "touregrino." reminds me of oremus Bible Browser : Matthew 20:1-16 . In reality, we peregrinos who've walked 800 kms have no idea about the motivation or need or personal issues of those who walked only 100 kms. This year I'm walking 150 kms (P150) on the Via de la Plata and will arrive on July 25 in Santiago (God willing). Will I fail to earn a place in the cathedral or a spot in the square because I only had the luxury of 2 weeks of vacation this year?

If I found God or sensed my spirituality on the camino (I consider myself spiritual) it was in nature or in the connections I made with my fellow pilgrims.

Let's face it, the reason we feel jealous about the shorter-walk pilgrims is because they generally already have a group of their own, they likely speak Spanish only, and they'll get the same Compostela as us. I wonder what it would take to make connections with these people so we wouldn't come off as so judgmental about them, and instead find the presence of God in them, too?

[Tanya Yaksich]

Hello Covey,
On the website of The Delegation of Peregrintation, info@peregrinossantiago.es they have a daily update of Pilgrims arriving. It has a lot of other useful information too.
Today's statement was : yesterday 1821 Pilgrims arrived in Santiago De compostela. Reading their information they state not all Pilgrims get stamped "passports" . For catholics it tells you how you can get a Jubilee Plenary amongst other info. Very interesting site. Thanks for all the infomation you post, very helpful and informative. I keep losing posts i'm reading, my computer must have a gremlin. I was going to comment on Mammarella's comment and can't find where i read your comments.( Maybe that's just as well).
Cheers Tanya

[Tanya Yaksich]

Thanks for your reply.
I am walking in july with my big Sister her daughter and Granddaughter. Due to work and school it has to be in july
Cheers Tanya. I am not overly religious but my Sister and family are deeply religious. I beleive their Parish Priest is joining us the last 10 days, should be interesting.

[HuskyNerd]

Hello Covey,
On the website of The Delegation of Peregrintation, info@peregrinossantiago.es they have a daily update of Pilgrims arriving. It has a lot of other useful information too.

Tanya, thanks for sharing this outstanding website. I hadn't seen this before and it's super-helpful.

[Tanya Yaksich]

Thankyou Husky Nerd, it's a pleasure to contribute something useful for a change.
I get jealous of people doing the full Camino, not a short one, Maybe next year i will become a "f100" i'm sure that will be managble, that's if i can talk my husband into coming and i can find a lightweight wheelchair that won't fall apart. Once again though i will be setback as ,one of my Daughters and 2 of my grandsons were going to do the whole Camino . C'est la vie!!
Cheers tanya

[HuskyNerd]

Wheelchair? Seriously? Tell us your story, Tanya. I'd love to hear more.

[Covey]

Interesting that they say 825 pilgrims for today. The site is not date stamped and as I write this the pilgrim office is still open so it is unlikely that "today" is actually Sunday. I suspect that the number is yesterdays which assumes that having totted up the Compostella for the day they will update the website (not necessarily logical but.......)

Correction.... I was wrong about the updating. By Sunday evening the number was 1,404

Anyway, they give the stats for May 2010.

Total pilgrims through the Pilgrim Office 28,787
Walkers 24,620
Cyclists 4,042

Total started at St Jean 2,588 9%
Roncesvalles 1,762 6%
Leon 1,474 5%
Ponferrada 1,347 5%
Cebreiro 2,362 8%
Tui 1,621 6%
Sarria 5,798 20%

By foot 24,620
By bike 4,042
By horse 120
By wheelchair 5

Men 57%
Women 43%

0 - 30 years old 14%
30 - 60 64%
60+ 22%

Spanish nationals 60%
Foreign nationals 40%

The stats are interesting. The majority are Spanish which reflects it being a Holy Year as in previous years I have walked, foreigners were in the majority. (Foreign nationals were 65% in May 2009)

[Covey]

Tanya.

Many thanks for the heads up on the Pilgrim Office site. It is a new one as previously the stats they gave out were only for the previous complete year.

[Tanya Yaksich]

Chuckle, the wheelchair would be for my husband. He had a stroke 3 years ago. I'm still annoyed with him about that. Just in our time of life we should be enjoying life, it becomes survival instead. He CAN walk short distances but tires easily. Poor man, i drag him everywhere. Well mostly. Last year he refused to cross the Gunbarrel Track from Laverton to Alice Springs so i had to find care for him. I had a great time! He wanted me to take him and leave him in a Hotel in Spain by himself this time, not likely. We still have a lot of laughs together.
Cheers tanya

[Covey]

You sound amused, but I suspect there is a awful lot of courage behind your smile!

[Tanya Yaksich]

Thanks for your kind words Covey, our vintage is tough. We must keep our humour and our dreams.

[Pavel]

One of my mother's friends is in similar situation as your husband, Tanya, and Camino is one of her (the friend's) biggest dreams. It's more a possibility than a plan, but we (my mother, her friend and me) might become a group of P100s next year.
Good luck to you and to your husband!

[Tanya Yaksich]

Thanks Pavel.
Maybe next year you'll see me pushing a wheelchair along the flats.

And thanks Covey for you information on wheelchairs. As you say the cost can be exhorbitant. But i've got it sussed. A lightweightt foldable chair, and luggage sent on ahead. As long as we take less than 4 months overseas it won't affect our pension. I'm starting to plan ahead, now i've finished packing for the last time.( i've said that 10 times) Cheers Tanya

[Covey]

A slightly quieter day in Santiago today (Monday) as 768 pilgrims collected their Compostella compared with 1821 on Saturday and 1404 on Sunday.

Those pilgrims arriving on Saturday must have spent a long time in the queue at the Pilgrim Office.

Maybe from now onwards until the end of August it would be a good idea to try and hit Santiago midweek, rather than the weekends.