• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Advanced search…

Search results for query: *

  1. Felipe

    Nicknaming the People You Walk With

    In the Piedmont way, I discovered I was "the Turtle", because I was always the last to arrive. It came after I quoted the fable ot the tortoise and the hare, to argue that in the long run, doggedness wins over speed. It was affectionate -actually I was the only one who walked alone in a quite...
  2. Felipe

    Tradition…. When to start wearing your scallop shell?

    Do as you want. Current pilgrimage has changed so much that it is difficult and discutible to talk about a "tradition" to follow. As for myself, I did not carry a shell in my first walk (the Frances), but I have used it in later pilgrimages, in less common paths (as in the Piedmont), where I...
  3. Felipe

    How to get a Compostela without the crazy 100 k

    I have done twice the last 100 km (Norte and Francés), both in late September. Yes, the commercialism you notice near Compostela is annoying, but I actually have felt the large number of excited and happy pilgrims quite fun. It is just a different kind of experience. As for the initial post of...
  4. Felipe

    Social distancing

    Yes, in Spain it is/was customary that men shake hands, and women give a cheek kiss between them or to a man (the latter, when they are family or friends). Hugging is more unusual, just for special occasions. Pandemics have discouraged personal contact, as you can imagine. Actually, we pilgrrims...
  5. Felipe

    For introvert crowd-averse pilgrims

    "Excuse me, but I always walk alone. I have many things to think about", or some phrase to that effect, after some moments of "social talk", when a fellow pilgrim seems disposed to walk with me. It is not so difficult, and people don't seem to take it wrong. I actually like very much meeting...
  6. Felipe

    Camping-- Concern

    Obviously, I am not an authority in the matter, but you can use my post at your discretion. I have been looking at the distribution of wild boars in France, and Gers and Hautes Pyrenees are particularly mentioned. For the Podensis, that means after Saint Antoine, as the landscape becomes...
  7. Felipe

    Camping-- Concern

    No experience with camping, but I can assure you that wild boars are very present in many regions of rural France. They roam along creeks and brooks, from one foraging area to another. They have become less shy and more used to humans; you can occasionally see them when you are going by car, in...
  8. Felipe

    What I Learned from Walking Alone

    I walked my first Camino with my son, and I enjoyed sharing the company of the younger pilgrims he very soon befriended, although I did not talk much. In my following Caminos I walked mostly alone; with the random company of another pilgrim(s), generally just for one or two days, or some...
  9. Felipe

    Best Chocolate?

    I tasted a chocolate cup in Astorga, and discovered the reason of the proverb "Me gustan las cuentas claras y el chocolate espeso" (literally translated: "I like accounts crystal clear and thick chocolate"). I fancy you can flip a cup, and your chocolate stay firmly in place... Btw, remember...
  10. Felipe

    What is the nicest thing that anyone has said to you on the camino?

    Same words. Said by an elder señor, very properly dressed, after walking with me (with some difficulty) a couple of minutes. Just after Irotz. Very touching.
  11. Felipe

    What to see and do, or eat, for a few hours in Madrid?

    After the hassle of airport, buses, planes, deplaning, safety checks, queues, I would like a quiet place to rest, in a place with trees and flowers, and do nothing. El Retiro park is close to Puerta de Alcalá, El Prado and a few steps from Atocha, the main station. It has a lake and some...
  12. Felipe

    Windows shut

    Air currents lazily flowing in the bedrooms are very noxious and could cause many nasty diseases...every granny in Mexico knows that. :) There are here many "folk diseases" related to "bad air", particularly (I don't know why) facial paralysis. During a short staying in Germany, I discovered...
  13. Felipe

    Opinion on Son walking the Camino

    The Camino is great, but not for everybody. As a friend told me "Why walk, when we have invented cars, buses and planes?" My son (then 20 years old) walked with me the Camino. To him, it was a great experience and remains a much cherished memory, but he has no intention to come back. He...
  14. Felipe

    What will the 'new normal' be like?

    I live in Mexico City. The pandemic stats climbed speedily last year, until around June there was a kind of plateau -not worse, not better. As almost in every country, the situation deteriorated in December and continues to be bad. News of people passing away went from vague notes in the...
  15. Felipe

    Storm Filomena: Spain sees 'exceptional' snowfall

    I can see a very unusual and long row of parked cars in O Cebreiro. And many children playing with sledges. :) I suppose it is not so funny in other places.
  16. Felipe

    Does anyone else dream about A Camino?

    Thanks, Terry. I was just sharing, as (I believe) Peregrino_tom proposed. I would like this thread being about dreams and feelings, and the way we live and think about the Camino.
  17. Felipe

    Does anyone else dream about A Camino?

    Yes, It happens to me sometimes. They have frequently (not always) an "argument". I am walking solo, not another pilgrim in sight. I feel good, in this stage of my Caminos when I just let things flow. I leave a wood, cross a rural paved road, and find two paths, but there are not signposts. The...
  18. Felipe

    Superstition in France?

    I would call that "a tradition" :) In rural Mexico, people put Easter palms on doors and windows, until they naturally decay. It is supposed to somewhat protect homes. Or, simply, it is because they look good.
  19. Felipe

    Post your favorite flower photo(s) taken on Camino(part 2)

    Near Schäftlarn, in the Munich jakobsweg; the Benedictin monastery (and a fellow pilgrim:) ) can be seen in the background. I don't know the name; it grows below trees, amongst fallen leaves. The photo was taken in March, when most of the soil was still almost frozen.
  20. Felipe

    Pilgrim "customs"?

    Attending Mass and the special pilgrim's blessing your first day of walk could be considered a custom. It is not a "rule", so I think it qualifies.

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Latest posts

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top