Great Trip with only ONE STRANGE EXPERIANCE

[Danceshoe]

Hello,
I am Sabine from Berlin, did the Camino portuguess from Porto to Santiago some weeks ago ( 12.-24.3.2014) by myself. All the nearly 250 km have been such a pleasure- just nature, silence, great wetaher, amazing trails, only a few ( nice)poeple crossing my way - i felt so well ( beside the moments the toe or the hip or the foot hurted for a while).
And i felt also so well because i wasnt sure how i would feel walking alone all the ways - would this scary me , is it safe? it was - 240 km and at the 9,5 km till Santiago this discussting Situation happend, that i want to bring here, so others might be warned ( without beeing stressed)

At km 9,5 ( till santiago - maybe 20 -30 minutes after Teo a little way up into a smaller forrest and i still could see some houses far away.)
Somehow - i had no idea how - an older man appeared. He had dark black hair, jeans, jacket on and seemd to be a local person by maybe 55 -63 Years. He talked to me a little while ( oh you speak spanish so well, yes the next village comes in 2,5km) but he stood all the time 1,00 m behind me and walked as fast as i did.
immidiatly my intuition told me: something feels strange!!! and when i next turned me arround to check what he is doing behind me, i saw, he had his trousers open and his "Dick" out. Immidiatly i turned arround an walked back quickly to the more busy area with houses.
Then i told 3 man in a garage that somebody had disturbed me in the forrest, but they didnt take any care, not so an older lady, when i told her my situation when she wanted me to go back to the historical way.
That felt strange too - did they maybe know about him ??....

So finally i decided to go up to the national road and walk there for 2 km till i cross back to the original way. But the last km till Santiago i couldnd enjoy all the flowers and nature, because i was afraid he could still be somewhere. This somehow took away a bit of my excitment to reach in Santiago... but i guess i did the best out of this situation.
Take Care and Enjoy the Camino!!!!
Sabine

 

[Al the optimist]

Terrible experience, but glad you are Ok. I hope this memory will fade a little in time and not spoil all the other pleasant experiences.

 

[Danceshoe]

Terrible experience, but glad you are Ok. I hope this memory will fade a little in time and not spoil all the other pleasant experiences.

Thx Allan, yes i am okay now, just angry those things happens sometimes. They pilgrim in general was just amazing and i liked it so much to be on my own - completaly - most of the time. I enjoeyd the sound of nature ( that i cant hear so clear in my hometown Berlin)
Will do the camino again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AshaDasi]

Hello,
I am Sabine from Berlin, did the Camino portuguess from Porto to Santiago some weeks ago ( 12.-24.3.2014) by myself. All the nearly 250 km have been such a pleasure- just nature, silence, great wetaher, amazing trails, only a few ( nice)poeple crossing my way - i felt so well ( beside the moments the toe or the hip or the foot hurted for a while).
And i felt also so well because i wasnt sure how i would feel walking alone all the ways - would this scary me , is it safe? it was - 240 km and at the 9,5 km till Santiago this discussting Situation happend, that i want to bring here, so others might be warned ( without beeing stressed)

At km 9,5 ( till santiago - maybe 20 -30 minutes after Teo a little way up into a smaller forrest and i still could see some houses far away.)
Somehow - i had no idea how - an older man appeared. He had dark black hair, jeans, jacket on and seemd to be a local person by maybe 55 -63 Years. He talked to me a little while ( oh you speak spanish so well, yes the next village comes in 2,5km) but he stood all the time 1,00 m behind me and walked as fast as i did.
immidiatly my intuition told me: something feels strange!!! and when i next turned me arround to check what he is doing behind me, i saw, he had his trousers open and his "Dick" out. Immidiatly i turned arround an walked back quickly to the more busy area with houses.
Then i told 3 man in a garage that somebody had disturbed me in the forrest, but they didnt take any care, not so an older lady, when i told her my situation when she wanted me to go back to the historical way.
That felt strange too - did they maybe know about him ??....

So finally i decided to go up to the national road and walk there for 2 km till i cross back to the original way. But the last km till Santiago i couldnd enjoy all the flowers and nature, because i was afraid he could still be somewhere. This somehow took away a bit of my excitment to reach in Santiago... but i guess i did the best out of this situation.
Take Care and Enjoy the Camino!!!!
Sabine

I'm sorry about your experience, Sabine. The camino really does throw a lot of things into our experience, but this one is a tough one. I'm glad the rest of the journey went well.

 

[Jabaldo]

Sabine-I too am sorry for what you endured. You must have been scared by the man as discussing as he was. I guess the good news here is that you are ok and the pervert did not harm you in any way. Also the towns people should be ashamed for not taking you more seriously. Thank God for the old woman.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Sabine, I'm sorry this happened to you.
Fortunately, men who do this are generally otherwise harmless.
But this type of thing can be scary.

I once was riding my bicycle across a bridge here in Portland Oregon at rush hour,
and a guy was vigorously masturbating at the traffic (and me) at the top of the bridge.
I almost crashed.
I didn't know whether to laugh or scream.

Then, I remembered something one of my girlfriends had once told an exibitionist who pulled up to her in a grocery store lot when she was with her 5 year old daughter.

She pointed, laughed , and said, "Oh LOOK Megan! Like a penis, only SMALLER!"

The guy promptly drove away.

Now I just need to memorize that in Spanish.

 

[Jenniandjoe]

That would be very scary. Glad you are ok.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hi Sabine!
Thanks for telling us about this.
It's not the first time I've heard about it: when I did the same camino in 2011, several girls on the camino experienced something very similar.
What can I say? Some men only get their pleasure in this way, I guess. It is sad for them.
What is important is that you continued your camino, and enjoyed it very much.
I am very pleased to hear that.
Please - please don't let it put you off walking more caminos ..... you were in God's hands, and He made sure you were safe.
Well done on completing that beautiful camino. I hope you enjoy many more

 

[Pruden]

So sorry this episode made your last Camino journey so unpleasant!
Hoping is never going to happen to you again, i recommend to tell people or even you to call the police or Guardia Civil.
If this man is wondering around authorities should now about and take care.

Buen Camino and keep the good part of your experience.

 

[Olivares]

I would be terrified if ever in such situation. I am glad to learned you kept your wits and left the scene. Anniesantiago is right in that, tpically, people who show such (sick!) exhibitionist behavior are mostly seeking the thrill of your shocked reaction. Anything else just ruins it. So, to get yourself out of there was the right way to approach it. Some people get confrontational which just plays into the reaction they are seeking from you. The people in town may had know this guy would not "harm" you and chose to ignore. Shameful. You are still on time to write a report/email to local authorities, even to the organization Amigos del Camino de Santiago. I bet you they will take it more seriously and possibly help prevent such unpleasant experience for another pilgrim in the future.

Could you please offer more specific details on the location this happened?

 

[peregrina2000]

Yes, I want to chime in with Olivares´ suggestion that if this ever happens to anyone who reads this, you really should report it to the police. They will take it seriously and will follow up. I´ve had this experience 4 times, always on the Camino Francés. The first time was near the Alto del Perdón and we just ran down the hill as fast as we could and never did anything other than tell other pilgrims. All of the other times I have reported it and the authorities have always been very concerned. I know that the problem frequently is that the times are not good for going to the police station, but you can always find someone to tell. Once when I was leaving Los Arcos, having been flashed the day before a few kms outside of town, I realized that the police station was not open. So I saw a street worker and told him what had happened and the information I had (number of men, type and color of car, etc). A day or so later as I was discussing the incident with a few people in an albergue a pilgrim told me that the police had stopped them on the Camino and asked if they had seen any guys in a red car driving near the Camino who looked suspicious. That had to have been my report, and though I don´t know if they ever found the guy, I do think filing a report is likely to produce a pretty concerned and serious response because the Camino is a gold mine to many small towns along it and they don´t want to jeopardize it.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Phillypilgrim]

I am sorry to say that this also happened to me on the CF October 4th 2013, close to La Portela de Valcarce. I was alone and it is scary as we are so far from home and feel vulnerable (and it is not the same as happening in my home city). At least on the CF you can mostly count on other Pilgrims arriving quickly. I am walking the CdM in the fall, alone, and hate to admit I am a little concerned with this type of thing occurring again, of course chances are it won't.
danceshoe, I know how you felt, it sucks.

 

[Mark Lee]

Sorry to hear you experienced that.
Unfortunately there are weirdos and perverts everywhere, even on the Camino.

 

[peregrina2000]

I am sorry to say that this also happened to me on the CF October 4th 2013, close to La Portela de Valcarce. I was alone and it is scary as we are so far from home and feel vulnerable (and it is not the same as happening in my home city). At least on the CF you can mostly count on other Pilgrims arriving quickly. I am walking the CdM in the fall, alone, and hate to admit I am a little concerned with this type of thing occurring again, of course chances are it won't.
danceshoe, I know how you felt, it sucks.

Hi, Phillypilgrim,
I know no one can give you a guarantee, but I have walked Caminos since 2000, and my four flashing experiences were all on the Camino Francés. I have walked a number of other caminos (some, like the Vadiniense-Lebañiego, the Invierno, the Madrid, completely alone and never meeting another pilgrim) and I´ve never had an incident and never felt threatened or nervous. I don´t mean to sound flip here, but I think your average flasher is unlikely to be interested in sitting by the side of the Camino and waiting all day to see one female he can flash.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Phillypilgrim]

Hi Laurie,
Yes I have thought that as well, what a long, long wait! I really appreciate your input. Thanks.

 

[SYates]

Hi Sabine,
You might also want to contact Glowi at the German pilgrim forum http://pilgerforum.de/forum/index.php He is a police officer in Berlin with good connections to Spain, in case you want to take this further, SY

 

[karenfromcali]

Hi Sabine.
I truly believe a situation like this should ALWAYS be reported. There is no such thing as a harmless situation where a man is sexually intimidating a woman. If it causes fear then it is wrong. There is often a response of 'just a flasher' but unfortunately this can cause women to feel the situation is not worthy of reporting. There may be no physical damage but psychologically this kind of situation can cause harm. I strongly encourage every female pilgrim to report these incidents to the police/civil guardia for your own piece of mind and that of pilgrims coming after you.
Blessing and encouragement.

 

[fraluchi]

Sorry to hear you experienced that.
Unfortunately there are weirdos and perverts everywhere, even on the Camino.

The problem is that one can't expect a policeman everywhere, and when one turns up the culprit has disappeared. However, one should always report such happening to the police (guardia civil or municipal), as soon as possible and possibly with the help of a local person (albergue hospitalero, taxi driver, shop keeper, etc.).

 

[Kanga]

So sorry this happened to you Sabine, but I agree - this must always be reported to the police. Always. I met a couple of young girls on the CF just after a man had exposed himself and we immediately stopped at the first house and got the inhabitant to ring the police. Fifteen minutes later the Guardian Civil arrived in a 4 wheel drive and drove along the track. The man wasn't found but the locals all saw the police and heard the story and if nothing else that would have made them aware and scared the pervert away for a while. Unless these things are reported the police can't act.

 

[gerda heyninck]

Hello,
I am Sabine from Berlin, did the Camino portuguess from Porto to Santiago some weeks ago ( 12.-24.3.2014) by myself. All the nearly 250 km have been such a pleasure- just nature, silence, great wetaher, amazing trails, only a few ( nice)poeple crossing my way - i felt so well ( beside the moments the toe or the hip or the foot hurted for a while).
And i felt also so well because i wasnt sure how i would feel walking alone all the ways - would this scary me , is it safe? it was - 240 km and at the 9,5 km till Santiago this discussting Situation happend, that i want to bring here, so others might be warned ( without beeing stressed)

At km 9,5 ( till santiago - maybe 20 -30 minutes after Teo a little way up into a smaller forrest and i still could see some houses far away.)
Somehow - i had no idea how - an older man appeared. He had dark black hair, jeans, jacket on and seemd to be a local person by maybe 55 -63 Years. He talked to me a little while ( oh you speak spanish so well, yes the next village comes in 2,5km) but he stood all the time 1,00 m behind me and walked as fast as i did.
immidiatly my intuition told me: something feels strange!!! and when i next turned me arround to check what he is doing behind me, i saw, he had his trousers open and his "Dick" out. Immidiatly i turned arround an walked back quickly to the more busy area with houses.
Then i told 3 man in a garage that somebody had disturbed me in the forrest, but they didnt take any care, not so an older lady, when i told her my situation when she wanted me to go back to the historical way.
That felt strange too - did they maybe know about him ??....

So finally i decided to go up to the national road and walk there for 2 km till i cross back to the original way. But the last km till Santiago i couldnd enjoy all the flowers and nature, because i was afraid he could still be somewhere. This somehow took away a bit of my excitment to reach in Santiago... but i guess i did the best out of this situation.
Take Care and Enjoy the Camino!!!!
Sabine

Thanks for the information Sabine. I will be walking the camino Portugues from Porto as from 18th April, also completely on my own and i am a little scared to (for loneliness, strange people, safety, etc). I walked to camino Frances in 2010 and it was very busy with a lot of people walking ( too much people in fact). That is why this time it will be the camino Portugues. Thanks very much for giving me a little security and taking away some of my doubts.
Have a nice day.

 

[David]

Horrid, quite horrid. Do report these to the police. Spanish police are usually rather brilliant and take these things really seriously - they have mothers, sisters ,wives, daughters - they do care.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Of course one problem reporting to the police, is the language problem.
I certainly wouldn't know the right words, and I don't think miming would go down very well.
It was bad enough when I had to mime "night cramp" in a chemist shop, much to the amusement of other shoppers .... but the staff understood

 

[lynnejohn]

Someone here recommended iTranslate. Although I have enough Spanish to get along OK, I downloaded it and I really like it. You just type in what you want to say, and it translates it, and it also speaks it. So you can engage the person with whom you're trying to communicate by showing them the screen. And they can type their response if they want. Handy when you just can't come up with the words for what you want to say.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I am sorry to say that this also happened to me on the CF October 4th 2013, close to La Portela de Valcarce. I was alone and it is scary as we are so far from home and feel vulnerable (and it is not the same as happening in my home city). At least on the CF you can mostly count on other Pilgrims arriving quickly. I am walking the CdM in the fall, alone, and hate to admit I am a little concerned with this type of thing occurring again, of course chances are it won't.
danceshoe, I know how you felt, it sucks.

I saw this character in action as well, in that same area. He´s been doing his thing for years now. So far I have not heard of any harm done... or official action taken.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Horrid, quite horrid. Do report these to the police. Spanish police are usually rather brilliant and take these things really seriously - they have mothers, sisters ,wives, daughters - they do care.

there are even Spanish police who are... women!

 

[David]

note to pilgrims: Spanish police, whether male or female tend to have mothers, sisters, daughters - also wives, depending on their gender and gender bias.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I wonder what would happen if someone just pulled out their phone and took a photo of the offender? Would it scare him or make him violent? I think I might start looking for some way to react. A squirt gun filled with red paint or a raw egg or ??? This just makes me angry. I had no idea it happened so much!?

 

[Diogo92]

I'm sorry that this happened to you.

To be very honest, it's not the first time that I hear something about this on the Portuguese Caminho, other cases occurred on the Portuguese side, one of them even involved a rape attempt, but the lady managed to hit the offender with her walking poles.

For those out there, the best to do is:

- Whistles serve not only for when you are lost in the wild. Buy a FOX 40 whistle, it's one of the best whistles in the world, and that's why it's sometimes called an "anti-rape" whistle. Whistle 3 times, it's the International Distress Signal for emergencies;
- If the stranger doesn’t seem dangerous, ignore him and pace on;
- If you still want to contact the authorities, consider that you can always call 112, the European International Emergency Number. For what I remember, the first answer it's always given by a police officer, and if he doesn’t speak English, he will pass to someone who does (at least in Portugal, it works like this);
- If you can, get out from the way, and go into more public areas.

Still, I'm glad that nothing happened.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Sabine, I'm sorry this happened to you.
Fortunately, men who do this are generally otherwise harmless.
But this type of thing can be scary.

I once was riding my bicycle across a bridge here in Portland Oregon at rush hour,
and a guy was vigorously masturbating at the traffic (and me) at the top of the bridge.
I almost crashed.
I didn't know whether to laugh or scream.

Then, I remembered something one of my girlfriends had once told an exibitionist who pulled up to her in a grocery store lot when she was with her 5 year old daughter.

She pointed, laughed , and said, "Oh LOOK Megan! Like a penis, only SMALLER!"

The guy promptly drove away.

Now I just need to memorize that in Spanish.

"Mire, un pene! Pero mas pequenito. Que triste!"...

 

[Rebekah Scott]

One good response is to make the sign of the cross at the perpetrator. Bless him. That ought to fix his little red wagon!
If you have your mobile phone handy, make like you are photographing him. If you are unlucky enough to actually get a shot of the guy, the police will likely take an interest!

 

[homa_bird]

I saw this character in action as well, in that same area. He´s been doing his thing for years now. So far I have not heard of any harm done... or official action taken.

Much harm has, in fact, been done. She was sexually harrassed, threatened and placed in fear. Because she is a woman on a walk.

Sabine: So sorry this happened to you. Blessings and healing I hope to come your way.

 

[DurhamParish]

Sabine, I am glad that you were not physically hurt. I am sad that you now have this weighing on your mind.

 

[Deleted member 12253]

Sorry for your experience Sabine, I am just back from walking Oporto to Santiago and it was the best camino I ever did, the local people were fantastic, I would recommend to solo females to take care on the wooded stretches, one way to do this, walk just behind a couple or group, don't let the incident ruin your experience .

 

[Finisterre]

what a tosser!



(tosser is an insult that also means a masturbator)
If you can laugh at them then you are winning.
I hope the police catch this man.

 

[Danceshoe]

to all the wonderful people here who gave me such hugh support with words and understanding - i want to thank you all for this, it helps a lot and YES i take from it that i need to report it to the police - AND To LET YOU ALL KNOW: i will do more caminos - as soon as its possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MichaelSG]

Thanks very much for the warning. I'll let my wife know as we sometimes are not right next to each other. With preparation, she'll know exactly what to do.