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Pilgrim Topics Related to all Routes
⚠️ Safety & Security on the Camino
Solo (female) walker alert
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[QUOTE="t2andreo, post: 174873, member: 25553"] This entire dialog just makes me sad...very sad. While I believe every experience recounted by the various women pilgrims, I find myself shaking my head in disbelief that men would behave this way towards ANY woman, but especially towards a pilgrim, any pilgrim. But, I suppose that not everyone had the same upbringing or was taught the same respect for women as I and many of my Camino colleagues, writing above, have recounted We pilgrims are what is keeping that stretch of northern Spain relevant and functioning. Many of you noticed as I did, that too many smaller towns and villages continue to exist only because they are on the Camino. All of the remaining businesses and services are oriented towards the care and feeding of pilgrims. Many of these towns have a total population in the double digits (less than 100). Without us and our patronage, they would be ghost towns. There are no other local industries or employment sources. Most of the vegetable farming I saw was subsistence farming - intended to grow food to eat, not sell. The large commercial farms all appeared to be growing either animal feed or canola for oil processing. That said, all of the comments written by others above have offered constructive ideas for self-defense and admonitions for keeping one's guard up at all times. THAT is the bit that has me depressed. One would think that, on the Camino at least you could truly relax and simply BE. The suggestions that I might offer are based on discussions I had with older (> 70) female pilgrims who were experienced distance hikers. Their ideas are simple, and make sense on a number of levels. Some ideas I brought to my Camino. However they were all mentioned by others I met along The Way. Here they are: 1. Always try to walk so, even if you are walking alone, you can see at least one pilgrim in front of you and one pilgrim following you at all times - or "just around the bend." They do not have to be within speaking distance, just sighted. This serves two purposes. If you take a wrong turn, then this means that there are at least two and possibly three of you all walking the wrong way;) The second reason is that if you need to call for help, they are most likely to hear you and respond. 2. Carry a whistle, a police whistle or a flat, plastic safety whistle. They are very inexpensive and sold in all outdoor stores. Wear it around your neck on a lanyard that will snap apart if pulled. or attached to the upper shoulder strap of your rucksack where it can be immediately used. If you followed suggestion one, the nearby pilgrims should come running. The whistle can also be used if you should somehow get really lost in the woods or caught in very bad weather that reduces visibility. In a panic situation, you would blow your whistle long and hard enough to get someone's attention or to scare the bad person away...while you are putting distance between you and the bad person. Having been trained in Close Quarters Combat (CQB) I can tell you that, unless you are specifically trained in martial arts or know how to fend someone off using a hiking staff, walking poles, or other suitable defensive weapon, and if you allow anyone hostile within about a meter, the party is over... :( Also, remember the international code for help is S-O-S for rescue situations - like being lost or an immobilizing injury. On a rescue whistle that is three long tweets, three short tweets, two long tweets and repeat after a pause. Expressed another way, that is tweets of "one second, one second, one second (pause) beep, beep, beep, (pause) one second, one second, one second (pause and repeat." See here: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOS[/url] 3. For heaven's sake, do not wear ear buds or headphones while walking! This goes for men and women. In any town or city with roads and cars, it can be suicidal. On the Camino, not only do you deprive your senses of the full Camino experience, but you tell others around you - like a bad person - that you are not paying full attention to your surroundings. This makes you a potential victim. If you must carry ear buds or earphones, please save them for riding on a bus or plane, or trying to sleep in an albuergue - but not turned up to maximum please - as the sound DOES leak out. 4. Finally, to the extent that it suits your personal and Camino "style" do make as many Camino friends as you can early on in your walk. These people become your "Camino Family." They WILL look after you and protect you. Likewise, if you want some "alone time" just tell them. They will slow down or speed up to give you the space you desire. However, if you need friends in a hurry, these are your first responders. I am a 60 year old male from the U.S. who traveled alone. I carried a whistle for emergency purposes and had learned in advance to follow rules #3 and #4 above. I leaned rule #2 the second day out from St. Jean. But others kept telling me variations of the four rules above. The fifth rule has already been mentioned, but I will repeat it so you have all five Camino safety rules together: 5. Carry a mobile / cell phone that works in Spain / France / Portugal. Get a local SIM card if necessary. In ALL of western Europe, the single number to dial for a police or medical emergency is 1-1-2. Personally, although I knew this from having lived in Europe, I kept my phone turned off until I reached my lodgings for the evening. However, I would recommend that any person choosing to walk totally alone, or a woman with concerns over personal safety walk with the phone turned on and the ringer turned off. This way you can call out fast, but you will not be disturbed by the outside world. I consider the Camino to be among the safest places in the world to walk, or for a woman to walk, even alone. However, following at least some of the safety rules here will improve the confidence level and experience of all pilgrims. Oh, almost forgot. I have my personal anti-panhandler, scam defensive measure that never fails. When in Europe, especially in a (edit) prone city, I wear a Turkish "Evil Eye" disk on a string around my neck or attached to my shoulder strap. On the Camino, I took it out once I left la Rioja and until Santiago. To me it is just an interesting, bright and pretty round piece of blue white and black glass. However, and for some reason, when I was walking on the Camino, the "deaf mute" pan handlers with clipboards and various other folks or similar ilk along the way just turned and quickly walked away as I approached. Who knows...? I was told it was superstition, but, who am I to judge. I am all about avoiding confrontation. If that helped, so be it. ;) I hope this helps someone... [/QUOTE]
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