La la la la la la...

[trecile]

That's me with my fingers in my ears ignoring the negative posts, i.e., "the Camino isn't the same as it used to be".
"Too many tourginos"
"The bed race"

You know what? You can never duplicate an experience. So what if it's different now? It's new to me.
It reminds me of something my son told me several years ago. He had just finished studying in Heidelberg for a year, and had made many good friends and had a wonderful experience. I asked him if he would go back. He said that the place that he had been didn't exist any more. Of course Heidelberg is still there, but many of the people that made his experience what it was wouldn't be there again. Does that mean that the students that studied there the next year had a less desirable experience? No! They had their own experience. So I have decided to ignore the negativity

 

[Mary_Atherton]

That's me with my fingers in my ears ignoring the negative posts, i.e., "the Camino isn't the same as it used to be".
"Too many tourginos"
"The bed race"

You know what? You can never duplicate an experience. So what if it's different now? It's new to me.
It reminds me of something my son told me several years ago. He had just finished studying in Heidelberg for a year, and had made many good friends and had a wonderful experience. I asked him if he would go back. He said that the place that he had been didn't exist any more. Of course Heidelberg is still there, but many of the people that made his experience what it was wouldn't be there again. Does that mean that the students that studied there the next year had a less desirable experience? No! They had their own experience. So I have decided to ignore the negativity

Well put. I've been reading the recent forum post and it has no bearing on my plans or limited plans. This will be my Camino at this time. It's gonna be good, whatever that is.
Buen Camino

 

[mralisn]

My worst day on the Camino is better than my best day at home.

Thankful for this.

 

[Albertagirl]

There have been people who, faced with difficulties in finding a bed, have changed their plans and booked ahead, when they would rather not have. I have not observed much negativity about the camino, in particular, the frances - just people trying to manage the challenges of their current lives, some of whom have looked to their friends on this forum for counsel. Those who prefer to walk with less of a crowd will find ways to do so, as I have, by going in a less busy season and walking, in part at least, a less busy route. If you really want to put your fingers in your ears, go ahead. But you will still have to make your own decisions to make your camino work for you.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Warning there is a flood ahead isn't negativity in my book. It means, 'Be prepared and be flexible. The bridge is out.' That's all.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

My worst day on the Camino is better than my best day at home.

Thankful for this.

Well said, wish you well,Peter.

 

[RobertS26]

So on my third Camino, I was a part of a five person Camino family. We were having the time of our lives. I don't think anybody laughed more than we did along the way.

Then disaster struck. I got a severe foot injury (one of the stamps in my credential is from the hospital in Carrion De Los Condes). After receiving medical attention and being told that I could not walk for at least another week without risking permanent injury, I had a tough decision. Hold up in Carrion De Los Condes and lose my Camino family or taxi ahead and heal for a week in a hotel while waiting for them to catch up?

Man, was I depressed. Neither option seemed remotely acceptable. Poor me. I sulked around for hours. You would have thought that my first two Caminos would have taught me to have a better attitude. But I was just not able to see the upside in being injured.

Ultimately I decided to taxi forward. But after just three days of sitting on my butt, I couldn't take it any longer (believe it or not, there are only so many Gin and tonics you can drink in a day). Something told me to hit the Camino again. So I decided to walk just 7 to 10 kilometers a day until my Camino family caught up with me.

On the second day I was limping along when this pretty woman from Germany struck up a conversation with me. We walked the rest of the day together. And the next. And the next. And by the time we got to Santiago we were in love. And now we are married.

What I initially perceived as a complete disaster turned out to be the best thing that could ever have happen to me. If I had never injured my foot, I never would have never met my wife.

Buen Camino.

 

[Waka]

@RobertS26 Wonderful story congratulations.

On the main note of the post, I'm not sure peoples concerns can be classed as negativity. If you're a first timer then people bound to bed worried about finding a bed. It never worried me, and I never went without a bed and I might add never had to trek further to find one.
You just need to go with the flow.

 

[William Garza]

That's me with my fingers in my ears ignoring the negative posts, i.e., "the Camino isn't the same as it used to be".
"Too many tourginos"
"The bed race"

You know what? You can never duplicate an experience. So what if it's different now? It's new to me.
It reminds me of something my son told me several years ago. He had just finished studying in Heidelberg for a year, and had made many good friends and had a wonderful experience. I asked him if he would go back. He said that the place that he had been didn't exist any more. Of course Heidelberg is still there, but many of the people that made his experience what it was wouldn't be there again. Does that mean that the students that studied there the next year had a less desirable experience? No! They had their own experience. So I have decided to ignore the negativity

Beautifully said and with Nostalgia..smiled with.
You, through and with him..have found one of the secrets of Life.
What makes it Special is its uniqueness in Time and Place.
Be Blesssed

 

[Rupe]

That's me with my fingers in my ears ignoring the negative posts, i.e., "the Camino isn't the same as it used to be".
"Too many tourginos"
"The bed race"

You know what? You can never duplicate an experience. So what if it's different now? It's new to me.
It reminds me of something my son told me several years ago. He had just finished studying in Heidelberg for a year, and had made many good friends and had a wonderful experience. I asked him if he would go back. He said that the place that he had been didn't exist any more. Of course Heidelberg is still there, but many of the people that made his experience what it was wouldn't be there again. Does that mean that the students that studied there the next year had a less desirable experience? No! They had their own experience. So I have decided to ignore the negativity

I look at it this way Trecile...If someone tells me a movie sucks and then when I see it for myself and discover that it was a great movie well... some info we take and other we take it as a grain of salt. I find once people put their fingers in their ears they tend to close their eyes next. Maybe we will meet on the Way.
FYI: I for one will not bed race

 

[Mark Lee]

So I have decided to ignore the negativity

Smart, and the best attitude to take.
The members of this forum comprise such a tiny percentage of the pilgrims on the Camino, past and present. I was not even aware this forum existed prior to my first Camino.
I think the forum is best utilized as a resource to assist other/future pilgrims in logistics, travel to and from, and equipment advice, etc. If one doesn't like doing that on here, they should probably stay mum.

 

[Castilian]

I thought this thread was about the winning song of the Eurovisión Song Contest of 1968 but I must admit what I found was way more interesting. Thank you!

 

[trecile]

Warning there is a flood ahead isn't negativity in my book. It means, 'Be prepared and be flexible. The bridge is out.' That's all.

I agree, and the "bed race" was probably not the best example of what I'm talking about.

 

[LesBrass]

On the second day I was limping along when this pretty woman from Germany struck up a conversation with me. We walked the rest of the day together. And the next. And the next. And by the time we got to Santiago we were in love. And now we are married..

Aaahh that's so cool... I love hearing about Camino love stories... Perhaps we should start a thread

 

[Miguel de Flandes]

What I initially perceived as a complete disaster turned out to be the best thing that could ever have happen to me. If I had never injured my foot, I never would have never met my wife.

Buen Camino.

Now I get what people mean by: the Camino provides

Buen camino
Miguel

 

[dougfitz]

I think the forum is best utilized as a resource to assist other/future pilgrims in logistics, travel to and from, and equipment advice, etc. If one doesn't like doing that on here, they should probably stay mum.

I agree that it changes the nature of the forum to have 'live from the Camino' commentary. Without deeper analysis, the issues that seem to be most contentious are ephemera - they will pass and we will be left wondering what the fuss was about.

The damage is, perhaps, that members treat the reporting of current conditions as an indication of the permanent state of the CF or any other route. That is far from clear. I think that much more needs to be done, and support those who are trying to make sense of the trends in a consistent and rigourous manner.

On the second matter, I think it will be difficult to wind back the clock on using the forum for immediate reporting of current conditions. Even if there are far better and more accurate sources for much of the information being sought and supplied, members still ask.

Perhaps there should be a way of 'aging' posts that are about specific current conditions so they are removed from circulation once their immediate usefulness has been achieved. That might be an easier thing to achieve than stopping people asking, for example, about the weather.

 

[Terri B]

I thought this thread was about the winning song of the Eurovisión Song Contest of 1968 but I must admit what I found was way more interesting. Thank you!

I was thinking the Kylie Minogue sing 'can't get you out of my'!!
From the comments above I'm thinking I just need to relax and be flexible and it should all turn out ok. Which is easier said than done when I'm still 3 months out from my dpfirst Camino.