• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • 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)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Camino Phrases and Titles

He was just full of himself, which is sad for someone that walked so much
It was indeed sad: maybe a combination of stupidity (he didn't know any better) and insensitivity. But as a forum member I have occasionally been guilty of these two human failings, even in forum postings. It was unfortunate that the context made it unlikely he would be able to learn better and behave better, at least to you. If I stopped going on camino because I acted stupid and insensitive on occasion, I would miss out on opportunities to learn from others and to do better. I walk the caminos as my way of living a spiritual retreat, with the intention of growing as a Christian and as a human being. Maybe this young man will find his way to grow as a person.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I would miss out on opportunities to learn from others and to do better.

That is so true! People mentioned before that "the camino provides" phrase can be irritating when said for whatever reason, but I'm actually on the team that likes it. I think "camino" is kind of a metaphore for "life", and that we eventually learn things that we need, one way or another.

As for the original topic, I really can´t think of anything irritating in the Camino, except for discussions of what a "real camino/real pilgrim" is. Or walking stick noise, which is easily fixed with rubber tips - or walking at a quicker/slower pace than the person making the noise :)
 
With the greatest respect, Kathar1na, you're quibbling -- the important things are the realities, not the names we attach to them.

This is indeed a fundamental lesson of the Camino !!

Those early 18th Century printed certificates were Compostelas, as were the much earlier far more personalised documents provided to pilgrims upon completion of their journey. Not because that's necessarily what they called them ; but instead because of what we ourselves call them now.


Now you're quibbling ex-post facto, and that annoys me. Oops, I wasn't going to get annoyed at anything. Please accept my apology and excuse me while I refill my wine glass.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The Compostela has existed since the Middle Ages, and it was (and technically still is) a legal document stating that X has accomplished his Pilgrimage (and so been to Confession and prayed before the tomb of the Apostle) -- this served to show among other things that those required by a Church Court to undergo a penitential pilgrimage, or some criminals bound as punishment to accomplish one, etc had properly fulfilled their obligation, and so were no longer under that charge. But it could sometimes also serve to show that the conditions for the lifting of someone's excommunication had been fulfilled.

When the rules for excommunications started to be modernised and simplified from the 15th Century onwards though, the need for such sinners to obtain such a Compostela for a remission started to decline, so I'd guess that it started to become the more nostalgic and symbolic document that we have today from about after the Council of Trent onwards, as that was when the old penalty of "minor excommunication" was formally abolished (though it had already fallen into disuse from the 15th Century onwards, and all references to it were only removed from the Canon Law in the 19th Century).

Of course, it didn't take the form of a printed document until modern times.

But here for example is one from 1733 :

1.1+Compostelana+de+1733.jpg


As to the 100 kilometer rule, offhand I'm not sure when it started, but I do remember it as having been a quite recent change in 1993.

According to this, though : http://amawalker.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-manifesto-of-villafranca-de-bierzo.html

--- the Compostela as we know it today had its origins in the 14th Century ; the first Credenciales were printed in the 1954 Holy Year, but the model of the one that we use nowadays was created in 1963 ; and "The only reason that I have been able to find for the 100 km requirement, which was imposed by the church for the earning a Compostela (not by Galician tourism), was to ensure ".. effort and sacrifice in expiation of sins.." (El esfuerzo y sacrificio en expiación de los pecados...") ", and according to Rebekah Scott here https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-the-100-km-rule-to-300-km.39220/#post-391375 that 100 km requirement was indeed introduced in 1993.

A major reason why the Cathedral did that is because the number of pilgrims arriving in Holy Years was starting to be a burden on the Pilgrims Office, and so they put this 100K/200K condition in place, as well as issuing an "official" Credencial, to both limit the numbers (the rule) and help finance the work of the Pilgrims Office (the Credencial, and the contribution in Pesetas, later Euros, to obtain one).

This is really helpful!
Thanks for all this information.
 
I rarely get annoyed with anything. But last time I was in line in the Pilgrim's office, in 2017, the guy in front of me asked where I was coming from, I said from Porto. Then this lad in shining UnderArmour popped the question: "I started in St Jean. Do you plan to walk the real camino in the future?

I had the same experience after walking the Primitivo. A young man I met in Santiago who had just walked from SJPDP. I resisted the temptation to point out that I had walked "the real Camino" before the irritating PIA was even born and I also refrained from asking him to consider the meaning of "Primitivo" :(
 
It may be my age, it may be the damage that I have absorbed during my time on this earth, but I sometimes get annoyed! Some of the random titles applied and phrases used about the Camino really annoy me. I here include a few for your honest appraisal.

My Camino Family!!!!!!!
The Camino will provide!!!!!
Camino Angels!!!!!!

I will await with baited breath your honest and sincere reply
The Camino provides!!! Drives me crazy for some reason. I've always thought the Camino doesn't provide, God does...:)
 
Last edited:
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
The Camino provides!!! Drives me crazy for some reason. I've always thought the Camino doesn't provide, God does...:)

I always tend to think that many who love to say 'The Camino Provides' are really poor planners and expect some other poor sap to bail them out if they get into trouble......... Seen it a few times.........
 
The Camino provides!!! Drives me crazy for some reason. I've always thought the Camino doesn't provide, God does...:)
I think God has a tendency to work through others. When people say Grace and thank God for the food they are eating they aren't denying the role of the farmers, the people who bought the food, and the people who cooked the food. They know they are there. They are just acknowledging God behind it all.

I think "the Camino provides" is the same in reverse. Somewhere inside, people who say this think that God loves the Camino and pilgrims and works through the Camino to provide for pilgrims' needs (not necessarily wants). I think something similar is going on with the expression "Camino angel", recognizing that, like angels, these people are instruments of implementing God's will.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I always tend to think that many who love to say 'The Camino Provides' are really poor planners and expect some other poor sap to bail them out if they get into trouble......... Seen it a few times.........
@Robo
Some people walk in faith, who might not have been able to walk at all if they had not taken this step. I have met such people at donativos. I honour their faith on occasion by helping them out, usually persons who have planned at best they could then chose to go on when their plan didn't work out or the money ran out. I figure that I need their faith more than they need my money.
 
What really really annoys me is sitting at a café table with 8 others from my Camino Family and the waiter drops off 4 bottles of wine (The Waiter Provides!!!) and everyone wants some...now that's enough to pi$$ anybody off!;)
 
It reinforces the idea that there is, and always was, one narrowly defined way, the one marked by yellow arrows. I know how much many people love the yellow arrows but following them sometimes gave me the feeling as if walking in a hamster wheel ... but then for a huge first part of my walk to Santiago I did not follow any arrows or any "official" way or Way whatsoever.

I once tried to find out when it became common usage to call that long sequence of roads from SJPP - or from Puente la Reina - the Camino Frances, or its Latin equivalent, but failed. You know more, @DonnaS18? 🤓

Interesting Read...The Highways and Byways of Surrey. It discusses the validity, or not, of the concept of only 1 Pilgrimage Route in the first Chapter. I recognize that it is about the pilgrimage to Canterbury and Thomas ABecket but I think transferring the concepts discussed at least adds to the conversation...The book is available for free from the Gutenberg Project. I downloaded my copy from the UK site. Too much info to provide a quote but worth the time in mho.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Interesting Read...The Highways and Byways of Surrey. It discusses the validity, or not, of the concept of only 1 Pilgrimage Route in the first Chapter. [...]The book is available for free from the Gutenberg Project.
Great info! Thank you so much. I've downloaded a copy and had a quick look into Chapter I. Will read it now. And then I will explore my newest acquisition ... The Highways and Byways of Sussex. 🙂
 
I’ve lived with “ATM machine” for years (automatic teller machine machine), but my favorite really is “Why do we drive on the Parkway and park on the driveway?
 
"Buen Camino". Although well intentioned, I quickly grew fatigued with constantly hearing it. I guess it is because it is almost thrown out willy-nilly as if it is the required faddish kit of being on pilgrimage; sort of like the notion that one must have trekking poles -- regardless of knowing how they are used -- because THAT is what a REAL pilgrim has and says.

After the billionth time hearing it, I would smile pleasantly and wish the greeter a "good walk" or "good journey" or "Ultreya".
“¡Adelante!” works as well!
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
“¡Adelante!” works as well!
So does "Ultreia!" If you want to get fancy, and you hear someone say "Ultreia!", you can respond "e Suseia!".

Literally they mean "Onward!" and "and Upward!". Rumour has it that they were the pilgrims' greetings in the Middle Ages.
 
So does "Ultreia!" If you want to get fancy, and you hear someone say "Ultreia!", you can respond "e Suseia!".

Literally they mean "Onward!" and "and Upward!". Rumour has it that they were the pilgrims' greetings in the Middle Ages.

Alternatively, and more cynically -- "go away and be off with you" ; some far more rude "translations" do exist.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
@rector, Pilgrims who say the three things you have listed I believe are being sincere and not trite. What better place to express such phrases than while walking these amazing pilgrimages. They most likely have...
1. Had a "camino family" they walked with and gotten to know, thus enriching their personal experience
2. Had the "camino provide" for them in a small way, possibly as small as some chocolate given to them when they'd run out of food
3. Have had some person come to their aid in a helpful and sincere fashion, thus becoming a "camino angel" to them. (There is a "David" on this forum who is literally a walking first aid kit to anyone who needs assistance. I would call him a camino angel.)

My honest appraisal is that I personally am not annoyed by these phrases.
I’m with you, Chris.
 
Who says that we are focussing on it? And where does it appear that we don't have enough optimism and positivity in our lives? A long time ago, I came across a book entitled Smile or Die and while I remember little of what I read I'm really glad that it taught me that all this forced positive thinking and talking isn't as healthy as it is made out to be. 😎

You didn't read the thread! You missed the best parts.

Just my opinion of course. 😊
I do see plenty of optimism in this post by lots of pilgrims but not by the originator whom my reply was intended. And yes, I did see the other bated vs. baited and chuckled as well but after my reply. I didn't mean to upset anyone, just wanted to share some thoughts.
 
It may be my age, it may be the damage that I have absorbed during my time on this earth, but I sometimes get annoyed! Some of the random titles applied and phrases used about the Camino really annoy me. I here include a few for your honest appraisal.

My Camino Family!!!!!!!
The Camino will provide!!!!!
Camino Angels!!!!!!

I will await with baited breath your honest and sincere reply
Camino colloquial lingo I would say. It oozes romance of some kind.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
The internet gives everyone a microphone. Surely it could be better used than to broadcast your low level of annoyance.
If you were trolling you must have got your giggles by now.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Hi
3 months ago I walked the Camino kodo in Japan. There is no phrases and greeting or anything like in Spain. Although I also was annoyed with saying buen Camino a million times a day in Spain I was missing this greatly in japan. You would walk and just pass someone and sometimes you would give a nod. I felt these phrases acted as glue or as a common ground in Spain which connected all nationalities. I felt these were the baseline of the commeradery felt in Spain. This was missing in Japan and with it the commeradery and community. I started saying it after a while just because I tried to get that feeling of community again. I got a little bit back from the once who walked in Spain before!
So think again if you find these annoying. They are the baseline of this fantastic feeling of community. Yes they get annoying but I rather say buen Camino a million times to create this community feeling then just walk with a bunch of people in the same direction
Andrea
 
3 months ago I walked the Camino kodo in Japan. There is no phrases and greeting or anything like in Spain. Although I also was annoyed with saying buen Camino a million times a day in Spain I was missing this greatly in japan.

I walked for two months in Japan last year - both on Shikoku and on the Kumano Kodo. I found other walkers and local people very friendly and welcoming and I cannot recall any occasion when a polite greeting was not returned. There may not be a single universal equivalent of "Buen Camino" but simply using the ordinary Japanese greetings for the time of day like "ohayo gozaimasu" or "konnichiwa" or "konbanwa" with an appropriate bow made my encounters with other pilgrims very pleasant.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I rarely get annoyed with anything. But last time I was in line in the Pilgrim's office, in 2017, the guy in front of me asked where I was coming from, I said from Porto. Then this lad in shining UnderArmour popped the question: "I started in St Jean. Do you plan to walk the real camino in the future?"

I was so sad with the question that gave him the benefit of the doubt and googled if there was a "Camino Real" or something like that. No. He was just full of himself, which is sad for someone that walked so much :/

I fear that I have an evil sprite in me, as someone who takes really obscure Caminos, which takes delight in my saying "out of Montserrat," "Irun by the Vadiniense," "Mont Saint Michel," and "Lerida and Tarazona and up through Silos," to folk such as that.
 
Last edited:
I walked for two months in Japan last year - both on Shikoku and on the Kumano Kodo. I found other walkers and local people very friendly and welcoming and I cannot recall any occasion when a polite greeting was not returned. There may not be a single universal equivalent of "Buen Camino" but simply using the ordinary Japanese greetings for the time of day like "ohayo gozaimasu" or "konnichiwa" or "konbanwa" with an appropriate bow made my encounters with other pilgrims very pleasant.
I also walked the Way of 88 Temples on Shikoku, Japan in 2017 & can echo your thoughts on the kindness, friendliness & helpfulness of the local people.
There is a Japanese equivalent of 'Buen Camino' which I heard often (& said myself). It is used to greet or farewell henro (pilgrim). The word is 'Ganbatte' (also spelt Gambatte) which basically translates to 'keep going' or 'do your best'. Unless you're familiar with the word, it can be initially difficult for an English-speaking ear to pick up.
Incidentally, the Way of 88 Temples is my favourite of all the walks/pilgrimages I've done..I still miss it & Japan to this day.
👣 🌏
 
Hi
3 months ago I walked the Camino kodo in Japan. There is no phrases and greeting or anything like in Spain. Although I also was annoyed with saying buen Camino a million times a day in Spain I was missing this greatly in japan. You would walk and just pass someone and sometimes you would give a nod. I felt these phrases acted as glue or as a common ground in Spain which connected all nationalities. I felt these were the baseline of the commeradery felt in Spain. This was missing in Japan and with it the commeradery and community. I started saying it after a while just because I tried to get that feeling of community again. I got a little bit back from the once who walked in Spain before!
So think again if you find these annoying. They are the baseline of this fantastic feeling of community. Yes they get annoying but I rather say buen Camino a million times to create this community feeling then just walk with a bunch of people in the same direction
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Please see my response to Bradypus...there is a Japanese equivalent to 'Buen Camino'.
When walking in non-Western countries, we need to be aware of cultural differences. The Japanese are a reserved people & it is not in their nature to be as 'up front' as Westerners are. I also found the Japanese were very often surprised to see a foreigner on the trail & therefore quite taken aback. I confess I am responsible for a few locals taking a tumble such was their surprise!
There is a pilgrim/walking community feel on the Shikoku pilgrimage...& this is due to how revered the pilgrimage is & therefore the pilgrims (henro) are revered too. It does not have the party trail element which some paths now do. I'm saddened to think you weren't able to fully experience & appreciate the uniqueness of your Japanese pilgrimage by seeming to expect it to feel like trails in other parts of the world. 😔
Ganbatte 👣 🌏
 
Last edited:
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
There is a Japanese equivalent of 'Buen Camino' which I heard often (& said myself). It is used to greet or farewell henro (pilgrim). The word is 'Ganbatte' (also spelt Gambatte) which basically translates to 'keep going' or 'do your best'.

Yes - I had also heard and said "Ganbatte" while on Shikoku and the Kumano Kodo. Though I did not find it used as often and as automatically as "Buen Camino" is said on the Caminos. A bit more variety in Shikoku :)
 
Yes - I had also heard and said "Ganbatte" while on Shikoku and the Kumano Kodo. Though I did not find it used as often and as automatically as "Buen Camino" is said on the Caminos. A bit more variety in Shikoku :)
True...& that's the beauty of it; it manages to retain its meaning & the sentiment behind it without being an auto-response 😌 🎏♨️
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!

Most read last week in this forum

My name is Henrik and I will be coming down to SJPdP from Sweden on March 26 and start walking on March 27. I don't really have any experience and I'm not the best at planning and I'm a little...
When I hiked the Frances Route this happened. I was hiking in the afternoon just east of Arzua. I was reserved a bed at an albergue in Arzua, so I had already hiked all the way from San Xulien...
I'd like some recommendations about where to find the most current and up to date information about albergues that are actually open. I'm currently walking the camino Frances, and I can't even...
I am finalizing my packing list for Frances, and do not want to over pack. (I am 71) I will be starting at SJPdP on April 25th to Roncesvalles and forward. I was hoping on some advise as to...
Today is March 21, 1024 If you’re starting El Francés around this time, be warned that quite a few stretches between Rabanal del Camino and Molinaseca are in pretty bad shape. Lots of mud, and...
First marker starting from Albergue Monasterio de la Magdalena in Sarria (113.460 km) Start: 2023.9.29 07:22 Arrival: 2023.9.30 13:18 walking time : 26 hours 47 minutes rest time : 3 hours 8...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

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