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A to Z of the Camino Frances

Rinnes

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2016 and 2017
Hi Folks,
I am new to the forum but I thought I would throw this one out there. I am complying an A to Z list of advice etc about the Camino Frances for a project I am involved with and I have found it a fascinating exercise. However I am concerned that I might be letting my personal experiences skew the list. Hence the request for any suggestions, just the words or phrases. For example under P you might have Packing, Pamplona, Preparation, Puente La Reine,People, Pilgrimage, etc. My thought are that by throwing it open to a larger number of people, it will be more representative and in addition it will prevent me from missing the obvious. Thanking you in advance for any inspirational lists or even partial lists, even just grab a letter and own it! Sorry in advance if this causes any obsessive behaviour, I know I have been spending enjoyable days on it already. All the best.
Graeme
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
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Hi,
Just to clarify, I was asking for Alphabetic lists rather that just basic advice. I can put that down under P for Packing. Currently I am struggling with the letters D,K,Q,X and Y. No doubt some of you wordsmiths out there might have some ideas. cheers Graeme
 
Hi,
Just to clarify, I was asking for Alphabetic lists rather that just basic advice. I can put that down under P for Packing. Currently I am struggling with the letters D,K,Q,X and Y. No doubt some of you wordsmiths out there might have some ideas. cheers Graeme
Graeme, sounds good. I’ll put my thinking cap on. Cheers, Mike
 
D could be a list of do's and don't's.
K could be some general advice in point form starting with 'Know this...' or something similar.
X could be about Xuntas (the municipal albergues in Galicia) and things to know about them (e.g. that there are often kitchens but no kitchen facilities).
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
K & Q: Kings and Queens and Spanish history. Queueing up at albergues. Pocket Knives.

Z: Zebras. They look like horses but they are mean. There are some (very few) walkers who look like pilgrims but keep away.

D: Daily schedule.

X: I love Nick's suggestion of Xunta.

Y: Yes. What should you say Yes to. Also You and the Camino together.

Roland, Romans, Romanesque, Gothic, Geography.
 
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Hi,
Just to clarify, I was asking for Alphabetic lists rather that just basic advice. I can put that down under P for Packing. Currently I am struggling with the letters D,K,Q,X and Y. No doubt some of you wordsmiths out there might have some ideas. cheers Graeme
First few that comes to mind...

D:
- (albergue) donativo,
- donation,
- dirty (dirt paths etc.),
- download (GPS tracks or guides...),
- dolor (Spanish for suffer ie. "Hai no gracia sin dolor" = No pain no glory),
- poli-deportivo (sports center) & tienda de deportes (sports shop),
- dinero (money)

K:
- kilo-gram/meter etc. (it's metric system in Europe after all),
- kilt (yes, some Scots indeed walk Camino in a kilt :) )

Q:
- questions (a lot with first-timers),
- quilt (many use them instead of sleeping bags),
- queso (Spanish for cheese, we use this word a looot while on Camino)

X:
- xunta (albergues),
- X-mas (yes indeed, hahaha),
- Xan XY (Galician for San/to XY) - EDIT: NOT CORRECT!!! See @Pelegrin post below.

Y:
- young (pilgrims),
- youth hostel (Spanish - Albergue Juvenil),
- Youtube (heaps of videos and vlogs on Caminos).

Ultreia!
 
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First few that comes to mind...

D:
- (albergue) donativo,
- donation,
- dirty (dirt paths etc.),
- download (GPS tracks or guides...),
- dolor (Spanish for suffer ie. "Hai no gracia sin dolor" = No pain no glory),
- poli-deportivo (sports center) & tienda de deportes (sports shop),
- dinero (money)

K:
- kilo-gram/meter etc. (it's metric system in Europe after all),
- kilt (yes, some Scots indeed walk Camino in a kilt :) )

Q:
- questions (a lot with first-timers),
- quilt (many use them instead of sleeping bags),
- queso (Spanish for cheese, we use this word a looot while on Camino)

X:
- xunta (albergues),
- X-mas (yes indeed, hahaha),
- Xan XY (Galician for San/to XY)

Y:
- young (pilgrims),
- youth hostel (Spanish - Albergue Juvenil),
- Youtube (heaps of videos and vlogs on Caminos).

Ultreia!
- kilo-gram/meter etc. (it's metric system in Europe after all),
Then it would be metre - unless you're being poetic ;)
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
- kilo-gram/meter etc. (it's metric system in Europe after all),
Then it would be metre - unless you're being poetic ;)
I appologize, non-native speaker over here ;)
Both in English and Spanish...
 
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Hey, ladies, no problem here whatsoever, let's not digress. I actually like to be corrected in (for me) foreign languages. It's learning everyday, isn't it? I mean "meter" is so very much in my everyday usage and it's just a thing of not being careful enough when writing in English. Actually, let's say it was a typo, eh? :D :D :D

Thanks for the link @C clearly . In Slovenian "meter" is used both for the device and the unit so my mistake might originated there.


PS (I also believe @Jeff Crawley meant nothing bad or nasty. I can read emoticons also ;) And I used one in appology post also.)
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
@KinkyOne
To quote from your post:
“In Slovenian "meter" is used both for the device and the unit so my mistake might originated there.”

In which case it wasn’t a mistake 😉 You are using “the metric system in Europe” ... hence my comment ...
that, and the fact that we native speakers of English are very fortunate in being able to use our first language on this forum (based, founded, and concerning a pilgrimage ... all in Europe).

Hmmm. Let's dig a little deeper. Here is an interesting article on metre vs. meter. The strength of English lies in its flexibility, versatility and ability to change. Prescriptivists are doomed to frustration.

Interesting article ... thanks for posting the link 🙂

Worldwide, there are many more English language students who are learning English US/Microsoft (😉) than there are learning English (UK).

‘Everything Changes’ - nothing remains the same ...

Vive la différence 😉
 
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Thanks for all the helpful suggestions, please keep them going, for all the letters of the Alphabet.
cheers
Graeme
 
Hey, ladies, no problem here whatsoever, let's not digress. I actually like to be corrected in (for me) foreign languages. It's learning everyday, isn't it? I mean "meter" is so very much in my everyday usage and it's just a thing of not being careful enough when writing in English. Actually, let's say it was a typo, eh? :D :D :D

Thanks for the link @C clearly . In Slovenian "meter" is used both for the device and the unit so my mistake might originated there.


PS (I also believe @Jeff Crawley meant nothing bad or nasty. I can read emoticons also ;) And I used one in appology post also.)
Can I just say that I didn't mean to segue the OP's thread from A-Z to English vs International English.
If I were visiting the US I should be happy to use meter, color, neighbor and harbor and even aluminum (although that goes against American scientific practice) I just feel that if you're going to visit the area where the metric system was originated you should follow the local rules in the same way that US websites don't have to identify with .us whereas other nations do .es .fr .uk; British postal stamps don't include the name of the nation because they were the first to issue these and the French version of metre should be the preferred one because they set up the metric system.
My, dyslexic, younger daughter quite likes American/Webster spelling - she says it proves that dyslexia need not be a bar in linguistics. ;););)
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Hmmm. Let's dig a little deeper. Here is an interesting article on metre vs. meter. The strength of English lies in its flexibility, versatility and ability to change. Prescriptivists are doomed to frustration.
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
(That was written by a Canadian by the way!) ;)
 
First few that comes to mind…
X:
- xunta (albergues),
- X-mas (yes indeed, hahaha),
- Xan XY (Galician for San/to XY)
Ultreia!

Xunta (Galicia), that was the creator of the current Camino de Santiago and therefore decided the albergues had a very cheap cost for the pilgrims, provides more services apart from albergues: guides, Apps, preparation of Xacobeo 2021, gravel on paths, etc.

XanXY : Do you mean Xan Luis ?
No, no. in Galician is San Luis, like in Spanish.

Xan is John in Galician
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
...
XanXY : Do you mean Xan Luis ?
No, no. in Galician is San Luis, like in Spanish.

Xan is John in Galician
Ooops, how that happened?
I think I know how or why... I remember the section of CF after Triacastela and it's going through San Xil and I simply morphed San and Xil into Xan.

Sorry for that big mistake. Thank you @Pelegrin to correct me (as you have all of us on many occasions re Galicia)!
 
S for Spanish languages. Plural. The ones that you encounter anyway. I would even mention French. Try to use the word Castilian/castellano over Spanish/espanol. The other big two you will hear are Basque/euskadi and Galician/gallego. Possibly mention Leonese.

A number of times I found that greetings in Spanish to Basques would just get me glares. I didn't see this when greeting Galician s though.

I mentioned French because, not only is it used in SJPdP, but in Arneguy. We stopped for lunch there at a restaurant where nearly everything was in French except for required safety signs like fire extinguisher and exit labelling which were in Spanish.
 
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St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Q is for “quinina”! Quinine in your fantastic Spanish Gin Tonic!
 
X could be for the Galician pronunciation of the letter X which you see in lots of Galician words, especially place names. (E.g. "Muxia".) According to the following it's pronounced "sh" (or rarely "ks"):
https://www.trevorhuxham.com/2015/09/galician-101.html

In Extranxeiro (foreigner) we have both sounds for X: Ekstransheiro . But most people (including me) say Estransheiro (that is easier for us).
Same in other words with X (ks): éxito, exame, we say ésito, esame.
 
Molinaseca a must!
Dennis, my walking partner and I will be walking the same distance you walked in in 2018. Would appreciate any comments you have about that route and any highlights we should not miss. Best regards, Lynnette Pease
 
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A selection of Camino Jewellery
Dennis, my walking partner and I will be walking the same distance you walked in in 2018. Would appreciate any comments you have about that route and any highlights we should not miss. You can e-mail me off this thread if you like atBest regards, Lynnette Pease
@lynpeas, you should edit your post to remove your email address, unless you like spam! 😜
Members can contact you by private message. And if you spend a bit of time reading the forums here you will probably get most of your questions answered.
 
Hi Graeme,
Bit late picking up on this thread, however . . .

How about X for “extras” - those less than initially obvious items for inclusion in a
pilgrim’s pack?

For starters: extra pair of (boot) laces - for emergencies but to tie removed clothing items to pack; half dozen safety pins - as clothes pegs and attach drying clothing to pack; universal bath/basin plug - obvious reason, but basins often lack this (!); small plastic bottle - to top up with liquid soap as/when circumstances allow.

Additionally: suggest have access details to personal email account where are filed copies of key documents - e.g. passport, should it go missing; carry personal details and contact details- in case of emergency and not able to communicate.

I could go on here but am sure other pilgrims could add to these suggestions, some of which are obvious, I realise!

Paul
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
First few that comes to mind...

D:
- (albergue) donativo,
- donation,
- dirty (dirt paths etc.),
- download (GPS tracks or guides...),
- dolor (Spanish for suffer ie. "Hai no gracia sin dolor" = No pain no glory),
- poli-deportivo (sports center) & tienda de deportes (sports shop),
- dinero (money)

K:
- kilo-gram/meter etc. (it's metric system in Europe after all),
- kilt (yes, some Scots indeed walk Camino in a kilt :) )

Q:
- questions (a lot with first-timers),
- quilt (many use them instead of sleeping bags),
- queso (Spanish for cheese, we use this word a looot while on Camino)

X:
- xunta (albergues),
- X-mas (yes indeed, hahaha),
- Xan XY (Galician for San/to XY) - EDIT: NOT CORRECT!!! See @Pelegrin post below.

Y:
- young (pilgrims),
- youth hostel (Spanish - Albergue Juvenil),
- Youtube (heaps of videos and vlogs on Caminos).

Ultreia!
V:
-videos
-vlogs ;)
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Dennis, my walking partner and I will be walking the same distance you walked in in 2018. Would appreciate any comments you have about that route and any highlights we should not miss. Best regards, Lynnette Pease
Sorry I'm so late replying Lynette. We had a 2 night break each 5-6 days so we walked 15 days and took 17 to SdC. Suggest 1st leg via Villa De Mazarife, we stayed at Tio Pepe excellent. We also booked everything in advance with 1 medium suitcase transported and all went to plan. There is lots you're going to miss as there is too much to experience. A 5 minute break can add a highlight or cause a missed opportunity. Savour the moment, that's why we are planning to do the whole Frances when we return.
 
G for GOD for sure

I could feel the kind and gentle touch by GOD on CF physically, mentally and spiritually.
 
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