Article in El Pais about the popularity of the Frances

[SabsP]

http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/08/paco_nadal/1478600036_788887.html

The author makes some valid points regarding massification and commercialisation. And the aim of some people to making quick money.

But the Camino Frances will keep existing, in different forms of course.

It will be interesting to see how many people there will be when I start at 20th of March in Carrion de los Condes.
I decided that if the crowds in Sarria are too big to handle for me I will search for another route.

Actually author/ journalist Paco Nadal himself writes guidebooks about different Caminos ( I used his guide for my first Camino in 2011 ).

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

A lot of the same thoughts expressed here on the forum but it is nice reading this in a paper.

Link to English translation: https://translate.google.com/transl...dal/1478600036_788887.html&edit-text=&act=url

 

[VNwalking]

March 20 in Carrion, @SabineP ? A wonderful time to be there! Here was the way out of Carrion this year about a week and a half later--when Easter had been early.
As you can see...it's pretty busy. Easter's in April next year, so you should have even more space.
(Shhhhh...keep it to yourself...although it's worth noting that that's ice on those puddles, which should be enough to deter the faint of heart.)

 

[SabsP]

March 20 in Carrion, @SabineP ? A wonderful time to be there! Here was the way out of Carrion this year about a week and a half later--when Easter had been early.
As you can see...it's pretty busy. Easter's in April next year, so you should have even more space.
(Shhhhh...keep it to yourself...although it's worth noting that that's ice on those puddles, which should be enough to deter the faint of heart.)

Ah crisp air!

Thank you. My plan is to arrive around Palmsunday in Santiago as I'm due back to work after Easter Monday.
I like the colder conditions better than the heat so I hope for the best.

 

[Felipe]

I find this note balanced, realistic. I remember also other commenting that the Camino is a better business than Disneyland (little investment required, free and enthusiastic marketing, more customers every year, no or inconsequential complaints).
It seems to me that he is talking basically about the Sarria-SdeC stages. But the situation is spreading back along the Camino.
But as the author also says, there are actual benefits for the walker, you still can do your pilgrimage as you like, and choose to stay or rest in good, pilgrim-like places. It just requires more planning.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Thank you for posting the link to the article. Clearly from a journalist who knows the Camino. Loved his comment about feeling like hitting those whi start with their plastic mags in the early hours and the one to those running private albergues to the effect that if they see pilgrims as 20€ those same people will want to get their 20€ worth.

But reading comments from some of the private albergue people he quotes makes me want to boycot them, not staying in those who do not offer a kitchen or close in winter.

 

[SabsP]

Thank you for posting the link to the article. Clearly from a journalist who knows the Camino. Loved his comment about feeling like hitting those whi start with their plastic mags in the early hours and the one to those running private albergues to the effect that if they see pilgrims as 20€ those same people will want to get their 20€ worth.

But reading comments from some of the private albergue people he quotes makes me want to boycot them, not staying in those who do not offer a kitchen or close in winter.

That is why I so like the Erosski and Gronze websites . They tell you which albergues are open in wintertime and have a kitchen available.
Am not someone who plans specific daily stages but by now I know my limits in possible daily kilometres and I searched for open albergues with available kitchen.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

My thinking was not as practical as yours, more vindictive alas: the idea that some private albergues opt not to include a kitchen for the purpose of making 23€ vs 10€ because they have a captive clientele for meals, especially in villages where there is little else irks me. If there are eating options in town then fine, less cleaning in the morning, but where there are no other options... not so much.

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

I think the author was semi-balanced, but with a touch of whining. Similar to what I sometimes read here. He complains about too many people, and then complains about the fact there are more albergues (similar to the why-can't-i-get-a-bed debates here, when people don't want to reserve a private albergue bed then complain because others do, not realizing (or not caring) that if these private places didn't exist then there would be not enough beds for everyone in the muni). Rather than be happy there are now more beds for everyone, find fault. As for closed in winter, it costs money to keep a place open, heated so the pipes are OK, etc. a lot of money and effort in the off chance maybe one person will come by. Since the munis are open, there is a place to stay...so it takes a little planning to walk out of season. big deal. I walked the Norte when many albergues were still closed (even the munis)...no point in complaining, it was my decision to walk at that time. amazingly, the world does not exist for the sole purpose of making me happy.

In the private places I stayed that didn't have a kitchen, there seemed to be two reasons (neither of which was to gouge money)--it was also their private home and had one kitchen, in their private area, or it had no kitchen period (possibly not put in for cost, maybe it had one and walkers broke it, who knows...in places where the owner did not live). In both of these cases, the owners had options (they would go to town and bring back food, they would drive you there and go back for you if you wanted to eat in town, or they would cook a meal for a lot less than you would pay to buy it in a restaurant, or at least the same price and better quality than a menu del perigrino). I stayed in munis where the kitchen equipment didn't work (possibly broken by walkers), and where there were no cooking utensils (possibly taken by walkers).

there's no excuse for making noise early in the morning, or for making noise at night when early risers are already trying to sleep. both are rude. but anyone having such angst over it that they need to harp on it needs to walk further, or spend a few years in the military. both will fix that inability to sleep in a room with others. Or wear ear plugs. Or get a private room. Many first world fixes for this first world problem.

 

[Mark Lee]

I found the Camino Frances to be a bit crowded at times, but those times were a small percentage of it. If I were to put a number on it, I would say about 15%? That's about five days for an average CF for me from SJPdP to SDC.
Either way, was never so bad I wanted to jump on the nearest bus and haul ass out of there. It was always doable and I always found a bed and meals. In fact I always saw empty beds in albergues.
No doubt the CF is getting more and more popular, with no end in sight. I wonder though, will it hit a peak and then become less popular? You know, like things always seem to do.

 

[kayagee66]

I think the author was semi-balanced, but with a touch of whining. Similar to what I sometimes read here. He complains about too many people, and then complains about the fact there are more albergues (similar to the why-can't-i-get-a-bed debates here, when people don't want to reserve a private albergue bed then complain because others do, not realizing (or not caring) that if these private places didn't exist then there would be not enough beds for everyone in the muni). Rather than be happy there are now more beds for everyone, find fault. As for closed in winter, it costs money to keep a place open, heated so the pipes are OK, etc. a lot of money and effort in the off chance maybe one person will come by. Since the munis are open, there is a place to stay...so it takes a little planning to walk out of season. big deal. I walked the Norte when many albergues were still closed (even the munis)...no point in complaining, it was my decision to walk at that time. amazingly, the world does not exist for the sole purpose of making me happy.

In the private places I stayed that didn't have a kitchen, there seemed to be two reasons (neither of which was to gouge money)--it was also their private home and had one kitchen, in their private area, or it had no kitchen period (possibly not put in for cost, maybe it had one and walkers broke it, who knows...in places where the owner did not live). In both of these cases, the owners had options (they would go to town and bring back food, they would drive you there and go back for you if you wanted to eat in town, or they would cook a meal for a lot less than you would pay to buy it in a restaurant, or at least the same price and better quality than a menu del perigrino). I stayed in munis where the kitchen equipment didn't work (possibly broken by walkers), and where there were no cooking utensils (possibly taken by walkers).

there's no excuse for making noise early in the morning, or for making noise at night when early risers are already trying to sleep. both are rude. but anyone having such angst over it that they need to harp on it needs to walk further, or spend a few years in the military. both will fix that inability to sleep in a room with others. Or wear ear plugs. Or get a private room. Many first world fixes for this first world problem.

A lot of truths there.

 

[SabsP]

Another article, more statistics.

http://www.abc.es/espana/galicia/ab...conducen-compostela-201611130336_noticia.html

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Thank you Sabine for this other article.

I find a few things interesting, the first one being that the "Año de la Misericordia" doesn't seem to have had any impact on the numbers. So much for people walking for religious reasons. I wonder what the numbers will be in 2021. Perhpas those who walk for religious reasons are already on the Camino, the new influx is from a separate segment?

The second is the quote from the arzobispo: «El Camino no va a morir de éxito, pero puede morir por inanición si se pierde la vertebración espiritual, si se pierde su alma. Tenemos que estar atentos».

He basically says the Camino will not die due to its success but due to "inanicion", which translates to malnutricion, if its spiritual backbone is lost, if it loses its soul.

This is where this second article ties into the first one, which was not about a whining journalist, but about a pilgrim who has noticed how the focus has changed from pilgrimage to service.

People walking demand comfort, locals looking to make a € cater to them with no other consideration for the Camino. Winter rolls in, tourists don't show up, because winter it's more uncomfortable to walk in the cold, and spend the evening and night in a chilly albergue, the private hospies who actually make some money in the summer are no longer interested in these potnetial clients because there are not many of them, leaving the munis/religious albergues, who can hardly make ends meet, having to stretch resources even further by having to be open in winter, for those who chose to walk, even when comfort is gone.

Pilgrimage?

 

[SabsP]

Thank you Sabine for this other article.

I find a few things interesting, the first one being that the "Ano de la Misericordia" doesn't seem to have had any impact on the numbers. So much for people walking for religious reasons. I wonder what the numbers will be in 2021. Perhpas those who walk for religious reasons are already on the Camino, the new influx is from a separate segment?

The second is the quote from the arzobispo: «El Camino no va a morir de éxito, pero puede morir por inanición si se pierde la vertebración espiritual, si se pierde su alma. Tenemos que estar atentos».

He basically says the Camino will not die due to its success but due to "inanicion", which translates to malnutricion, if its spiritual backbone is lost, if it loses its soul.

This is where this second article ties into the first one, which was not about a whining journalist, but about a pilgrim who has noticed how the focus has changed from pilgrimage to service.

People walking demand comfort, locals looking to make a € cater to them with no other consideration for the Camino. Winter rolls in, tourists don't show up, because winter it's more uncomfortable to walk in the cold, and spend the evening and night in a chilly albergue, the private hospies who actually make some money in the summer are no longer interested in these potnetial clients because there are not many of them, leaving the munis/religious albergues, who can hardly make ends meet, having to stretch resources even further by having to be open in winter, for those who chose to walk, even when comfort is gone.

Pilgrimage?

You make very valid points and I too do not know how it will evolve.

I do think though , like I said in the first post, the Camino Frances will " reinvent " itself. If I think of Sillydolls interesting articles about the Camino in medieval times.

Like I said, due to different reasons it will be the Frances for me next spring . And although part of me will miss the emptiness of the Sanabres or other less travelled Caminos I do still hope to encounter " a genuine pilgrim feeling ". And by this genuine feeling I really do not want put me on a pedestal or make a ranking of what a real pilgrim is.
Itt will be a lesson for me not to judge others ...a hard lesson I guess ...

 

[Ray Boneski]

http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/08/paco_nadal/1478600036_788887.html

The author makes some valid points regarding massification and commercialisation. And the aim of some people to making quick money.

But the Camino Frances will keep existing, in different forms of course.

It will be interesting to see how many people there will be when I start at 20th of March in Carrion de los Condes.
I decided that if the crowds in Sarria are too big to handle for me I will search for another route.

Actually author/ journalist Paco Nadal himself writes guidebooks about different Caminos ( I used his guide for my first Camino in 2011 ).

Thank you for posting this article. I found it thoughtful but, unfortunately, the way of the world. Buen Camino.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

You make very valid points and I too do not know how it will evolve.

I do think though , like I said in the first post, the Camino Frances will " reinvent " itself. If I think of Sillydolls interesting articles about the Camino in medieval times.

Like I said, due to different reasons it will be the Frances for me next spring . And although part of me will miss the emptiness of the Sanabres or other less travelled Caminos I do still hope to encounter " a genuine pilgrim feeling ". And by this genuine feeling I really do not want put me on a pedestal or make a ranking of what a real pilgrim is.
Itt will be a lesson for me not to judge others ...a hard lesson I guess ...

Sabine,

I understand why the Frances, despite the noise, the rubbish, etc., is still attractive: the other Caminos, in my experience, due to how very few people walk them are a out solitude and/or walking, the Frances offers a greater chance for interesting encounters, and so much history. I wish you a Buen Camino.

 

[SabsP]

Sabine,

I understand why the Frances, despite the noise, the rubbish, etc., is still attractive: the other Caminos, in my experience, due to how very few people walk them are a out solitude and/or walking, the Frances offers a greater chance for interesting encounters, and so much history. I wish you a Buen Camino.

Cheers! I do still hope to walk the Primitivo, Sanabres or the Vasco Interior though. But in company.

 

[Olivares]

When I did my first Camino (Leon-Santiago) in 1997 it really was "Tierra de Nadie"-- no one's land. The only book I could find with some notion of the Camino was a Harvard's guide on Spain published by a students' association. It had about 3 pages with descriptions.

The article has a sense of honesty by laying out what the mind set is today along the Camino for merchants, locals, and pilgrims. It very accurately notes how curt and borderline rude many establishments along the Camino can be to a customer that they do not expect to see the next day or ever again. That said, the motivation is not much different than in medieval times, just the expression of it.

I really like articles like this that do not paint a pretty picture, but a real one.

 

[C clearly]

The article has a sense of honesty by laying out what the mind set is today along the Camino for merchants, locals, and pilgrims. It very accurately notes how curt and borderline rude many establishments along the Camino can be to a customer that they do not expect to see the next day or ever again. That said, the motivation is not much different than in medieval times, just the expression of it.

I really like articles like this that do not paint a pretty picture, but a real one.

This is a good assessment of the article. It wasn't a whine or a rant, just an honest commentary.

 

[VNwalking]

Thanks @SabineP . The article you posted has a neat interactive map--a not-quite-real-time view of which routes are now most traveled:

A useful thing to look at for those seeking solitude. What surprises me are the numbers on the San Salvador/Primativo...they're quite bright lines. (Edit--oh, and the Vanidiense, too!) The Invierno, on the other hand....

 

[Marion-SantiagoInLove]

I like this article a lot! I love nowadays Camino, but I wish I had the opportunity to walk it before it got so successful...
I agree with previous opinions, I didn't find that the author was complaining, but just making an observation. I found that he Frances is "the worst" when it comes to number of people and capitalization, but like said, it's still possible to walk it with simplicity!
The Camino does reflect the way of the world, but as we make the world what it is, I believe the Camino reflects us and who we are. Up to us to make it such or such way
Buen Camino!