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) |
---|
Fortview, loved your post. This is exactly how I feel already! I don't go on my Camino until next May, but already have read Brierly's guidebook cover to cover several times. I know it is due to fear of the unknown and feel the need to be in control of any situation...because that is easy.... That is why I have vowed...wow...what a word... to leave the guidebook with my hubby so he can follow me and I will walk in faith knowing that the Camino will be there for me, good/ bad, ugly/beautiful... Scared? You bet!!! Excited? Deleriously so!!Hmmm ...mixed feelings about this. Having used the Brierly guide, and found it very helpful, I wouldn't want to dismiss it, and the camino can be challenging enough... BUT , to blindly follow the stages he suggests, which people do, seems to lead to congestion at those end stages.
Now, with hindsight, and knowing how incredibly well set up the Frances is, I'd happily just go and walk it with no guides whatsoever, and I do feel I missed out on the feeling of " true freedom" . But I was scared, and the guide was like a comfort blanket!
" some see the beauty of the blooms while others only feel the thorns, ".
I have only walked the CF once, in 2010. For me, it was what it was at the time that I walked it. I had nothing to compare it to, so I couldn't make the same comparison to some previous time as the OP has. When I walk CF again, it will be different and that won't be because of Brierley. I expect to meet different pilgrims, stay in different places, walk at a different time of the year and see the countryside differently. It will be what it will be, and I don't expect that it will be at all similar. As @David suggested earlier, Brierley is a guide, not a step by step manual.
No longer an act of faith and trust, the Brierly guide has turned the experience into a consumer product. SO many pilgrims were using the guide to shop for the best albergue, (after reading the spiritual quote for the day) call ahead and make reservations. I chose to just walk, and never had a serious problem on a very crowded camino, and learned more about what i came to learn: how to trust and keep faith; a lesson I sorely needed to integrate.
Me too!Oh I wish I'd written that ...
I fully agree with your comments. I will walk with no expectations and allow the journey to unfold.Just returned from Camino Frances in early October, wonderful. So many had Brierly's guide, and it struck me how the ubiquitousness of that guide has fundamentally changed the camino. No longer an act of faith and trust, the Brierly guide has turned the experience into a consumer product. SO many pilgrims were using the guide to shop for the best albergue, (after reading the spiritual quote for the day) call ahead and make reservations. I chose to just walk, and never had a serious problem on a very crowded camino, and learned more about what i came to learn: how to trust and keep faith; a lesson I sorely needed to integrate. So many people thought i was crazy to not shop and reserve, the pressure was tremendous. It kept me on a solitary path, which is I suppose where i needed to be.
Just saying, here's a product making a lot of money off the camino, billed as a mystical guide, but actually it is a very materialistic guide that has temporarily, fundamentally changed the spirit out there. I am happy for his material success, and happy for all who truly benefit from the guide, I'm just saying i think everyone should think carefully about where the guide might actually take you, and think carefully why it is you are walking, what you are hoping to experience.
Thanks for listening.
A map is not the terrain nor a guidebook the journey.
as usual Nell, so much more eloquently and elegantly said than I ever could.
I agree completely. When one tries of over-manage their Camino, you do lose the Faith aspect a little. We completed our camino in late September of this year without any reservations along the way to SdC. Only one evening did we have to trek beyond our intended stopping place. The anticipation of sleeping in a field that night was a test of faith and kind of an adventure in itself. When we finally arrived at tiny Casa Calzada, we met some wonderful folks and spent one of the happiest nights of our whole Camino.Just returned from Camino Frances in early October, wonderful. So many had Brierly's guide, and it struck me how the ubiquitousness of that guide has fundamentally changed the camino. No longer an act of faith and trust, the Brierly guide has turned the experience into a consumer product. SO many pilgrims were using the guide to shop for the best albergue, (after reading the spiritual quote for the day) call ahead and make reservations. I chose to just walk, and never had a serious problem on a very crowded camino, and learned more about what i came to learn: how to trust and keep faith; a lesson I sorely needed to integrate. So many people thought i was crazy to not shop and reserve, the pressure was tremendous. It kept me on a solitary path, which is I suppose where i needed to be.
Just saying, here's a product making a lot of money off the camino, billed as a mystical guide, but actually it is a very materialistic guide that has temporarily, fundamentally changed the spirit out there. I am happy for his material success, and happy for all who truly benefit from the guide, I'm just saying i think everyone should think carefully about where the guide might actually take you, and think carefully why it is you are walking, what you are hoping to experience.
Thanks for listening.
You are right!Fortview, loved your post. This is exactly how I feel already! I don't go on my Camino until next May, but already have read Brierly's guidebook cover to cover several times. I know it is due to fear of the unknown and feel the need to be in control of any situation...because that is easy.... That is why I have vowed...wow...what a word... to leave the guidebook with my hubby so he can follow me and I will walk in faith knowing that the Camino will be there for me, good/ bad, ugly/beautiful... Scared? You bet!!! Excited? Deleriously so!!
My two cents as someone who is currently in Portomarin (stage 30 haha).
I'm surprised at the amount of hating directed toward Mr. Brierley. Breaking the camino into stages is an obvious requirement. I thank Peter Robbins for doing it, as well as Mr. Brierley. Aymeric Picaud did it a thousand years ago and I suspect there were those who declared themselves rich, smart and bilingual enough to to have no use for some damn codex.
Good post! One attribute of the Camino, one of the gifts, perhaps the main gift - should one surrender to The Way - is the removal of fear from the pilgrim ... to learn to live, day by day, and to take on whatever comes, knowing with certainty that one will cope and even enjoy, is a marvellous thing.
That terrible fear which haunts so many people in this world - the fear of "but I don't know what happens next, how will I cope with it?" is removed and this changes one's life forever. True freedom - freedom to BE without fear - "consider the lilies of the field, etc"
The Brierley is a fine guide, a great accompaniment for one's coffee table. It is the sort of thing that one reads when wanting to know more - but there are two things to remember .. if it was really made to carry on Camino it would weigh a fraction of what it does! and, the keyword here is 'guide' - it is a guide, not a manual, not a bible.
Of course, countless people take it as their camino bible, and stay religiously - even fanatically - within the instructions ... such a shame ... the universe is out there, life is out there, unknowing is out there .... I agree with homa-bird - couldn't agree more.
There are quite a few maps of the Camino .. these are handy as they show where one is in the landscape, mark buildings of interest (to the map makers remember) and have telephone numbers of the main refugios - which can make it easier to meet someone one has lost upon the way, I suppose.
The Michelin 160 is rather fine - the Camino laid over real maps so that you can contextualise your journey. Small, light, with all the information one could actually need.
On your first Camino Frances, it's a good idea to bring a guide book. If you find you don't want or need it, give it away. A guide book is useful for many, many reasons. Carrying a guide book has nothing to do with carrying a "fearful" mindset. I met a Bavarian walking his 2nd CF. He used his German guide book as a Pilgrim's Passport and all his sellos were stamped in the book, it looked so cool!
But Wayfarer that's the point! Because you can't fit it in the cargo pocket you have to STOP WALKING take it out from your pack, find the relevant page and read it all this takes about 3 to 4 minutes for a novice (10 minutes if you're an old handForgot to say in my other post that the first guide I bought was Brierleys. I found it a good guide to study but as for bringing it I found it too heavy, about an inch too long so it wouldn't fit in the cargo pocket of my walking pants. IMO he could have left out the Mystical Path and Personal reflections because they are personal to each pilgrim. The maps were good, showing alternate routes and the accomodation details were good also. If he published a Camino de Santiago Lite guide I would consider bringing it.
Many of the pilgrims I met who were using Brierley were ripping the pages out as they went so it got lighter but doing this to any book is against my nature.
The concept of what make a guidebook useful or not is dependent on the needs of the individual, at that time. Therefore for all it is subject to their specific needs and subject to change due to their individual experiences...
...I think as you continue to walk either the same trail or different trails your experience changes and what makes a good guidebook is very dependent on your personal desire at that time and dependent on the trail itself.
The OP states that the Brierley guide is "billed as a mystical guide." I must have missed that. My reading of his guide and his intent was to primarily offer practical information on walking the Camino, and he offered his spiritual reflections, which for me were not that meaningful, as a sidebar. Perhaps I missed some promotional material that claimed this was a "mystical guide," but if not, I suggest that we not assign intent to the author. Again, maybe I missed something. In any event, I found it to be very helpful, primarily in offering guidance on alternate routes to choose from.
So well stated and well argued. I could not agree more with your comments.I'm just going to fly off the seat of my pants for a minute, because, why not? It's been an interesting discussion, and I love all the thoughtful replies about our beloved Camino, and I know we are all going to be careful not to get near that tiresome and silly question of who/what is a true pilgrim, who/what is not. I personally champion and am touched by all who walk, I don't believe there is any need of or use in comparing those who taxi luggage from Parador to Parador and those who attempt to walk without a dime in their pocket. All come for perfect reasons, and learn what they come to learn. The Camino is there for all of us in every stage of life. It's an amazing place.
My strong language in the OP: re "hindrance?" was intentional...I am an admitted idealist, and all may flay me for that, I expect it, have no problems with that. I thought long and hard about even voicing my opinion, but as this is a forum, I figure, well, this is where we talk about camino related things. So, talk about them I am. Warning: I am going to talk about matters spiritual here.
from a reviewer writing about Brierly's guidebooks on Amazon:
"...every time we did not take his advice for where to overnight, we regretted it; when we followed his advice, things came off fabulously."
The sentiment embedded in this response goes to the heart of why I made the original post. And there is something crucial at stake here, or I wouldn't belabor the point.
People walk the Camino for so many different reasons. However, a trend is beginning: this is what I'd like to speak to. With the huge numbers of folks walking with the Brierly guide, there is an impact. I'm not saying it is bad or good. The original post had a question mark, did it not? I'm inviting all of us to consider something extremely important here. I'm not so arrogant to think i know jack sh#*, but I know what I feel, and here goes.
What doused my day, what made me want to speed up and lose a fellow pilgrim quicker than lightning, and what seemed aided and abetted by the sheer proliferation of the Brierly guide, were the conversations about personal comfort achieved, the high-grading of albergues/refugios/hostals, the success of making it through another day with no upsets or disappointments, a sort of one-ups-manship of great meals found and consumed, the untrammeled, vacation-like goal that felt a bit competitive. EG: One fellow pilgrim said to me in passing: "Brierly said (such and such) albergue was mystical, so i taxied there to make sure I got a place. But it was no big deal." I guess I think of all this as the commodification of the Camino. It bored me silly, and frustrated me when this was, time and again, the main topic of conversation.
What made my day, what made my heart sing and dance and made me want to hug and laugh and be warmly with my fellow travelers, was when they truly opened up and shared what was in their heart, when we locked step and side-stepped creature comforts entirely and talked about the divine, about our lives back home, about the extraordinary gratitude we felt just to be here. When we laughed at things that had gone wrong, even terribly wrong sometimes, how this led us just where we needed to be. How that gratitude and acceptance and taking things as they were, learning to have no fear, to trust in whatever you picture the divine to be, how sacred and glorious and freeing that is.
As the Amazon reader states above; Brierly offers a kind of cocoon, a way to have thing come off predictably fabulously. How is that mystical? I am glad it has been so useful to folks. I'm very glad there have been benefits. I have no doubt he is the loveliest of people. I know if I met him, I would feel so honored. My point is that it is becoming so popular, so ubiquitous, so impactful. I wonder if it isn't changing the spiritual terrain, just a bit. Is that bad or good? I am no authority.
Many will message me again and tell me to walk my own Camino and let others walk theirs. I couldn't agree more. I must admit, though, I do love a discussion that takes us deeper.
So well stated and well argued. I could not agree more with your comments.
Coincidently, a few days ago I decided that my walk in March/14 would be without the Brierleys. It is my journey. Also I have no criticism of those who follow its direction. That is their journey. Its their right path. For me, it is to follow my intuition and allow the journey to unfold. For me - The Camino will be whatever it is without any extra guidance.
Well stated.I'd have struggled without the CSJ or Spanish guide for the Salvador so they have their place.
I never took a guide on the Frances, people tried to give me maps or walk me into bookshops as I didnt have a copy of Brierley. All I had was a list of towns, albergues, bars and distances from the Godesalco site. I walked until I was either tired, somewhere nice, a personal goal for the day or ran into friends. It made it a real journey into the unknown, a proper adventure. I knew where I had to be and when and I made my own stages to achieve it.
For some people they have never been in this situation. If having a guide and a plan brings them comfort then so what? Santiago doesn't care how you got there, only that you went. It's a bit like criticising those who use Jacotrans. If it is the difference between doing it and not doing it then it is fine in my book.
There are things that might enhance the experience but for many simply putting a rucksack on is new territory. We've all got differing appetites for newness and the unknow.
Pilgrimzillas?
I think that those negative behaviours you came across are a natural function of the increase in numbers of pilgrims and the consequent increase in the percentage of those you describe who want/need a 'Camino cacoon' and unfortunately (God help us) an increase in the percentage of 'Pilgrimzillas'.
Brierley's guide was first published 10 years ago in 2003. Tracking the sales figures shows an gentle incremental upward curve but the really big surge in sales numbers of Brierley's guide shadows the release of the movie 'The Way'. Therefore it seems that the movie has had more critical mass in terms of driving numbers up than any guide. Which makes sense when you think about it as guides are what might be referred to as 2nd wave influencers-you look at/buy a guide because you've already made a step (at the very least towards making a decision and for most of us actually the decision itself) to commit to the journey. But a movie such as The way is a powerful 'first wave' influencer and it's strength lies in connecting in a immediate, almost visceral (sound-vision-narrative-emotion), way to a much much broader audience.
I think it's that evangelical impact that sent/sends 'camino converts' running out to buy a guides with an unprecedented immediacy. Indeed I've read of and spoken to people who have said that when they saw the movie, even though they'd never heard of the Camino before, came out inspired to make the journey come hell or high water. Those people (generally English speaking) naturally look/ed for an english language guide.
And there you have it the conditions for 'a perfect storm'an inspirational movie about the Camino (and a pretty tasty leading man-sorry I'm a Sheen groupie) plus a well established 'tried and tested' english language guidebook. If there was no Brierley the gap would have been filled and, with a film merchandising op like that, with who knows what. But the odds are it wouldn't be more thoughtful a guide than Brierley's.
Amazon is about flogging books so of course they are going to 'big it up' even use scare tactics to drive up sales figures but there are plenty of peer reviews, both pro and con, available to anyone who wants a more informed assessment.
John Brierley has walked the CF and done it- shall we say the traditional way? In fact there is a gentle but clear bias towards, and encouragement of, the staying in albergues carrying your own pack approach in the text (at least in the 2009 edition). The authors approach is one that advocates kindness and consideration and his spirituality seems to be very inclusive -Gordon Gekko he ain't!
Brierley as prime 'causitive' agent for those Pilgrimzilla behaviours? I don't think it's as simple as that but I'm glad you asked!
Duly corrected thank you Scruffy1Not a hybrid, the proper term is portmanteau a wonderful word in itself but it means just that
In my opinion, every guide book -- except for some of the better specialist cyclist ones I've seen (some of the Spanish Camino books for cyclists are gorgeous) -- is a hindrance to everything of importance on the Camino.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?