Camino Phrases and Titles

[rector]

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

 

[Felice]

It's your camino

 

[Phil71]

People who call the Camino "the way" after the film. No reason, it is the direct translation I guess, but it just annoys me.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

As I wrote on another thread:

Buen Camino can get pretty annoying when you are traveling at a pace that allows the 10,000 peregrinos who have started after you to greet you as they pass.

 

[Bradypus]

"the El Camino"
Or in extreme cases "the El Camino trail"

 

[Leibniz]

People who call the Camino "the way" after the film. No reason, it is the direct translation I guess, but it just annoys me.

What annoys me even more is “the el Camino”.

 

[Leibniz]

@Bradypus snap!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I remember a big sign outside one town that indicated that you were on the camino. I think it said the "Camino Frances." Anyway, it was in Spanish, English and German but not French.

 

[rector]

It's your camino

I concur

 

[rector]

People who call the Camino "the way" after the film. No reason, it is the direct translation I guess, but it just annoys me.

Join the list

 

[rector]

"the El Camino"
Or in extreme cases "the El Camino trail"

Bradpus you have always had a way with words

 

[rector]

What annoys me even more is “the el Camino”.

Verbose Spanish could get up your nose

 

[Icacos]

I don't know much French, but 'the Le Puy' always strikes me as strange.

 

[rector]

I don't know much French, but 'the Le Puy' always strikes me as strange.

Sounds like a lentilI once met

 

[rector]

I remember a big sign outside one town that indicated that you were on the camino. I think it said the "Camino Frances." Anyway, it was in Spanish, English and German but not French.

Now there is history for you

 

[rector]

"the El Camino"
Or in extreme cases "the El Camino trail"

By the way I like your new photo you look different in some way

 

[Camino Chrissy]

@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.

 

[rector]

@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.

Well said Chris

 

[nidarosa]

Camino Francis. It's not a Frank, it's French!

 

[rector]

Camino Francis. It's not a Frank, it's French!

Like the headdress Frank

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Well said Chris

@rector, give yourself a 9.5 for your understanding...I will give you a 10!

 

[rector]

@rector, give yourself a 9.5 for your understanding...I will give you a 10!

@rector, give yourself a 9.5 for your understanding...I will give you a 10!

I am very understanding because of my humanity but not even I am perfect it sits at9.5

 

[jsalt]

The Camino will provide!!!!!

I hate that one too!

For me, it's "Plan B".

Same difference .

Jill

 

[rector]

I hate that one too!

For me, it's "Plan B".

Same difference .

Jill

I am trying to write read and watch James Bond but I concur completely

 

[jsalt]

I am trying to write read and watch James Bond but I concur completely

He definitely had a Plan B

 

[rector]

He definitely had a Plan B

Like the glasses

 

[Sparrow in Texas]

Sometimes it is not the words but how well meaning Texans pronounce "Pamplona" that annoy me.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

"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".

 

[David Tallan]

I have to admit that I'm with Camino Chris and none of those phrases irk me - and I quite like a "Buen Camino" thrown my way, which is why I like to offer it (although my preference is really Ultreia).

If I had to pick a phrase that bothers me it would be "a real pilgrim", as in "you're not a real pilgrim unless...".

 

[Deleted member 43985]

My least favorite thing to hear as I try to wind down from a long day... "What is the wifi password" repeated with every opening of the door...

 

[trecile]

I have to say that I never tire of hearing or saying "Buen Camino". I just wish that people would learn to pronounce albergue properly. And I almost hit one pilgrim over the head with my hiking poles when he kept calling the Meseta the Masada.

 

[C clearly]

Lots of good stuff that does annoy me.

My honest appraisal is that I personally am not annoyed by these phrases.

I have to admit that I'm with Camino Chris and none of those phrases irk me

I admire your good nature and tolerance.

 

[nycwalking]

I don't know much French, but 'the Le Puy' always strikes me as strange.

Makes me think of Pepe Le Pew!

 

[Icacos]

I would have been happy to hear 'Buen Camino' from the two peregrinos who, deep in conversation, passed me en route with nary a sideways glance.

 

[dougfitz]

I will await with baited breath your honest and sincere reply

Ah, @rector, one of my pet secular peeves! Writers who cannot tell the difference between holding their breath in anticipation and filling their mouths with what might be attractive baubles in a vain attempt to attract an audience. I see you defer to the latter.

 

[Glenshiro]

Sometimes it is not the words but how well meaning Texans pronounce "Pamplona" that annoy me.

OK, I give in - just how can you (mis)pronounce Pamplona?

(Although I did once correct an American who said he'd walked there from "Saint Jeen.")

 

[Glenshiro]

Ah, @rector, one of my pet secular peeves! Writers who cannot tell the difference between holding their breath in anticipation and filling their mouths with what might be attractive baubles in a vain attempt to attract an audience. I see you defer to the latter.

Are you by any chance a fan of Which Tyler, the leader of the Pedants' Revolt?

 

[oursonpolaire]

Sometimes it is not the words but how well meaning Texans pronounce "Pamplona" that annoy me.

Take your revenge by saying Amarillo with a Castilian accent.

 

[Sparrow in Texas]

@Glenshiro "OK, I give in - just how can you (mis)pronounce Pamplona?"

An "a" in Spanish (Castellano) is pronounced like a crisp "ah". In Texan, pronounce the a like in the name Pam, but drag it out nice and slow like a cowboy.

 

[Bristle Boy]

 

[William Garza]

Sometimes it is not the words but how well meaning Texans pronounce "Pamplona" that annoy me.

Is it Pam-plona...or Pom-plona....

 

[Bristle Boy]

Is it Pam-plona...or Pom-plona....

Or pimple..loaner!

 

[William Garza]

Or pimple..loaner!

Here in the borderland...Camino de Santiago....literal translation is Santiagos Road

 

[Bristle Boy]

Here in the borderland...Camino de Santiago....literal translation is Santiagos Road

There is a lot that gets lost in translation and...as the Spanish love saying to the English when in Spain....grassy ass!

Edit: forgot where I was for a minute..should be Spain not France!!

 

[David Tallan]

Here in the borderland...Camino de Santiago....literal translation is Santiagos Road

I prefer to translate it as the Tao of Santiago.

 

[Bristle Boy]

I prefer to translate it as the Tao of Santiago.

Or the way of Zentiago!

 

[Former member 49149]

On the forum, we can’t see each other. We can’t hear each other. We have different educational backgrounds. We have many first languages. Last year ! I made a big mistake and corrected someone, although meant without harshness, where I assumed the poster was a native English speaker. I re-learned something that day that I already knew, I was not being sensitive to the poster. I am posting this in the hope it will be taken as it is meant: just a reminder to native English speakers that there is no entrance exam in English spelling on the camino, or on the Forum!

 

[Al the optimist]

What annoys me is that nothing anyone says annoys me!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

What annoys me is that nothing anyone says annoys me!

Love this, Al!

 

[Sparrow in Texas]

On the forum, we can’t see each other. We can’t hear each other. We have different educational backgrounds. We have many first languages. Last year ! I made a big mistake and corrected someone, although meant without harshness, where I assumed the poster was a native English speaker. I re-learned something that day that I already knew, I was not being sensitive to the poster. I am posting this in the hope it will be taken as it is meant: just a reminder to native English speakers that there is no entrance exam in English spelling on the camino, or on the Forum!
View attachment 50317

You are absolutely right! My perspective comes from being a teacher and encouraging students to get it right, and also from being a student of languages and sometimes struggling followed by a feeling of success. In my original comment I should have used the word amuse rather than annoy.

 

[Dorpie]

Are you by any chance a fan of Which Tyler, the leader of the Pedants' Revolt?

I must have done too much New Year celebrating, I nearly bit on this one.

Personally I love the Buen Caminoing and other terminology that grows up around the camino, it's all part of that culture where familiarity isn't just tolerated, it's encuraged, and having spent a great deal of my life in London where greeting a stranger is received with suspicion I regard it as a very welcome breath of fresh air.

As for the phrases in the OP I'm totally fine with all of them, well actually I must admit depending on context "the camino will provide" can be problematic. For instance when it comes to people with a faux hippie "I can just sponge off everyone else" attitude.

Are there alternative phrases you'd be happier with @rector ?

 

[Kathar1na]

I should have used the word amuse rather than annoy.

Don't force yourself to feel amused when you feel annoyed - it won't make you happier.

I'm actually annoyed - ok let's say non-plussed - when someone tries too hard to pronounce a word from a foreign language as pronounced in that foreign language while speaking say English and not as usually pronounced in English. Brand names of cars are a good example. Personal names, too. Geographical names are another one. After all, we don't say Rrrroma [ˈroːma] (listen)), we pronounce it as Rome. I tend to pronounce Pamplona slightly differently, depending on whether I (try to) speak English, Spanish or German, and will say Pampelune in French .

I'm a non-native speaker of English and make plenty of mistakes. I appreciate being corrected, certainly when it's about something worthwhile and done in an entertaining way (like earlier in this thread for example - I learnt something new about Shakespeare and about a person called Wat Tyler and grinned about a clever pun). I still fondly remember my wayward shrines, @Bradypus .

And don't get me started on Camino Angel.

 

[Leibniz]

Don't force yourself to feel amused when you feel annoyed - it won't make you happier.

I'm actually annoyed - ok let's say non-plussed - when someone tries too hard to pronounce a word from a foreign language as pronounced in that foreign language while speaking say English and not as usually pronounced in English.

Me too but I admit it depends on the context - and I can’t always explain why. For example: staying at an albergue = not annoying. Going to España = annoying.

 

[Leibniz]

I used to find “Camino angel” ridiculous until someone called me one. So now it’s okay.

 

[Dorpie]

I'm actually annoyed - ok let's say non-plussed - when someone tries too hard to pronounce a word from a foreign language as pronounced in that foreign language while speaking say English and not as usually pronounced in English. Brand names of cars are a good example. Personal names, too. Geographical names are another one. After all, we don't say Rrrroma [ˈroːma] (listen)), we pronounce it as Rome. I tend to pronounce Pamplona slightly differently, depending on whether I (try to) speak English, Spanish or German, and will say Pampelune in French .

As the late, great Richard Feynman said;


“You can know the name of that bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird. You'll only know about humans in different places, and what they call the bird. ... I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”

 

[Former member 81810]

If I may paraphrase Dr King, people should be judged by the sincerity behind what they say, not the words themselves. Buen Camino is a phrase that can be used no matter how much/little you know of other languages. Everyone who said it to me said it with a smile and I thank them for that (often just passing) interaction. Do we do the Camino as an island or part of the "family" .......

 

[Canuck]

The camino will provide.

Not always well received.
I used it once here on the forum, as a tongue-in-cheek comment, when I considered that someone was over planning.
As a result I was barred from the thread by a moderator.
My comment was considered offensive. Go figure...

 

[Camino Chrissy]

@canuk, probably the mods didn't want false hope to be given to newbies that never ending vino tinto and menu del dias would be floating down from the heavens, providing for their every need along the way. ☺

 

[Kathar1na]

It's the inflationary use of these terms - camino family, camino angel and even buen camino - that makes me personally feel averse to them. I hadn't read the books, watched the movies, studied the blogs, consumed the videos when I arrived in SJPP and had therefore never heard of any of these terms and I consider myself lucky. When an Australian who had just arrived in Europe wished us a buen camino shortly after we had passed the gate in SJPP, I turned to my companion in surprise and said: "Are we already in Spain"? And when, a few days later, I overheard someone saying to their neighbour: "She [meaning me] is our camino angel" I was taken aback and thought it was hyperbole. I still think that.

I fully understand that others perceive things differently.

 

[IngridF]

@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.

Totally with you here.

 

[t2andreo]

One is entitled to be annoyed or not....to simply go with the flow, or not. Whatever... As others have correctly stated, it is your Camino. The only thing you do NOT have any standing or right to do is to denigrate another's experience or expression. This is a corollary of Camino Rule #1 - Everyone walks their own Camino.

As regards the Camino-centric phrases above, all are actually correct IMHO. You are free to disagree:

'Buen Camino' means "good walk" literally translated. Colloquially it means something akin to "have a nice day" while on Camino...

'The Camino DOES provide!' Most every pilgrim will have had at least one serendipitous incident where something that ought not to have occurred does happen, and in a manner positive to that pilgrim's experience.

A 'Camino Angel' is someone who appears from the background and does a pilgrim a service that goes above and beyond what is accepted as commonplace. It is analogous to a Good Samaritan. But the comparison is apt. So, an angel is someone who treats another pilgrims blisters, carries their load when they are having difficulty. Loans or gives money to a pilgrim who has lost their funds, gives a hat or other item of gear to someone who needs one, etc., and so forth.

The film 'The Way,' is simply a translation of 'El Camino,' "The Way." NO surprise there.
...

On a separate tangent, mispronunciation of foreign words is just rude, IMHO. Before you travel ANYWHERE, you should take the time to listen to key phrases spoken over the internet.

We invest so much time and effort in planning pour travel and pilgrimage. Not learning a few keys phrases or place names, properly pronounced is, I believe, just culturally insensitive and rude.

Even though I was born, raised and schooled in the US, I still encounter place names even in my native land that are not pronounced like they are spelled. For example:

• Can YOU correctly pronounce Schuykll, as in Schuykll River, adjacent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Seriously, you can?
• Do you know the correct, local pronunciation for the City of Amarillo in west Texas?
• How about Albuquerque, New Mexico? (hint, similar to the correct sound of 'albergue')

I could go on, but y'all get the general idea...

Hope this helps the dialog

 

[Bradypus]

It's the inflationary use of these terms - camino family, camino angel and even buen camino - that makes me personally feel averse to them.

I agree. Some phrases and the concepts behind them seem to be becoming almost mandatory and canonical in discussion about the Caminos. As a solitary by preference I have a particular aversion to the phrase "camino family". It very often seems to be linked to a belief that the only true Camino is one which is a social and collective experience. I've sometimes read people stating that the Camino is "all about" meeting other people and sharing the journey with them. In the most extreme example I've seen a couple of years ago I read a post from a young woman about to start from SJPDP who asked if you were allowed to choose your own camino family or if you were assigned to one on departure

 

[Harington]

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

"alburge" "alberge" "alberque" "aubergue" etc

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have walked the caminos with my own family members or personal friends. I do not prefer being solitary, but neither do I prefer to form a camino family, yet have walked for a few delightful hours here and there with others I've met and keep in touch with several. I fall somewhere in the middle of both extremes.
I am happy for those who express that they love meeting lots of people and form camino families, but also understand those who prefer a solitary walk. I have sometimes wondered if I would be able to be as independent as they are; willing to walk all alone on obscure trails and seeing no one else. I admire that.

 

[kay lee]

I walked with a friend from Korea. She would/could not say "Buen Camino" the entire journey, even after being bombarded with the phrase all day every day, and even after I encouraged her to say it sometimes. Another thought: I prefer to walk without being surrounded by a "Camino family" and do get annoyed when these Camino families take over the path and the kitchen/living spaces. I just want some peace and a bit of space.

 

[Icacos]

There have been forum members, walking alone, who have mentioned that they've felt excluded by 'camino families' encountered on the trail and in albergues. I experienced this myself (feeling excluded) in an albergue kitchen one morning. Fortunately, I was walking with two cousins; I left the albergue with them and I didn't dwell on it. But I have to wonder how the solo (perhaps introverted) peregrino feels when he finds himself among camino families who are not inclusive.

 

[Icacos]

.....I prefer to walk without being surrounded by a "Camino family" and do get annoyed when these Camino families take over the path and the kitchen/living spaces. I just want some peace and a bit of space.

I agree wholeheartedly about your wanting some peace and a bit of space. How do we balance that with the feeling of being excluded? Perhaps the only solution is to get out walking as soon as possible.

 

[rector]

Ah, @rector, one of my pet secular peeves! Writers who cannot tell the difference between holding their breath in anticipation and filling their mouths with what might be attractive baubles in a vain attempt to attract an audience. I see you defer to the latter.

Ah you have caught me out baited was put in there for a reason, but look at the fun so many people have had. I am just sorry that I had to work last night and missed the fun

 

[John Crawford Howell]

I'm a solitary walker, Chris, and, like you, I'm not annoyed at all by the standard Camino expressions. Sometimes they serve to shake me from a reverie that has taken me in a different direction than the one intended. I'm known for going off the beaten path, so one of the first things I learned on the Camino was to be able to ask for the Flechas amarillas (yellow arrows)...

 

[AndreaCT]

I say this with a chuckle, because humans are complicated and we all have days where people irritate us. I wonder if there's a forum for the Spaniards who live along or by the any of the routes. "If I hear another pilgrim asking for café con leche...." or "those damn poles that go tap, tap tap" or "pilgrims that wake us up as they walk down the street at 7:00 talking about some guy in their albergue who woke them up early".

 

[rector]

I say this with a chuckle, because humans are complicated and we all have days where people irritate us. I wonder if there's a forum for the Spaniards who live along or by the any of the routes. "If I hear another pilgrim asking for café con leche...." or "those damn poles that go tap, tap tap" or "pilgrims that wake us up as they walk down the street at 7:00 talking about some guy in their albergue who woke them up early".

Now the poles get to me too, but they do come in handy sometimes

 

[Paladina]

Take time to smell the roses! On the Meseta?

 

[dougfitz]

Ah you have caught me out baited was put in there for a reason, but look at the fun so many people have had. I am just sorry that I had to work last night and missed the fun

So perhaps your breath was both bated and baited?

 

[HeidiL]

"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".

On the less popular caminos, I LOVE hearing the locals say it. On our recent Via Augusta, my son and I calculated that we heard it about once per ten km...

 

[rector]

So perhaps your breath was both bated and baited?

No as an old angler I can assure you that it was definitely baited

 

[t2andreo]

The solution to the "click clack" of unsheathed walking sticks is to buy and hand out inexpensive rubber tips (gomas de bastones). I usually carry a half-dozen spares for this purpose, and to replace the one that is usually always sacrificed to the 'mud god' on each of my Caminos so far...never fails.

In most China Bazars and outdoor stores in Spain, you can usually find them near the cash register, in a bowl and CHEAP, like a euro or so each. Compare that to 2 for maybe USD 10 at REI.

The size is fairly standard, 12 mm inner diameter IIRC. So, anyone can use them. The very few times that the tips have been too large, I recommend a turn or two of Duck tape to fill the gap. Works every time...

WHAT, you don't carry a small roll of Duck tape or Gorilla Tape? Get thee to thy nearest DIY or office supply store! You can find a variant of duck tape in 1 inch or less widths. I was able to get 1/2 inch Duck Brand tape at a office supply store. My DIY stores typically do not have less than 1" widths. It is all good. There is no end to the clever stuff you can do with this tape.

You might do this out of simple consideration for others. If picking up other folks rubbish is considered a good thing, then giving out noise-pollution silencing rubber tips is as good, at least IMHO.

This is a great icebreaker at a rest stop too. If you follow someone who does the 'clicky-clacky' thing, just introduce yourself and give them tips. It is a win-win. You meet someone new. They might buy you a beer. That could balance out your original investment...

Pay it forward pilgrims...

 

[Bradypus]

There is no end to the clever stuff you can do with this tape.

Immediately reminded me of this famous flowchart explaining how either duct tape or WD40 are the solution to most engineering problems

 

[trecile]

Immediately reminded me of this famous flowchart explaining how either duct tape or WD40 are the solution to most engineering problems
View attachment 50327

Duct tape is like the Force - it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

 

[Former member 69452]

Why focus on the negative and dislikes? Why not start out the year with a fresh new outlook, perhaps more optimism and positivity in your life? Your listed phrases lift my spirits every time I hear or read them, and personally, I don't find them annoying at all. FYI - it's "bated" breath, not "baited." Thanks.

 

[Anamiri]

Take time to smell the roses! On the Meseta?

Actually in June the roses were amazing. I have photos of spectacular roses at Hontanas

And the poppies, and all the other wild flowers. The Meseta was glorious with flowers

 

[Kathar1na]

Why focus on the negative and dislikes?

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.

FYI - it's "bated" breath, not "baited."

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

Just my opinion of course.

 

[rector]

Why focus on the negative and dislikes? Why not start out the year with a fresh new outlook, perhaps more optimism and positivity in your life? Your listed phrases lift my spirits every time I hear or read them, and personally, I don't find them annoying at all. FYI - it's "bated" breath, not "baited." Thanks.

Dear Jeff Why focus on the negative Start the new year with a more positive attitude
and accepted that we are all different with different perspectives i.e. Baited as in ideas proceeding from my mouth which may construed to attract those of a lighter disposition who appear in this darkest of seasons to have had too much fun on this little bit of silliness

 

[Simon B]

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

Oh dear not the best way to start 2019. I hope you are walking sometime this year and try to put all these negative thoughts behind you.

I do hope you are happy with 'Buen Camino'

 

[rector]

Oh dear not the best way to start 2019. I hope you are walking sometime this year and try to put all these negative thoughts behind you.

I do hope you are happy with 'Buen Camino'

It is never off my lips
Ps I did not start 2019 this way I finished 2018 this way

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Oh dear not the best way to start 2019. I hope you are walking sometime this year and try to put all these negative thoughts behind you.

I do hope you are happy with 'Buen Camino'

I don't see this so much as having negative thoughts; it seems to be more along the lines of how some folks are sensitive to --- and cringe at --- the sound of nails screeching across a blackboard whereas others do not.

 

[C clearly]

I don't see this so much as having negative thoughts

Agree. Furthermore, everyone has some minor "preferences" and laughing at our own reactions can be a very positive way to deal with them.

 

[LesR]

As I wrote on another thread:

Buen Camino can get pretty annoying when you are traveling at a pace that allows the 10,000 peregrinos who have started after you to greet you as they pass.

I agree!!! Was a nice greeting between passing pilgrims in the first couple of days, but I found myself becoming increasingly selective with its use as the camino progressed, to the point that I found it quite irritating, particularly after Sarria, when is seemed the (well intentioned, I hope) new pilgrims would throw it out at every other pilgrim overtaken, even cow, and possibly every power pole... To make matters worse, most of it seemed to come from the cyclist pilgrims who insisted on trying to use the footpath, despite a multitude of much slower pedestrian pilgrims...

My saving grace? "this too will pass..."

 

[KinkyOne]

There have been forum members, walking alone, who have mentioned that they've felt excluded by 'camino families' encountered on the trail and in albergues. I experienced this myself (feeling excluded) in an albergue kitchen one morning. Fortunately, I was walking with two cousins; I left the albergue with them and I didn't dwell on it. But I have to wonder how the solo (perhaps introverted) peregrino feels when he finds himself among camino families who are not inclusive.

Comfortable!

 

[KinkyOne]

Camino Francis. It's not a Frank, it's French!

Exactly!
Also:
- PamploMa,
- PrimAtivo,
- FinEsterre/FinisterrA,
- mixing Via de Bayona and Camino Vasco del Interior (although they overlapse from Irun to Estavillo, similar as Levante and Sureste on few more legs),
- turning left in Granja de Moreruela isn't Via de la Plata, it's Camino Sanabres which is branch of the VdlP (VdlP goes straight north to Astorga).

 

[Vanozza]

"the El Camino"
Or in extreme cases "the El Camino trail"

Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Former member 72918]

Camino spirit alive and well here clearly..... happy New year 2 all!!!

 

[Waka]

There have been forum members, walking alone, who have mentioned that they've felt excluded by 'camino families' encountered on the trail and in albergues. I experienced this myself (feeling excluded) in an albergue kitchen one morning. Fortunately, I was walking with two cousins; I left the albergue with them and I didn't dwell on it. But I have to wonder how the solo (perhaps introverted) peregrino feels when he finds himself among camino families who are not inclusive.

I always walk on my own, in the evening I see the same groups of people frequently doing their thing. I think exclusion can be a blessing, I met some many groups that just chat about nothing consistently that I often stop and let then pass, sometimes it’s hard to get peace in the albergues and on the trail..

 

[Devereaux]

Taking the bait...I'm hooked...on el Camino and este forum.

 

[J F Gregory]

I don't know much French, but 'the Le Puy' always strikes me as strange.

Pepe Le Puy one of my favorite child cartoons in the 60's

 

[trecile]

Pepe Le Puy one of my favorite child cartoons in the 60's

 

[Icacos]

Pepe Le Puy one of my favorite child cartoons in the 60's

Before tv came to my part of the world or, rather, before my family acquired a tv.

 

[Doug Delfeld]

This thread started with a comment about certain phrases. Though Camino Angel and “the Camino will Provide” are less understood and many times misused they have great meaning to those who have experienced them. As for Buen Camino, I personally love to hear it from a Local. It makes me feel as though they do like having us invade their lives and they do wish us safety and success.as for other pilgrims using it, if we didn’t say that we my just walk by our fellow pilgrims and ignore them. That’s what we so often do in real life and that’s a sad statement.
And lastly, when I hear the Camino referred to as The Way. I don’t think about the movie I remember that this whole pilgrimage was started to honor a Man, an apostle, of The Lord Jesus Christ who in the Bible said He was The Way. That give me joy and peace.

 

[JabbaPapa]

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

hmmmmm, well IMO people do sometimes overemphasise their "Camino Families" to the detriment of the pilgrimage as such, but to each his own, people can and do have their own purposes on the Camino that won't be in line with my own ideas. No probs.

The second is not wrong, but it's VERY frequently both misunderstood and misused -- it refers to those sorts of weird occurrences where things that you absolutely need just appear to come together for or on a Camino of their own volition, as if spontaneously or through some Hand of God. It does NOT refer to completely mundane and ordinary stuff like getting the last bed in the albergue hours after several people told you it was completely full !!

Again, the third is not wrong, but it's also VERY frequently both misunderstood and misused -- it refers to those other strange occurrences when likely the ONLY person who can help you in some sudden and unexpected distress, for miles and miles around, just pops up seemingly out of the blue at the exact right instant and with the exact right equipment or disposition to provide the exact assistance you need. If it's not seriously weird in that manner, then it's not a "Camino Angel" -- it's just a simple, ordinary, helpful person ....

It's your camino

Yeah, this one seriously annoys me --- just for starters, because no it isn't ; It's our Camino.

But mostly because it's become the trite go-to "excuse" for those wanting to "do the Camino", but without necessary patience to pure and simple walk the Camino.

People who call the Camino "the way" after the film. No reason, it is the direct translation I guess, but it just annoys me.

This one's wrong, sorry -- I've alternately used "the Way" since LONG before that film was ever released, alongside such other expressions as "the Camino", "the Way of Saint James", "the Francès", and so on and so forth ... it's NOT just the title of a certain film.

"the El Camino"
Or in extreme cases "the El Camino trail"

That one actually amuses me rather than annoys, and I've a lot of forbearance with it, after all not everyone has a knack for foreign languages, and some people can have great difficulties with them through no fault of their own, so one should sympathise and perhaps kindly correct their mistake, with a smile and good will.

If I had to pick a phrase that bothers me it would be "a real pilgrim", as in "you're not a real pilgrim unless...".

Yeah, this is another one of those that's VERY frequently both misunderstood and misused (spoiler alert, there's a FAR larger number of "real pilgrims" than most people realise) -- to be a bit tongue-in-cheek though, could I suggest that you're not a real pilgrim unless you've rid yourself of that sort of judgmentalism ? (which doesn't prevent jokes about busgrinos and taxigrinos and tourigrinos etc)

 

[Bristle Boy]

Regarding the title of the thread..
The OP knows fully well what he is doing!!!
He’s a teaser of “biblical” proportions and puts enough “contentious” material in his questions to ensure lively and humorous (and intelligent) debate!
I recognise his “modus operandi”....
In my books...he’s a little “scally”! With a tongue firmly in cheek!

 

[JabbaPapa]

"the El Camino"
Or in extreme cases "the El Camino trail"

Though (oddly enough !!) the phrase "the Le Puy route" is correct !!

 

[Kathar1na]

People who call the Camino "the way" after the film. No reason, it is the direct translation I guess, but it just annoys me.

Using the way or the camino in English often reminds me of a term that is missing and has largely disappeared from common parlance in this context: Saint James. Very few people refer to Saint James' Way in English, while German speakers or French speakers use the apostle's name in connection with the ways leading to Santiago more often: Jakobsweg and chemin de Saint Jacques.

And my impression from my albeit limited reading of medieval pilgrimage reports is that they didn't refer to the way or the camino at all, they said that they were going to Saint James in Galicia.

I also find it distinctly odd when posters refer to Jimmy when they mean Saint James.