Nomad Pack
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 1497
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Intersting way to go. Please post pics of your unique pilgrimage.
Buen camino.
Oh, maybe everyone is a real pilgrim walking very different and real ways.
Hi to all real pilgrims.
After walking with my girlfriend from Andorra through the Spanish Pyrenees to Cantabria last winter and spring, I am now preparing to continue possibly alone. I will be heading towards Burgos which is roughly 130 km south of me. Then possibly south on the ruta de la lana or west along the horrible frances route.
I travel with my donkey and two large dogs, were not very tourist friendly if the cameras come out and you will never find us near an albergue. I like to travel as pilgrims once did before as this is a way of life for me, we sleep under the church roofs if one is near by or in the wild with our campfire. I've worked as a guide before and my gracious donkey will carry an extra backpack for friends or apples.
I'm looking for other (real) Pilgrims to share some adventures with before the next tourist season where i will then be hiring myself out as a guide once again.
I'm happy to give what advice i can to anyone with questions.
Anybody looking for a more wild adventure or tourist pilgrims wishing to walk the way with a donkey let me know.
Ciao
I like to travel as pilgrims once did before .....
Hi, Nomad Pack,
Welcome to the forum. As a new member, you probably haven't had the time to scroll through the many threads in which people debate the unanswerable and highly provocative question of who is or isn't a "real" pilgrim. Many of those threads wind up being closed by the moderators because they descend into personal insults, judgmental pontifications, or just general unhelpful bloviating..
Wishing you well in your camino, and as you may know, wild camping in Spain can be problematic. Hope you figure it out. Buen camino, Laurie
Bloviating! A new word for me, I like it. I had a donkey growing up and would love to travel with one again some day. Seems like there would be logistical problems in modern Spain, even with all the privately owned farmland. My other question is whether real pilgrims use the internet?
Ho hum, Tim Moore did this years ago, "Travels with My Donkey" or "One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago". I sincerely hope you have a more cooperative donkey than poor Tim!
Very good, i cant disagree with the history you explain other than to say many pilgrims would still be spending many could nights under a tree inbetween these hospitales. And your right promoting camp-fires i shouldnt do considering how many people cant light one, let alone safely. However i will always promote camping as to pay to sleep should be illegal and we live in a very corrupted system which i will not support. Plus as i said in another reply the police support my camping.An interesting concept amigo. The historical evidence kind of contradicts that concept. The vast network of Hospitales that was established in the middle-ages purely to shelter and feed pilgrims and the numerous accounts of their experiences suggest that 'real' pilgrims made their way from shelter to shelter along the most easily accessed route and with one objective in mind - to arrive in Santiago. Your proposed route does not seem to have Santiago in mind. My pilgrimages are usually to Fisterra and the 'end of the world' but then my gods are older than most.
However, if your objective is to follow some ancient tracks through some spectacular landscapes then I wish you well. Just, please, don't promote the concept of free camping and camp-fires in a country where both are generally illegal and present a serious threat to the environment. I'm sure you are very good at what you do - most people aren't.
Buen caminos
... as to pay to sleep should be illegal ....
No sarcasm intended.....I'm sure *grin*Sure, buying or renting an albergue if for free, cleaning material, toilet paper, electricity and water likewise. I am shaking my head here, BC SY
Myself, as a hospitalero alwais say: "This albergue is runned by the work of volunteers and the pilgrim´s donations. If you can´t affor a single coin to the box, don´t do it, you are welcome in this house anyway. But if it is possible, please be as generous as you can, because you are paying for you and for the less fortunate than you.The Camino isn't free. We who walk support the local economiy.
I understand trying to look for the best price, but a price is to be paid. There is the effort and time of the people and organisations that support us on the Camino.
I have had a hospitalero try to tell me that I did not have to donate at a donativo. (Yes, really it happened) That did not stop me from contributing a fair share.
Albergues are also run for the betterment of the pilgrim. Hospitaleros do not always benefit (some do of course).
Well said. In my future I will likely be a hospitalero. For now I am content to be a pilgrim.Myself, as a hospitalero alwais say: "This albergue is runned by the work of volunteers and the pilgrim´s donations. If you can´t affor a single coin to the box, don´t do it, you are welcome in this house anyway. But if it is possible, please be as generous as you can, because you are paying for you and for the less fortunate than you.
... and that's just the warm-up! Wait til I get really wound-up!personal insults, judgmental pontifications, or just general unhelpful bloviating
Won't argue with that, but in my opinion the camino frances is now just a tourist trail and has lost its creditably. Too many people see it as a cheap holiday rather than a true pilgrimage and this attitude is seen more and more every year.
The moderators truly appreciate the restraint the members have shown in this thread.
We have been making efforts to allowing threads to remain open..
This first thread by a new member would seem to test the tolerance level of long time forum posters.
Again, thanks for your civil replies.
I'll be starting from Bayonne on October 11th. I'd be very happy to meet you along the way!
I'll keep an apple handy!
Gord[/QUOTE
That would be awesome, if were on the way at the same time you will find us easily, just ask the locals, elderly but still quicker than facebook
Off topic, but I hope you enjoy the Baztan, Gord...it's a real gem.I'll be starting from Bayonne on October 11th
Man travelling with a donkey and two large dogs complains about the waste left behind by human pilgrims.
Does a brown dog Sh/7 in the woods?
Is it really an issue if people treat it as a cheap holiday? Not everyone can afford an African safari or renting an apartment by a beach for two weeks. People should be encouraged to use their holiday time walking Caminos. They are doing themselves a lot of good, both physically and spiritually. They also contribute to the economies of the destinations along the Camino, many of which would be very poor otherwise.
Great photos. That cat is amazing.
Too many people see it as a cheap holiday rather than a true pilgrimage .
Hi NomadPack,
I like your pictures and I see you forgot to mention there's also a cat
As a matter of fact, your post was particularly interesting for me because I just finished the Portuguese Caminho, got back to the Algarve and I'm now planning to do the Caminho again in spring next year, leaving from Faro but this time with Balthazar and Melchior, my two donkeys. Have you got any practical advice for me about your daily "mileage"? Feeding, hooves etc ?
So, any practical info on the donkey part would be very much appreciated.
I also see you carry a tent. Good for you but I'm 78 and I do like from time to time to sleep in a "real" bed and take a hot shower. Have you got any info on cheap lodging with stabling/overnighting facilities for two donkeys ?
Thank you very much. And btw, I understand your reactions to "tourists" but you know, we're not all the same. I trekked thru the Sahara for a year and a half and I had exactly the same reaction about "tourists" then, but that was 50 years ago ! We all travel for our own reasons and we have to accept that one way of travelling has not necessarily more merit than another.
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