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I was wondering if I was the only one who found it a difficult read (starting with the translation and onto the content).This was a tough read, beyond the translation. Does anybody else feel like it is the politicians missing the point? If the German groups of long ago called Castilla ugly, and that had an affect, how can it be that better signs (there are plenty) and a mobile app (it’s had at least one for over a decade thank you very much) won’t do much to help.
Castilla has an image problem. The meseta is pitched as flat (it isn’t). Boring boring boring is all you ever hear about it. They would do better to focus their efforts on reminding pilgrims what is so great about it. Or why skipping it misses the point of pilgrimage. Heck, they would do better to buy out the bus companies that happily shuttle pilgrims across their beautiful landscape.
I like that! Haha. I enjoyed the Meseta - even when it seemed boring and monotonous.Or they could one-up the compostela and offer a trophy to anyone that manages to successfully cross Mordor.
The start of this machine translated article made me already giggle: For George French, and I did not continue reading. It's of course Por Jorge Francés in the original version of this article in Spanish, and it is the name of the journalist who wrote the article.starting with the translation
Yes - I live in a desert - and even I have mountains surrounding my desert valley.Where I live there is nowhere outside (unless obscured by buildings) that you can't see mountains or substantial hills. Walking through a flatish area is very interesting and highly unusual for me. I loved the Meseta.
The link to the original article is in my OP, and I duly warned that the attached translation is from the Google machine.....The start of this machine translated article made me already giggle: For George French, and I did not continue reading. It's of course Por Jorge Francés in the original version of this article in Spanish, and it is the name of the journalist who wrote the article.
Here is the link to it: LA PARADOJA DE GALICIA Y CASTILLA Y LEÓN - Alerta en el Camino de Santiago francés tras perder la mitad de sus peregrinos en diez años. Even when you read the machine translation into English, this will allow you to check the original from time to time when the translation makes little sense or is the exact opposite of what is actually written.
I wonder why the various Caminos are not "parceled" and nominated into stages of minimum 100km length. Thus, any pilgrim unable to do longer walks could select any of such stages and get some kind of a Compostela with the appropriate stamps. As the church wants that the pilgrimage ends at the tomb... it could issue "Mini-Compostelas" that could be presented at any time in SdC to receive the REAL one.I was wondering if I was the only one who found it a difficult read (starting with the translation and onto the content).
Totally agree with everything you said about the meseta. It would also help if pilgrims knew there were more services along the meseta - but then that would change the meseta in a potentially negative way. But would be lovely if there were a few "oasis" areas to rest from the heat/sun in the area.
But I think the article also missed another big reason people are avoiding the Frances - fear of crowds! Especially in the Sarria to Santiago section. Post after post after post talk about how crowded the "Frances" is and the "bed race" and such - but really the bed race isn't that big of a deal with the exceptions of POSSIBLY SJPDP to Zubiri and then moreso Sarria to Santiago. Perhaps a better effort would be to promote and/or create more alternate short pilgrimages for those who just want to do the last 100km (like the Ingles) and promote them more as short pilgrimages for those who don't want to or can't walk the entire length of Spain - and promote the Invierno as an alternate end to the Frances.
Where I live there is nowhere outside (unless obscured by buildings) that you can't see mountains or substantial hills. Walking through a flatish area is very interesting and highly unusual for me. I loved the Meseta.
I live in New Orleans. There are no mountains to be seen, only an occasional overpass! I thoroughly enjoyed the Meseta! It was my favorite section. When I go for local walks between the levee and Lake Pontchartrain in my suburb, I think of the terrain as our local Meseta, which triggers fond memories!Yes - I live in a desert - and even I have mountains surrounding my desert valley.
dittoI walked the Meseta in Sept 2022, part of my Camino Francés. It was my favorite part and I was surprised that some blogs or social media suggested skipping it because it was “tedious”. The sunrises were gorgeous, watching dawn give way to the day, listening to nature as each day came alive. There was lots of time for reflection and solitude, just what I was seeking on my camino. I thoroughly enjoyed the albergues and having a chance to chat with the locals in the towns along the way. I speak Spanish which helped but regardless, the people were all very kind and appreciative of the peregrinos’ presence and pilgrimmage.
Absolutely right what you say about the Meseta. It is a beautifull part of the caminoThis was a tough read, beyond the translation. Does anybody else feel like it is the politicians missing the point? If the German groups of long ago called Castilla ugly, and that had an affect, how can it be that better signs (there are plenty) and a mobile app (it’s had at least one for over a decade thank you very much) won’t do much to help.
Castilla has an image problem. The meseta is pitched as flat (it isn’t). Boring boring boring is all you ever hear about it. They would do better to focus their efforts on reminding pilgrims what is so great about it. Or why skipping it misses the point of pilgrimage. Heck, they would do better to buy out the bus companies that happily shuttle pilgrims across their beautiful landscape.
Fact is I’m with you, the point of a pilgrimage is the journey and the time it affords. I didn’t get all the way across last year due to a family death but one of the bits I’m looking forward to tackling in the next month or three is the Meseta. For a solo minded person like me, it’s actually much more attractive than the “final push past SarriaI like that! Haha. I enjoyed the Meseta - even when it seemed boring and monotonous.
Yes, that is the spirit.I have crossed the Meseta three times and loved it each time, the same as I have loved every metre of my Caminos end to end. I don't care if it is uphill, downhill, industrial areas, roadsides, tracks, cobblestones or whatever, it is all good.
I used to live near Chorley, Lancashire, UK. We didn’t have a twin-town, but it was suggested we should have a suicide pact with Mordor.Or they could one-up the compostela and offer a trophy to anyone that manages to successfully cross Mordor.
I live in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Similar terrain; we practice for hills and mountains on the main bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.I live in New Orleans. There are no mountains to be seen, only an occasional overpass! I thoroughly enjoyed the Meseta! It was my favorite section. When I go for local walks between the levee and Lake Pontchartrain in my suburb, I think of the terrain as our local Meseta, which triggers fond memories!
Bob
ginniek, I loved your response! I tried walking in the parking garage at a local hospital but got caught and kicked out. Now whenever I go to my doctor's office, I never park on the correct level. I suspect people think I lost my car.I live in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Similar terrain; we practice for hills and mountains on the main bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.
I will never forget the evening in Bercianos del Real Camino at the Bercianos 1900 Bar.The Meseta was incredible and I was grieved to see how many people skipped it. Those little towns had a very mystical vibe that I think about all the time.
We walked the Meseta but not right away. There were several reported factors that delayed our walking it. Heat/exposure in September, reports of how boring/flat the landscape was, and most of all the lack of infrastructure and private rooms at busy times. We finally walked the meseta in Winter. It was cold and Windy, Would I walk it again, probably not.I was wondering if I was the only one who found it a difficult read (starting with the translation and onto the content).
Totally agree with everything you said about the meseta. It would also help if pilgrims knew there were more services along the meseta - but then that would change the meseta in a potentially negative way. But would be lovely if there were a few "oasis" areas to rest from the heat/sun in the area.
But I think the article also missed another big reason people are avoiding the Frances - fear of crowds! Especially in the Sarria to Santiago section. Post after post after post talk about how crowded the "Frances" is and the "bed race" and such - but really the bed race isn't that big of a deal with the exceptions of POSSIBLY SJPDP to Zubiri and then moreso Sarria to Santiago. Perhaps a better effort would be to promote and/or create more alternate short pilgrimages for those who just want to do the last 100km (like the Ingles) and promote them more as short pilgrimages for those who don't want to or can't walk the entire length of Spain - and promote the Invierno as an alternate end to the Frances.
I 100% agree with Rebekah. IMHO, someone who cherry-picks "the easiest" stretches from a "Camino menu" is a tourist. That said, I consider the Meseta totally as an "easy" walk, but also as one of the most beautiful parts of the CF; without it, a "real Camino" it is not.I live on the Meseta Palentina. I think it's a mistake to slice and dice the camino into sections and judge it according to the number of pilgrims who cross it from one year to the next. This capitalist myth of eternal expansion is what's destroying our earth all over.
I ponder the intellect of anyone who would skip an entire section because some Rando internet person called it "boring." I marvel that people who cherry-pick the "must-see" sections and "highlights" and then tell the world they "walked the Camino."
If fewer people walk through here, that's a good thing. Let the tourists take the bus to the next beauty spot, and leave the pilgrim Way clear for pilgrims.
The camino was not created to entertain sight-seers and thrill-seekers, or fill the pockets of entrepreneurs. It's a pilgrimage that teaches you to "take it as it comes." The Meseta is an integral, vital part of the pilgrimage experience. IMHO, No Meseta, no Camino Frances.
Well, yes. Micro-cherry-picking?one may call this cherry-picking too
I 100% agree with Rebekah. IMHO, someone who cherry-picks "the easiest" stretches from a "Camino menu" is a tourist. That said, I consider the Meseta totally as an "easy" walk, but also as one of the most beautiful parts of the CF; without it, a "real Camino" it is not.
I admit of occasionally skipping stretches like the ones before – and right after – the centers of Burgos, Leon, or the miles long dreary passages along main roads, like from Villafranca del Bierzo to Trabadelo and from Molinaseca to Ponferrada, and one may call this cherry-picking too. It's a liberty I grant myself after 5 long CF's and with more than 79 circles around the sun done, especially in bad weather.
But skipping the Meseta? NEVER!
Anyone who walks the last 100km to SdC can receive a Compostela so I am not sure if someone skips a section, why one would not think they had not “walked the camino”. The CC appears to consider them as having walked the camino?I ponder the intellect of anyone who would skip an entire section because some Rando internet person called it "boring." I marvel that people who cherry-pick the "must-see" sections and "highlights" and then tell the world they "walked the Camino."
If fewer people walk through here, that's a good thing. Let the tourists take the bus to the next beauty spot, and leave the pilgrim Way clear for pilgrims.
I’ll confess to not having your enviable non-judgemental approach to life.Agree with Marb2. After we departed Sarria after starting in SJPP, we met lovely people walking the minimum distance to get their Compostela, and they were every bit as excited about their pilgrimage as we were departing from SJPP. One group of wild senior Irish women were staying in SdC and taking a bus out to their starting point each day, which seemed odd to us, but didn't seem to dampen their delight in their pilgrimage one bit. Given all the heat-related deaths on the CF over the years, someone might legitimately skip the meseta for health concerns. Everyone's pilgrimage is personal, and who are we to judge?
BrilliantOr they could one-up the compostela and offer a trophy to anyone that manages to successfully cross Mordor.
I love that, thanks, Alex[The Camino] is a pilgrimageor a journey though landscapes orthrough your mind.
I truly appreciate and respect, how everyone views and what others thinks or feel and how they define “what” the camino is for themselves . But there is no one “right” way to do the camino. There is only a right way for each of us who does it, and that is up to the walker and their intentions.When I walked the Camino Francés as a total camino-newbie, I had been warned the Meseta would be boring, would be the ultimate test of motivation, should be skipped, was not worth it.
But even then (luckily) I did not really get the the logic behind all that talk. It might be valid if you are on a tourist trip with very limited time at hand. Just go for some sightseeing highlights.
But the Camino Francés is in its core not a tourist trip. It is a pilgrimage or a journey though landscapes or through your own mind ... or all of it together. Skipping part of it is like leaving out chapters of a book. To me, unimaginable.
And then I got there and walked and I was rather confused, as it was neither boring nor a test of my mind and motivation. But it was a great experience, contrasting to and complementing other great experiences on the Camino Francés.
This is why I wrote "To me, unimaginable."I truly appreciate and respect, how everyone views and what others thinks or feel and how they define “what” the camino is for themselves . But there is no one “right” way to do the camino. There is only a right way for each of us who does it, and that is up to the walker and their intentions.
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