Leanan-sidhe
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances (June, 2012) (Dec/Jan, 2013/14) Camino Portuguese (Summer, 2014)
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We all start out like this…
We buy a guide book, read excitedly about the Camino and its stages and often follow the recommendations about albergues and routes outlined in them because after all the author must know!
During my last Camino I decided to ditch the recommendations of the famous Brierley guide when I discovered that the little villages in between stages are often more beautiful, peaceful and welcoming then the ‘recommended’ stage destinations.
However, one day I got confronted with the reality of what these recommendations mean to locals and I was both shocked and saddened by it.
Walking out of Leon I decided to take the ‘grey’ route planning to stay in San Martin del Camino. It was a pleasant walk despite walking along the road. One of the locals, now in his 90s, had left out snacks and drinks in his front yard for pilgrims to enjoy as he used to walk the Camino many times when he was younger …. It was the nicest thing ever … except there were no pilgrims to enjoy it and this was in June!
Upon arrival in San Martin I stayed in Santa Ana … it was spacious, clean … and very empty! There were 4 pilgrims (including myself) and the other 2 albergues didn’t look any busier. When I talked to hospitaleira I discovered that since the route via Mazarife was recommended hardly any pilgrims came this way and a 4th Albuerge in town had to close down already. During the joined evening meal I discovered that 2 of the other pilgrims only had ended up there because they had ‘taken a wrong turn’ and they wanted to take the recommended route too. I felt very sorry for the owner of the Albergue as she was so welcoming, an amazing cook and we even got free cherries from a tree growing in the yard.
Make of this little story what you want but it really brought home to that the decisions we make, the guide books we follow (often without thinking too much about it) can have a profound impact on the locals. Perhaps we should start using our own head more, choose our routes and places to stay based on what feels right to us rather than following the trail like sheep.
Despite all this I had an amazing time and wish everybody all the joy and love there is to discover out there!
Andrea
Brierley's book is not the reason why so many people do not walk a certain path as the book is only for english speaking pilgrims.
I'm not suggesting that it is the guide book authors fault (Brierley or any of the others). Guide books are valuable resources and definitely help in the decision making process.Andrea I appreciate what you are saying but our decisions are our own not the author of a guidebook. Brierley's book is not the reason why so many people do not walk a certain path as the book is only for english speaking pilgrims. Which, if the stats are correct, are not the majority of pilgrims. I don't like seeing hard working people struggle either but I just can't see how Brierley is responsible by writing a guide.
Mark
Ditto when I do my Camino in late April and May.Thank you both for wonderful thoughtful posts. I will be mindful when I am on my Camino in May and June of 2014. This seems to be, from what I have read in other threads, what pilgrims are seeking/looking for.
Buen Caminio to all!
No, at no one moment did I miss having a guide.Anna, I also hope to walk without a guide. I have the Brierley and the Kompass Jakobsweg Spanien but I am hoping to manage simply with a few handwritten notes and a list of Albergues, plus Kindle downloads and iPhone mapping apps to bail me out if necessary.
I just don't want to carry a guidebook.
Did you miss having one? Was a map still necessary?
I'm going to walk the Francès in July 2014; I figure that there will be plenty of people to follow along the way.
Am I off-base or too cavalier about it? I'm a pretty confident, experienced, lightweight traveler, but I've never done anything of this sort.
We all start out like this…
We buy a guide book, read excitedly about the Camino and its stages and often follow the recommendations about albergues and routes outlined in them because after all the author must know!
During my last Camino I decided to ditch the recommendations of the famous Brierley guide when I discovered that the little villages in between stages are often more beautiful, peaceful and welcoming then the ‘recommended’ stage destinations.
However, one day I got confronted with the reality of what these recommendations mean to locals and I was both shocked and saddened by it.
Walking out of Leon I decided to take the ‘grey’ route planning to stay in San Martin del Camino. It was a pleasant walk despite walking along the road. One of the locals, now in his 90s, had left out snacks and drinks in his front yard for pilgrims to enjoy as he used to walk the Camino many times when he was younger …. It was the nicest thing ever … except there were no pilgrims to enjoy it and this was in June!
Upon arrival in San Martin I stayed in Santa Ana … it was spacious, clean … and very empty! There were 4 pilgrims (including myself) and the other 2 albergues didn’t look any busier. When I talked to hospitaleira I discovered that since the route via Mazarife was recommended hardly any pilgrims came this way and a 4th Albuerge in town had to close down already. During the joined evening meal I discovered that 2 of the other pilgrims only had ended up there because they had ‘taken a wrong turn’ and they wanted to take the recommended route too. I felt very sorry for the owner of the Albergue as she was so welcoming, an amazing cook and we even got free cherries from a tree growing in the yard.
Make of this little story what you want but it really brought home to that the decisions we make, the guide books we follow (often without thinking too much about it) can have a profound impact on the locals. Perhaps we should start using our own head more, choose our routes and places to stay based on what feels right to us rather than following the trail like sheep.
Despite all this I had an amazing time and wish everybody all the joy and love there is to discover out there!
Andrea
I would have gone the grey route but couldn't find the turn off--believe me it would have been much nicer than the "regular" route--it was long and a miserable walk around the airport.
I'm a bit confused. Are there more than one set of yellow arrows?
I'm a bit confused. Are there more than one set of yellow arrows?
I would have gone the grey route but couldn't find the turn off--believe me it would have been much nicer than the "regular" route--it was long and a miserable walk around the airport.
Going into Burgos seems to be a hell regardles of the routeIf that was the one around Burgos airport, then I totally agree. It was a miserable muddu waterlogged bit of hell followed by endless road through horrible suburbs.
If that was the one around Burgos airport, then I totally agree. It was a miserable muddu waterlogged bit of hell followed by endless road through horrible suburbs.
Going into Burgos seems to be a hell regardles of the route... i took the grey route and it covered nearly 3 hours of industrial / suburbs but I guess at least it wasn't waterlogged!
We took this route in 2012, the bit to the Airport was a bit muddy but then so were most places that week. We stopped at the junction at the main road and a few locals told us not to turn right but to cross the road then the river and follow the path all the way into Burgos. It was indeed beautiful.I'm not sure which route you mean as the grey route! The river route, usually known as the alternate route is delightful, however first you have to skirt around the perimeter fencing of the airport. The first time we did that, in the month of May, it was very muddy, but once you cross the main road, you are soon entering the park and walk long side the river all the way to the centre of Burgos. It's a nice, relaxing couple of hours walk. It believe that this alternate route is now becoming more popular, and rightly too! Anne
That is why we like the CSJ guides which give clear directions and accomodation suggestions, as well as the albergues, but not preconceived stages. We also carry the strips we need cut from the Mapas Militar, in case we want to deviate or a badly signed diversion means we have strayed and need to get back to the marked route. This year we will be more dependent on the maps on the Camino del Mar as the route may not be so well signed until we join the Camino Inglés at Xubia (Neda/Narón), and anyway Terry loves maps.It might seem like a "no brainer," but I´d like to make clear we are talking about the Camino Frances here, the "main camino" that is fully waymarked and well-served throughout. Pilgrims who want to follow more other camino routes really should carry a guidebook or map or app, because minor routes are not so heavily waymarked!
It might seem like a "no brainer," but I´d like to make clear we are talking about the Camino Frances here, the "main camino" that is fully waymarked and well-served throughout. Pilgrims who want to follow more other camino routes really should carry a guidebook or map or app, because minor routes are not so heavily waymarked!
I have never had a guide book. I check out on the Web the various options and simply follow the yellow arrows. Anne
Roll on our time on the Camino del Marthat is why we have people like you and Gunnar and Kaminka and Susanna from Sweden (even me, sometimes!), people who love maps and compasses and "the old ways..." People who go in first and prove it can be done. You are still a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela, but you get all the fun and frisson of bushwacking and pioneering. It is scary sometimes, and frustrating. But it is also a blast!
Hey,
This book was pretty obscure and I hadn't seen anybody else with one, and it felt like it was meant to be. It proved to be THE BEST tool on my Camino. It had massive historical detail and alternate routes and stop off points to the Brierley book and I am now SO glad that I forgot mine as it resulted in a totally different experience to the majority of walkers.
Hey,
We (my friend, Jordan, and I) walked the Camino Frances in June/July 2013..
We are very contrasting characters despite being best friends! Before our Camino I found myself meticulously planning every step, learning in so much thorough detail every tiny step our journey. I read the books, studied my Brierley guide cover to cover more than once, consulted other walkers on every aspect of my kit, downloaded applications, spent many many hours on this forum researching for every and any Camino eventuality...
Jordan sort of floated along behind me in his chilled out, "it'll be fine" way.
Looking back on my pre-camino self, I really see how my Camino changed me (for the better).
We live in Wales, UK and were flying out from Cardiff airport, a two hour drive from our home county of Pembrokeshire on the west coast.
I was ready, everything sorted, I had been packed for weeks.
As we were approaching the outskirts of Cardiff I had a moment of sheer panic realising that I had left the guide book on my kitchen table. I felt like an idiot.
I personally feel that the Camino possesses a VERY powerful universal energy and it had found me before we'd even arrived in France! It was telling me to let go. To relax and let it be.
We arrived in St Jean and I was presented with the opportunity of buying another copy of my Brierley guide and listening to my Camino prompt, I denied myself the control! Fast forward a few weeks into our walk, everything going well (bookless still). We ended up falling out of the mainstream Brierley pace of the Camino and found ourselves in a lovely private Albergue having a communal dinner with people from all around the world... as we were about to leave in the morning an Aussie lady said to me "I found this guide book yesterday, I felt that you should have it." Was the Camino rewarding me?
This book was pretty obscure and I hadn't seen anybody else with one, and it felt like it was meant to be. It proved to be THE BEST tool on my Camino. It had massive historical detail and alternate routes and stop off points to the Brierley book and I am now SO glad that I forgot mine as it resulted in a totally different experience to the majority of walkers.
On the Camino i realised that when you really require something for the right reasons it will be provided. Even if what you require is learning a harsh lesson the hard way! For me it all started with the guide book and continued in a variety of way throughout my whole walk!
In summary, my advice would be to let go a little bit. Be prepared, but not over prepared. The Brierley guide is NOT the be all and end all and I am so glad that I didn't use one. You will be fine. The Camino will care for you if you are willing to learn from its great energy.
Buen Camino!
@DurhamParish and @karenfromcali there are at times rutas alternativas along the Francés which are well marked with yellow arrows. Those that come to my mind right now are the following:
1) The "river route" into Burgos. Watch for the signs before the airport. This route is lovely as it will take you along the river directly into the city. I took this route and was so pleased as everyone else was complaining about walking through the industrial area.
2) Between Frómista and Carrión de los Condes: right after Población de Campos you take a right turn which takes you away from the main drag for a short deviation to avoid the road. You can't go wrong here and it leads you back to the main road.
3) Before Bercianos del Camino Real there is an alternative route which leads you to Calzada de Coto and then to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos (joining the main route in Mansilla de las Mulas). Instead of walking straight to Bercianos, you make a right turn. All well marked. Fewer pilgrims go that route along the Calzada Romana but there is a municipal albergue in Calzadilla and a very small store. I visited a fellow hospitalero there this summer when I was working in the albergue in El Burgo Ranero (town after Bercianos). He commented that most of the pilgrims were Americans. Apparently a guide book recommended this route. This was in July and I can tell you that it was very quiet on that side of the Camino whereas we were full almost everyday.
4) The alternative mentioned above through Villar de Mazarife.
5) Between Tricastela and Sarria: the well marked route via Samos which is lovely.
If I have missed something please add.
I took a guidebook the first time but rarely followed the advised stages. I still don't. It is too much fun not knowing where I will end up at the end of the day. But this does not hold for many of the other Caminos where there are fewer albergues and a bit of planning is necessary. Personally I am most happy just following the arrows, they rarely take you off course.
While a guidebook can be a script, it also can provide interesting historical information. I found Alison Raju's guide better than John Brierley's in this respect. She has segments that are not daily recommendations, so you might find it less of a script. And it is lighter and fits in a cargo pants pocket.I fully intend my journey to be as unscripted as possible.
While a guidebook can be a script, it also can provide interesting historical information. I found Alison Raju's guide better than John Brierley's in this respect. She has segments that are not daily recommendations, so you might find it less of a script. And it is lighter and fits in a cargo pants pocket.
@DurhamParish and @karenfromcali there are at times rutas alternativas along the Francés which are well marked with yellow arrows. Those that come to my mind right now are the following:
1) The "river route" into Burgos. Watch for the signs before the airport. This route is lovely as it will take you along the river directly into the city. I took this route and was so pleased as everyone else was complaining about walking through the industrial area.
2) Between Frómista and Carrión de los Condes: right after Población de Campos you take a right turn which takes you away from the main drag for a short deviation to avoid the road. You can't go wrong here and it leads you back to the main road.
3) Before Bercianos del Camino Real there is an alternative route which leads you to Calzada de Coto and then to Calzadilla de los Hermanillos (joining the main route in Mansilla de las Mulas). Instead of walking straight to Bercianos, you make a right turn. All well marked. Fewer pilgrims go that route along the Calzada Romana but there is a municipal albergue in Calzadilla and a very small store. I visited a fellow hospitalero there this summer when I was working in the albergue in El Burgo Ranero (town after Bercianos). He commented that most of the pilgrims were Americans. Apparently a guide book recommended this route. This was in July and I can tell you that it was very quiet on that side of the Camino whereas we were full almost everyday.
4) The alternative mentioned above through Villar de Mazarife.
5) Between Tricastela and Sarria: the well marked route via Samos which is lovely.
If I have missed something please add.
I took a guidebook the first time but rarely followed the advised stages. I still don't. It is too much fun not knowing where I will end up at the end of the day. But this does not hold for many of the other Caminos where there are fewer albergues and a bit of planning is necessary. Personally I am most happy just following the arrows, they rarely take you off course.
They are standard fare in a cocido maragato available in Astorga.They blessed him and kept insisting that he try the local specialty, which he politely did, only to find out when an English speaker showed up that it was pig's ears.
Earlierthis year we walked the Frances for the second time with confidence and met a few people who wanted to shoot John Brierly because they were pushed too far by his timetable that they were unable to maintain. We watched in Cacabelos as dangerously exhusted pilgrims pushed on in temps of 35+c to reach thier daily goal. perhaps if the guides were written in a more linear form with no daily targets people would be compelled to look more carefully at each day's journey. All that having been said we have only two weeks this year and so we are doing Porto to Santiago hopefully by the coast as far as possible there do not seem to be guides on this after 20km and we would love one. guides are needed but must be constantly updatedIt might seem like a "no brainer," but I´d like to make clear we are talking about the Camino Frances here, the "main camino" that is fully waymarked and well-served throughout. Pilgrims who want to follow more other camino routes really should carry a guidebook or map or app, because minor routes are not so heavily waymarked!
I think I missed the rule that said his stages were mandatory. They do match the information sheets from SJPdP fairly closely. Maybe it is the fault of the French...we walked the Frances for the second time with confidence and met a few people who wanted to shoot John Brierly because they were pushed too far by his timetable that they were unable to maintain
Johnnie walker of this forum has written a guide for Porto-Sdc. You can find it here:dAll that having been said we have only two weeks this year and so we are doing Porto to Santiago hopefully by the coast as far as possible there do not seem to be guides on this after 20km and we would love one. guides are needed but must be constantly updated
Earlierthis year we walked the Frances for the second time with confidence and met a few people who wanted to shoot John Brierly because they were pushed too far by his timetable that they were unable to maintain.
Really no need for a guidebook on the Camino now that we have internet, smartphones and wifi, especially if you speak Spanish. That said, it is nice to have something that offers you an overall idea of where you are going and what there is to see and visit.
I agree with you and I dont stick to the book in any way. The point is that people who do not have experience, read the books and the way they are set out leads them to think this is what you do yes for many they are too short but I just seen sooooo many people in real pain and exhusted this year that it made me look again at the books. It could be said that pushing yourself is good for you, and it is but sometimes sadly it is not as the headstones tell us.I think I missed the rule that said his stages were mandatory. They do match the information sheets from SJPdP fairly closely. Maybe it is the fault of the French...
Walking out of Leon I decided to take the ‘grey’ route planning to stay in San Martin del Camino. It was a pleasant walk despite walking along the road. One of the locals, now in his 90s, had left out snacks and drinks in his front yard for pilgrims to enjoy as he used to walk the Camino many times when he was younger …. It was the nicest thing ever … except there were no pilgrims to enjoy it and this was in June!
Thank you for this! I'd actually considered getting the Brierly guide to know what's in the area, but also avoid the stages it recommends so I can enjoy less crowded albergues. Though I might just let the Camino lead me and end up wherever I end up.
We all start out like this…
We buy a guide book, read excitedly about the Camino and its stages and often follow the recommendations about albergues and routes outlined in them because after all the author must know!
During my last Camino I decided to ditch the recommendations of the famous Brierley guide when I discovered that the little villages in between stages are often more beautiful, peaceful and welcoming then the ‘recommended’ stage destinations...........
Andrea
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