Jon Santiago said:
I'm wondering -- this question to anyone who's walked the Camino a number of times -- How has the experience changed for you over the years as more people are discovering the pilgrimage?
My main observation is that in 1998 I met only two people who claimed to be walkers; the rest were pilgrims. I walked SJPP to Finisterre in 2004 and have undertaken an annual pilgrimage of varying length every year since. As the years have gone on the numbers of those who are simply walkers has risen. In 2008 it felt that pilgrims were out numbered.
My observations are
This has resulted in some deteroration of courtesy in the albergues among those on the Camino.
I have found that the two groups do not interact as much as they might.
There has been an explosion in private albergues - I do not decry this, it is an observation.
I have come to value even more the albergues where the ethos is Christian, where eating together and going to worship together is very much part of the communal life there. In 2008 I spent the night in Santo Domingo and only walked as far as Granon because of my stay there the year before. It was to be a significant second visit.
I now try to stay in albergues with a Christian ethos and will plan my journey accordingly.
At times I have felt that my attempt to escape the materialism of the secular world by going on pilgrimage has been somewhat thwatered. I am now surrounded by people chattering on their mobile phones, who sit listening to their iPods where I once would have found conversation, where the internet connections in albergues are being used by people to catch up on their emails.
I go on pilgrimage to step outside of normal life and this has become a little more difficult as the years have rolled by. Finding quiet and solitutde is more difficult. I have been quietly praying in churches when even pilgrims have barged in like they were entering a pub.
In 2009 I walked both legs of the Camino Inglés and found the solitude and lack of numbers was a real blessing. Arriving in Santiago was a shock and walking to Muxia brought me back to earth with a bump.
My worry about finding somewhere to sleep has risen with the passing years and in 2009 for the very first time I had to use my insulin dependent diabetes to persuade a warden to let me sleep on the Negreia municipal albergue floor. That was in June. I walked in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 well out of the season to avoid the over crowding.
The number of new agers walking the Camino seems to have risen. This has led to some interesting conversations and revealled that I am a more orthodox Christian than I thought. I hope the experience has been good for both parties.
This says more about me than others. The clock will not be turned back and if I have to work harder to make my pilgrimage more of a spiritual journey then that may well be blessing in disguise.
ps. Any reading about medieval pilgrims show that it is likely that many went on pilgrimage to escape the drudgery of everyday life so this is nothing new.
In short there has been both a negative and positive impact upon the journey.