Little-traveled routes - How do seasoned pilgrims remember the details so well?

[C clearly]

I am so impressed when I read a thread such as this one, where several people immediately respond with details such as "At the crest of the hill, if you look left you'll see the rock under the tree. Then follow the hidden path beside the broken down fence for 5 km to the brown house...."

I have a tough time recreating a list of the towns where I stay on each camino, even with reference to a published guide book, let alone recording/remembering all those unpublished details in an organized way. Maybe it is somewhat a matter of having enough experience to relax and not be totally distracted by excitement, anxiety and other walkers. Or maybe once you have walked several different routes, you can see the similarities and differences more clearly, take note of patterns. Or does the solitary nature of these walks allow you to mull over the information while you walk, remember it better, and then give time to write it up in the evenings?

I am curious about how these knowledgeable forum members keep track of the details? When someone asks a specific question, do you go back to a diary, transcribed notes, blog entries, photo gallery, GPS tracks, some or all of these? Do you have photos linked to GPS? Notes linked to them?

Thanks for your comments.

 

[Tincatinker]

Diary/ Log Books for me. And memory. I was taught from an early age to remember where I had started, and where I had gone so that I could find my way back. I learned to pay attention to sun direction, slope, landmarks and prominences, the sound of water and the direction of wind. I build mind-maps / song-lines though it doesn't matter what you call-em: my grand-fathers taught me, with a cuff-around-the-ear, to pay attention to my environment. I can still remember exactly where 'George" had shed his underpants on the track through the vineyards leading into Villafranca de Bierzo because the name-tag was clearly visible as was the bend to the right in the track as you emerge from the sunken track and the loose-stone barn directly ahead had a sign advertising the private Albergue. Poor George: I hope he got over his tummy-upsset.

 

[jsalt]

I can still remember exactly where 'George" had shed his underpants on the track through the vineyards leading into Villafranca de Bierzo because the name-tag was clearly visible as was the bend to the right in the track as you emerge from the sunken track and the loose-stone barn directly ahead had a sign advertising the private Albergue. Poor Gearge: I hope he got over his tummy-upsset.

Ha, ha, I know exactly where you mean, and I keep only two or three photos from each day:



I make notes at the end of each day, either in my Brierley, or on the back of printed maps; it keeps me amused when sipping a glass of vino tinto in the evening. Jill

 

[Christian Hiriart]

Diary/ Log Books for me. And memory. I was taught from an early age to remember where I had started, and where I had gone so that I could find my way back. I learned to pay attention to sun direction, slope, landmarks and prominences, the sound of water and the direction of wind. I build mind-maps / song-lines though it doesn't matter what you call-em: my grand-fathers taught me, with a cuff-around-the-ear, to pay attention to my environment. I can still remember exactly where 'George" had shed his underpants on the track through the vineyards leading into Villafranca de Bierzo because the name-tag was clearly visible as was the bend to the right in the track as you emerge from the sunken track and the loose-stone barn directly ahead had a sign advertising the private Albergue. Poor George: I hope he got over his tummy-upsset.

I was wandering the same thing myself, how people remember all those details with so much clarity. People like Tinker are just amazing to me, I can't remember what I had for lunch little else where. We did a driving trip around the perimeters of the Baltic Sea 3 years ago, I clearly remember the places that made an impact on me like St. Petersburg, Berlin, Copenhagen and Helsinki. The rest is just a blurb with very few details, the pictures not always help... Uhmmm Where did I take that?...

 

[miguel_gp]

I have a good memory for detail and although I don't walk with GPS, I go back and track routes on Google Earth so if there is ever a question on a route I've walked I can pretty soon track it down and then there is Streetview on almost every path these days to provide the pictures! I should add that I can only walk for a week at a time so I have a lot less to remember

 

[OTH86]

Interesting question, C ! I have a hard time understanding when people can't describe to me their travel experiences in detail! I must admit, I AM hooked on detail - and travel detail is THE BEST!! I have a lot of photos from my Caminos, and have put them together for my screen saver - and spend a lot of time watching my computer screen... And while on the Camino, I'd write - on FB or in group emails - about things I'd seen and experienced almost each day. Sometimes I wonder why I have these longings to be back - physically - on the Camino when I could just be doing it from memory... imagine a biiig, loooong sighhhhhhhh......
¡ Buen Camino a todos !

 

[C clearly]

I keep a blog when travelling, which helps me later recall some interesting happenings. However, it's more for fun than for practical information. I deliberately try to keep it light-hearted and don't try to record all the details that would bore my family to death. Since the blog posts take quite a bit of time, I haven't bothered to keep a separate diary of the route. I am thinking that I might do so, next time. I'm also thinking about how I could use photo location information better. But then I ask myself "Why bother?"

 

[grayland]

I I am much like our Amiga C clearly. I know all the town names but have difficult in remembering which is which...unless something memorial happened there
I have walked the CF 3 plus times and remember virtually every bit of it while walking. I always seem to know what is around the next bend.
I actually have a very good memory.
I just don't remember the names.
Then..I also don't remember most people's names and sometimes don't even remember meeting them before.
My wife says that I just don't pay attention to my surroundings...

It doesn't bother me much...but seems to annoy the hell out of others.

 

[C clearly]

I have walked the CF 3 plus times and remember virtually every bit of it while walking. I always seem to know what is around the next bend.

Yes, I was a little surprised to remember little things on the way that I hadn't thought about since the last time!

 

[Kanga]

I'm like a goldfish - every time I go round the bowl it is new.....

It is interesting that bits of some caminos I remember with great clarity, and I can roll them back through my mind like a video. But otherwise great swathes of detail are missing. It is probably related to the amount of attention I was giving my surroundings. When absorbed in conversation with others, or deep inner reflection, the landscape becomes a backdrop only.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Guide book, notes made each day and the time/date stamp on our camera photos all help, as well as good memories.

 

[nellpilgrim]

Whilst walking my first long distance pilgrimage I fell into that strange Camino time space continuum. The only thing I knew for certain was that a 'thing' had happened, or a that a place 'was', but they were located in that confusing melange of memories known as 'before' the present (the present could be as long as a day but sometime it could be as concentrated as an hour or two)- I had no coherent time line. It's not that I didn't have any clear memories at all but the ones I had, however detailed, were individually packaged, unconnected and jumbled up.
However I've found an effective process/exercise that works for me to help the process of remembering each pilgrimage*.
After my first long distance Camino I had to have surgery (not connected to the journey!) and used an extended period of enforced bed rest to try and 'retread' my pilgrimage-I do mean literally 'retread'.
It was pretty hard at first and of course some memories were easier to retrieve than others. But I found that by allocating just as much attention to any random minor memories that popped up -the remembered shape and texture of a stone in a wall, the quality of light and shadow on a flecha on the road or the slant of a hill as it angled away from the path- as to those memories that I had labelled 'important' that I was able to assemble a pretty coherent jigsaw of my journey. I didn't get too hung up about the linear nature of the recollections at first and was content to start 'in medias res' and if necessary backfill memories when and as they were retrieved. That process allowed me to build, what is to me a fairly remarkable, mind map of that journey and one that I treasure and can refer to whenever I wish.
Nowadays, as part of my active 'on the road' pilgrim routine, I 'retread' each days' walking before I go to sleep. This takes a surprisingly short time to do and seems to hardwire details and names, well enough to hang my memory hat on anyway. I am a lifelong diarist-though I wouldn't generally be writing about the physical side of the journey so much but being able to access journals and any visuals of course also helps ones recollection.
That 'days end' exercise not only helps with recollecting geography and mapping but all those other aspects of memory -each enhancing and enriching the other and presenting a coherent, if mosaic like, narrative.

*Yes I know this sounds a bit pathetic but it extends the 'shelf life' of my physical pilgrimages-and at least it's done quietly and in the privacy of my sleeping bag .

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, @C clearly, I think the title of your thread gives part of the key -- "little travelled routes". I think those of us who walk them feel a kind of bond with the other forum members who are planning to follow in our footsteps or who are considering the route for the future. I walked some untravelled routes this year as well as the popular Salvador/Primitivo, and my habits were very different. I typically take pictures and write a blog for my family no matter what kind of camino I'm on. For the untravelled routes, like the Ebro, the Castellano-Aragones, and San Olav, I also keep a journal with notes on the nuts and bolts, surprises, good food, route problems, etc. Then when I get home, I write up a day by day for the forum. It's amazing how this pulls things all together for me. And since there are only a few of us who can respond to questions about these routes, things keep coming up, so that also cements our memories. I am much less likely to be able to respond to a Camino France's detail question, even if it covers parts that I've been on recently, because I'm just not paying as much attention! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[VNwalking]

Interesting thread, @C clearly!
I'm hardly very experienced on the Camino, but I've had a few journeys around the sun. And I'm deeply interested in landscapes and this planet we call home. I wish I had Tincatinker's gifts, which I do only a bit--but I am confident in my sense of direction--inner maps jsut happen naturally for me. And when I'm in a place where there's no waymarking I pay attention. Perhaps too much; it can border on hyper-vigilance if I begin to feel directionally uncertain or 'off'...certainly there's heightened attention and awareness.
So places where that's happened are usually pretty easy to remember. And those are often exactly the places that other people ask about.
And I sometimes take photos for later--they can really jog the memory.
At the same time occasionally like @ kanga I'll draw a total blank on a whole section and find passing that way again to be the experience of one new thing after another--which in many ways is better than anything...beginner's mind!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Or does the solitary nature of these walks allow you to mull over the information while you walk, remember it better, and then give time to write it up in the evenings?

Hi,

I think the answer is something like above. When I walk with friends, my focus is on the topic of conversation... Which can occasionally be the places and the directions, of course... But walking alone you think a lot about how to get safely to the next place, because there's no-one to ask, so focus is much more on the Camino. I think that helps to remember afterwards.

But I don't write it down in the evening! (I do take short notes whenever reality clashes with the guidebooks so I can correct them.) I don't know how, but most of the Camino comes back when you start to write about it afterwards. Looking back on maps helps as well!

BP

 

[Felipe]

I have the theory that some of us have a "spatial" memory (we make a kind of mental map to navigate from A to B) and some a "topographical" one (we are better remembering specific items, as a peculiar tree, or the sound of a stream). Well, I am into the first group, meaning that I could probably be able to go from Burgos to Hornillos del Camino through the fields, without signposts, but can't remember precisely the place or shape of the church of Rabé de las Calzadas.
About the Camino, after a while some memories of landscapes and villages tend to be quite blurry. So, when I come back home, I organize my photos and tag them, when possible, with its geographical place. To me, it has become a kind of ritual: it means that my Camino is over, and I am coming back, fully committed, to my daily life.
Besides, I confess that matching my photos with the exact place in Google Maps has become a kind of hobby to me. Very time consuming, sometimes...

 

[C clearly]

Besides, I confess that matching my photos with the exact place in Google Maps has become a kind of hobby to me. Very time consuming, sometimes...

That's what I would like to do, but I know how time consuming it would be. (I have a number of family-photo-organization projects in the works.) I was wondering what tools/apps different people use to make this easier.

 

[SYates]

I am like @Tincatinker in that respect, got trained early on to always be aware of where I am in case I had to call for help and had to describe exactly where I was and where I needed help. It just became a live long habit. Plus photos, notes in guide books on the way and writing up a diary at the end of the day. But in the end it is really up to awareness of where you are and what your surroundings are and where the last way marking was and where the last emergency shelter opportunity was...

Non-Camino Example: Some years back we took a friend to see the New Years fireworks at St.Wenceslav Square (I know @C clearly a really dumb, newbie to Prague idea!) and she got hit by a rocket in the mouth. Because I have this habit of mapping my surroundings I new exactly where the closest pile of clean snow was and where the next emergency/first aid post was. Because of that I had cooling snow in her face and her into the hands of professionals in the matter of minutes without any panic necessary.

It really becomes a habit after ~40+ years, smiles.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[SYates]

That's what I would like to do, but I know how time consuming it would be. (I have a number of family-photo-organization projects in the works.) I was wondering what tools/apps different people use to make this easier.

In the file info of each photo are day and time when it was taken plus some cameras also add the GPS data for location purposes. All of that is in the file info btw and not visible in the photo itself ;-) SY

 

[C clearly]

These replies have given me some ideas for daily walks. I will train myself in the practice of observation. Sure, I will not claim to be doing it at an "early age", but it is still earlier than never! (This might cause real mental fatigue!)

In the file info of each photo are day and time when it was taken plus some cameras also add the GPS data for location purposes. All of that is in the file info btw and not visible in the photo itself ;-) SY

I have been inconsistent with turning on location data on my phone (mainly to save battery). Also, are there apps that would organize photos by location in the location data is recorded? There must be, but maybe training myself in observation would be a better way to spend my time.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Not a seasoned pilgrim - yet! - but a longtime traveller. From my early Brownie days when I was taught across the bridge before you climb the tree I've had a love of maps and journeys. As an artist, I also have a practised eye for detail and mathematics then computing taught me about flow, patterns and association. Working with and caring for flora and fauna helped to orientate me in a landscape.... and, surprisingly, a lifetime of poetry capped off my navigation and route memory skills.

It took 2 months working on a remote Aboriginal Community in the Western Australian desert to make sense of the sum of these parts. Here I got a tiny window into the Songlines of a landscape and walked with people who also 'felt' and dreamed their journeys.

For me it's a sensory skill so difficult to set down in words. It's innate as my first walk in the northern hemisphere proved. We managed to turn ourselves around completely 180° until I finally worked out that I was navigating by where my shadow fell which was different from the Southern Hemisphere where we look for the sun in the north not south.

This is a very interesting thread and seeing how everyone orientates and remembers routes and journeys has been most enlightening.

Thank you all.

 

[trevorcc]

Hi, Clare, I think the title of your thread gives part of the key -- "little travelled routes". I think those of us who walk them feel a kind of bond with the other forum members who are planning to follow in our footsteps or who are considering the route for the future. I walked some untravelled routes this year as well as the popular Salvador/Primitivo, and my habits were very different. I typically take pictures and write a blog for my family no matter what kind of camino I'm on. For the untravelled routes, like the Ebro, the Castellano-Aragones, and San Olav, I also keep a journal with notes on the nuts and bolts, surprises, good food, route problems, etc. Then when I get home, I write up a day by day for the forum. It's amazing how this pulls things all together for me. And since there are only a few of us who can respond to questions about these routes, things keep coming up, so that also cements our memories. I am much less likely to be able to respond to a Camino France's detail question, even if it covers parts that I've been on recently, because I'm just not paying as much attention! Buen camino, Laurie

Hi Laurie, I am taking a small book to note things along with many cards for my camera as I find that things tend to blend as I have gotten older. But all I can add is I am only 27 days away from De Levante.......

 

[KinkyOne]

Hi,

I think the answer is something like above. When I walk with friends, my focus is on the topic of conversation... Which can occasionally be the places and the directions, of course... But walking alone you think a lot about how to get safely to the next place, because there's no-one to ask, so focus is much more on the Camino. I think that helps to remember afterwards.

But I don't write it down in the evening! (I do take short notes whenever reality clashes with the guidebooks so I can correct them.) I don't know how, but most of the Camino comes back when you start to write about it afterwards. Looking back on maps helps as well!

BP

Exactly. I can second this and also @Tincatinker 's post.
For me it's not hard to remember details when I revive the Camino through photos, some notes and maps. Actually it gives me kind of quality time while sitting at home

 

[Kitsambler]

I keep a journal during the day, making entries at the several rest pauses. Also photos. These get written up into the blog post each night. So there is a fair amount of effort involved in reviewing and re-viewing the day's journey. That must be the reason I have these bits of 'mental movie' in my head, even several years after. And, oddly enough, if there is a story I've told about a particular section, then that memory is particularly vivid. (Note to self: tell more stories!)

 

[BrettP]

What forum members have written in response to this question would go some way to providing an answer to another recent question on the forum, about how not to get bored on the Camino.

I have a good memory, and like many of the above posters have spent a lifetime noting details along the path I am walking, whether well travelled or not, but I think the single thing which has aided me most is taking photographs. I take lots of them. I'm aware that having the camera viewfinder between you and your subjects creates something of a barrier, but being conscious of that means that you devise strategies to combat it. In the absence of a good journal-keeping ethic, I've also found referring to the guide, maps and Google Streetview an incredible help in reconstructing journeys in my mind.

Regards, Brett

 

[C clearly]

What forum members have written in response to this question would go some way to providing an answer to another recent question on the forum, about how not to get bored on the Camino.

Yes, there is a connection, but they are very different mental activities, neither of which results in boredom for me.

On daily walks, I've recently been trying to be particularly observant of details. It takes a concentrated effort, but does work. I watch things carefully for 100 m or so and then review the footage in my head, even turning around sometimes to look back over the route. It is a good exercise. However, as soon as I let my attention stray, I am back into my head and thoughts about many different things.

I suppose that with practice, the observation will become less demanding. I hope I don't lose the opportunity to enjoy the fascinating company of my own mind!

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

It may also be a factor of how one remembers (and learns, and thinks)...I noticed your description of what someone describes is very visual. Some people (myself included) store memories as pictures and videos, rather than a narrative...so it's not so much recalling a list as it is pulling a photo out of a file and describing it. We're the people who don't complain about assembling furniture from Ikea.

 

[peregrina2000]

I've been thinking more about this. The other thing that makes a difference is that when I walk with others, I am much less likely to pay attention to my surroundings. Walking alone on an untraveled camino means my sensors are on high functioning mode, otherwise I may wind up lost and alone rather than just alone. But walking with someone else removes that sense for me, even though it may just mean that two people get lost instead of one!

A couple of years ago I went back to the Invierno, and I was planning to make updates for our online Invierno guide. On the first day a few kms before the castle of Cornatel, I met a Spanish pilgrim, my first and only on the Invierno that year. We walked together to As Medulas, and when I arrived that afternoon I had no memory of any of the "potential problem spots" that I had listed before starting out. So much for the guide revisions.

C_Clearly, I think that it may be hard for you to recreate that sense when you are walking in familiar territory, even if you try to be observant and remember details.

I actually find that having the GPS with me on solitary routes allows me to lapse into my "thinking mode" without worrying about getting lost, so in some ways the GPS has freed me up but at the same time has crippled the sharpness of my attention.

 

[William Marques]

Also there are many people on the forum so whereas I might not remember "At the crest of the hill, if you look left you'll see the rock under the tree" somebody else might.

On the other hand I might remember "The apple trees after you pass under the bridge where you turn right".

 

[SYates]

... We're the people who don't complain about assembling furniture from Ikea.

Yup! That's me and I even enjoy it! Buen Camino, SY

 

[C clearly]

I think that it may be hard for you to recreate that sense when you are walking in familiar territory, even if you try to be observant and remember details.

Yes, it is quite boring! I tell myself for watch for differences each day - what cars are in the driveways, what garden projects are being done, etc., but that's not very captivating either. So I end up daydreaming about my packing list.

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

Yup! That's me and I even enjoy it! Buen Camino, SY

me too I have been known to offer to assemble for friends, casual acquaintances, and once considered just offering my service to complete strangers It's like legos for adults!