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Yes, I'm European resident, Schengen is least of my worries!!
Just hoping for some horse's mouth experience, is all.
I mean, it's like all these "secret" lifestyles: ie, the monastery at Lluc on Mallorca has some long term rental apartments - how do people get one of these?
I'm sure there are those of them that are well off financially, but just a wee bit eccentric.I'm sorry if I'm ruining the inspiring thoughts, but I have actually been thinking about this a lot before..
But how can they afford walking for months or years?
Yeah, saw a few of them myself. A couple of them seemed to have morphed over from the eccentric into the just plain crazy category.While walking to Santiago in 2014 we uncounted several people walking the other way. They were all a bit strange so if this is what happens when you spend too long walking Camino's, I think I will stay at doing one a year.
Rebekah, how interesting. Is there a common story, thread, of this "progression" from pilgrim to homeless that you can think of?There are plenty of people doing that at any particular moment. Most of the hardcore wanderers don't stick to official caminos, except those who depend on the donativo albergues for shelter. We see the same few guys here over and over as they go back and forth. Over time some of them are shifting out of the "pilgrim" category and into "homeless," or "hobo."
I had the thought more than once that, with a little cash and some thoughtful preparation, a man on the run could 'disappear' on/into the Camino for a very long time indeed - hiding in plain sight.
(Forgive my thinking that way, but I have occasionally dealt professionally with, ahem, men on the run.)
... I wonder what effect the crowds of tourists and pilgrims and "gentlemen of the road" would have on the kind people of Poland and Slovenia?
Or even Kris Kristoffersons'- [smile]Those who wander permanently remind me of Janis Joplin's words: "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose"...,
..... There are hundreds of thousands of pilgrims passing every year. I wonder what effect the crowds of tourists and pilgrims and "gentlemen of the road" would have on the kind people of Poland and Slovenia?
Last year, as I was following caminos from Slovenia on through Poland I met a number of pilgrims living like this. One said that as he walks from village to village he trusts that he will discover the love which God has for him through the goodness and compassion which others show him. He was heading to Santiago d C. My own experiences were curious.
I wonder what he did next....When I have reached Santiago in May 2015, I stayed at Seminario Menor. In the dining room I met a Polish man who walked several thousand kilometers for several months, starting at his home. He walked without money and with no knowledge of Spanish or English. Churches and kind people gave him shelter and food.
That internal conflict has deep roots, and long answers.The men (and they are always men, in my experience) who live on the camino are not insane. They are wily, though, and tough as nails. One in particular comes to mind, he's been stopping here periodically for six years. Every time he has a longer beard and fewer teeth, he stays longer, does nothing to help out, and has come to expect us to give him money to send him on his way. He used to be a "gentleman of the road," but now he's turning into a freeloading pain in the --s.
I think the difference between a "permanent pilgrim" and a hobo is his willingness to work, and his level of expectation.
I feel guilty about resenting him. I m a Christian, and should treat him like I would treat Christ himself, with dignity and generosity and without judgement.
The other long-term travelers are just like regular pilgrims; some are great, some are just what they are.
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