Meeting Efren in Belarado

[deano5]

Really was a nice surprise to be in a local bar in belarado when efren came in. He was generous to take pictures with us, my wife has followed him for over 2 years.

 

[J Willhaus]

Really was a nice surprise to be in a local bar in belarado when efren came in. He was generous to take pictures with us, my wife has followed him for over 2 years.

Did he say what kind of video he was doing this summer? Camino by bike? A rewalk of the CF?

 

[Bradypus]

Did he say what kind of video he was doing this summer? Camino by bike? A rewalk of the CF?

At the moment he is leading a group walk. I have seen posts from members of the group elsewhere.

Walk with Efrén González in 2023 on the Camino de Santiago - Pilgrim Paths

"Hello pilgrims, my name is Efrén González and I’m a travel adventure vlogger. I would like to invite you to join me on a pilgrimage along the legendary Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I will show you the beauty of northern Spain, the food, the culture, and the sites. We’ll walk through...

pilgrimpaths.com

 

[J Willhaus]

I like his videos for a binge-watch rainy afternoon, but dont follow him follow him. He is talented though.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have just recently finished his series on his E-bike camino before leaving for the Norte in mid-April. I watch most of his vlogs, but his Caminos are my favorites.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

At the moment he is leading a group walk. I have seen posts from members of the group elsewhere.

Walk with Efrén González in 2023 on the Camino de Santiago - Pilgrim Paths

"Hello pilgrims, my name is Efrén González and I’m a travel adventure vlogger. I would like to invite you to join me on a pilgrimage along the legendary Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I will show you the beauty of northern Spain, the food, the culture, and the sites. We’ll walk through...

pilgrimpaths.com

I had read earlier that this group walk Efren is doing was arranged in part with Sandy Brown, who has written a few guidebooks.

 

[J Willhaus]

At the moment he is leading a group walk. I have seen posts from members of the group elsewhere.

Walk with Efrén González in 2023 on the Camino de Santiago - Pilgrim Paths

"Hello pilgrims, my name is Efrén González and I’m a travel adventure vlogger. I would like to invite you to join me on a pilgrimage along the legendary Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I will show you the beauty of northern Spain, the food, the culture, and the sites. We’ll walk through...

pilgrimpaths.com

Quite the gig he has going now. His first Camino videos he didn't even know that you couldn't stay in a pilgrim municipal more than night!

 

[blueskywa]

Really was a nice surprise to be in a local bar in belarado when efren came in. He was generous to take pictures with us, my wife has followed him for over 2 years.

Who hasn’t Efren’s drone shots light up the Camino immeasurably.

 

[LTfit]

Who hasn’t Efren’s drone shots light up the Camino immeasurably.

I've maybe seen one, just to know what all the fuss is about. That's it, but then again I'm not interested in seeing what others see or experience, especially if I have not yet done that particular route.

 

[J Willhaus]

I've maybe seen one, just to know what all the fuss is about. That's it, but then again I'm not interested in seeing what others see or experience, especially if I have not yet done that particular route.

I like to watch his videos about places I have been already.

 

[blueskywa]

I'm not interested in seeing what others see or experience

I really like to see another perspective (from the air) of where I’ve walked.
Just finishing the Primitivo and Salvador so will be interested to see his drone shots on YouTube.
A lot of YouTube are quite boring but the drone photography is stunning

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Efren's vlogs are the only ones I watch of the various Caminos he has done. He has such a great, upbeat personality; he covers everything professionally and they are not too long at about 20+ minutes each segment. I have only good things to say about him!

 

[Caomhin O Fearghaill]

Really was a nice surprise to be in a local bar in belarado when efren came in. He was generous to take pictures with us, my wife has followed him for over 2 years.

I walked the Camino Ingles last month. I found his tips and guidance very helpful...

 

[Former member 108241]

I've maybe seen one, just to know what all the fuss is about. That's it, but then again I'm not interested in seeing what others see or experience, especially if I have not yet done that particular route.

I think we have all watched trailers of upcoming movies, and "coming attractions". It helps us decide if it's a movie we want to invest time in to watch. I look at Efren's videos in the same way. He certainly has a gift and has captured the various Caminos and travels he's undertaken with tremendous skill, humour and charm.

 

[Bradypus]

I think we have all watched trailers of upcoming movies, and "coming attractions". It helps us decide if it's a movie we want to invest time in to watch.

Personally I am very glad that I did not watch any videos of the Camino before my first walk. The gradual unfolding of the landscapes and the towns and villages was a real joy which I am sure would have been less intense if I had already walked the Camino by proxy through watching someone else's videos and blogs.

 

[Corned Beef]

Personally I am very glad that I did not watch any videos of the Camino before my first walk. The gradual unfolding of the landscapes and the towns and villages was a real joy which I am sure would have been less intense if I had already walked the Camino by proxy through watching someone else's videos and blogs.

Does this need for direct experience extend to the pearly gates (or even the other place?) Should we embrace the surprise and it's unfolding.

Asking for a friend.

 

[Bradypus]

Does this need for direct experience extend to the pearly gates (or even the other place?

If you have any links for videos of either then I might change my approach and have a look!

 

[timr]

Does this need for direct experience extend to the pearly gates (or even the other place?) Should we embrace the surprise and it's unfolding.

Asking for a friend.

We have tested and tasted too much, lover -
through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder.... (Patrick Kavanagh)

Other opinions are of course valid and welcome.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Personally I am very glad that I did not watch any videos of the Camino before my first walk. The gradual unfolding of the landscapes and the towns and villages was a real joy which I am sure would have been less intense if I had already walked the Camino by proxy through watching someone else's videos and blogs.

Actually, for me it was the opposite. I watched his video's some two month's before my Camino. I got a wonderful surprise every time I recognised something from his shots. And saw many, many things I don't recall him filming. And his videography is superb!
But even more important - if the YouTube algorithm hadn't directed me to Nadine, from Nadine Walks, I would never have walked the Camino in the first place. I knew nothing about it, nothing about the Albergues, about how little you need to carry. More importantly, about its spirit, it's ethos and the wonderful people that inhabit it.
Those videos, and her wonderful sunny personality (rather like Efrens, whom I watched next) were a very pleasant interlude on a dark winter's day. They got me off the couch, and out for a walk. And another. And another. Just 3 months later, to my first Camino. Those videos led me to the wonderful , wonderful people I met along the way. To my Camino family. And even, dare I say it, indirectly to you all.
I can never, ever thank her enough

 

[Bradypus]

But even more important - if the YouTube algorithm hadn't directed me to Nadine, from Nadine Walks, I would never have walked the Camino in the first place. I knew nothing about it, nothing about the Albergues, about how little you need to carry. More importantly, about its spirit, it's ethos and the wonderful people that inhabit it.

I had the good fortune to have a family member who had walked the Camino Frances some years before me. Conversations with Barbara were enough to pique my interest. I also read Laurie Dennett's book "A Hug for the Apostle" for another view of the journey. So I had some verbal inkling of what I would find.

 

[LTfit]

I think we have all watched trailers of upcoming movies, and "coming attractions". It helps us decide if it's a movie we want to invest time in to watch. I look at Efren's videos in the same way. He certainly has a gift and has captured the various Caminos and travels he's undertaken with tremendous skill, humour and charm.

I disagree when it comes to walking one of the Camino routes. Why watch someone else's Camino? It most certainly will be different when you walk it yourself - different season, different state of mind, different company (or none!).

I personally prefer to like a Camino unfold, with all the unknowns and uncertainties. This reminds me of my first Camino, the Francés in 2010. During one stage I met a Frenchman who was walking his 8th Camino Francés in a row, every year the same route. At every corner he would tell me what I would see next. When we arrived in a town he  had to stop at a particular café as he always stopped there. I took the opportunity to continue on. I had no desire to experience the Camino through his eyes

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I saw "The Way" as the only thing I viewed prior to my first camino. It in no way dimished my experience and I was delighted that every new day unfolded fresh for me. The very few times someone mentioned along the way to me that Martin Sheen was here or there when filming, I was actually disappointed to have missed the spot and had taken no notice of it.
This is just one of the many threads where we each have our own experience/opinion; one not better than the other.

 

[J Willhaus]

Yes, this is one of those raincoat or poncho things-- Watch or don't watch videos, read books, etc before your camino...

I don't watch Efren regularly, but I do appreciate his artistry with the lens. Glad the OP was able to meet him.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I might add that I’ve never seen The Way, and a number of people on this Forum have encouraged me to watch it. What are Efrens videos, if not his own - unscripted, very personal - variant of this apparently famous movie ?

 

[deano5]

Too much reading into it. I said I met Eden Gonzalez, my wife and I like his videos. He is a class act, quit judging and say hello! Wow you have to many judgements for me. Thanks Efren for sharing with us.

 

[VNwalking]

Who hasn’t

Me. But I'm happy for the OP!

(And I disliked The Way, much as I know it means a lot to many. Everyone's different, and not all of us want our perceptions skewed ahead of time by someone else's recorded experience.)

 

[blueskywa]

Me. But I'm happy for the OP!

(And I disliked The Way, much as I know it means a lot to many. Everyone's different, and not all of us want our perceptions skewed ahead of time by someone else's recorded experience.)

Treat yourself, you may enjoy the aerial views!!

 

[VNwalking]

Treat yourself, you may enjoy the aerial views!!

I've seen part of one. Just not my thing at all, no matter how artistic.

 

[Bradypus]

And I disliked The Way, much as I know it means a lot to many

I am fairly neutral on the subject - entertaining enough but it does not speak to me in any deep spiritual sense. Those who first learned of the Caminos through seeing the film in recent years often have a far deeper and more personal attachment to it - and quite understandably so. A very avid fan of the movie I met in Melide a few years ago was very angry at my lukewarm response to the film and told me very loudly that I should be more grateful for the movie because without it I and the other pilgrims in sight would never have heard of the Camino. Which left me puzzling over how a 2010 movie could have been the inspiration for my first Camino in 1990...

 

[RJM]

I prefer to walk the Camino, experience it rather than to live vicariously through someone else's videos about it. I personally find his videos boring and to be honest, cheesy and I wouldn't want to be in the vicinity of somebody flying a noisy buzzing drone about.

 

[deano5]

I prefer to walk the Camino, experience it rather than to live vicariously through someone else's videos about it. I personally find his videos boring and to be honest, cheesy and I wouldn't want to be in the vicinity of somebody flying a noisy buzzing drone about.

I don’t know why you think this adds to the conversation of meeting him while on the camino? Please just pass on this thread if you cannot keep on the subject of meeting him and saying hello.
Moderator please close the thread as some people hijack every thread with negative comments.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

I don’t know why you think this adds to the conversation of meeting him while on the camino? Please just pass on this thread if you cannot keep on the subject of meeting him and saying hello.
Moderator please close the thread as some people hijack every thread with negative comments.

I agree and it’s why I deleted my account a few weeks back (but here I am again). Let people have their joy for gods sake.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

I prefer to walk the Camino, experience it rather than to live vicariously through someone else's videos about it. I personally find his videos boring and to be honest, cheesy and I wouldn't want to be in the vicinity of somebody flying a noisy buzzing drone about.

For heavens sake it’s just a video. What’s the difference between a vlog and a “live from the Camino” post on the forum? Living vicariously can be healthy.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

For heavens sake it’s just a video. What’s the difference between a vlog and a “live from the Camino” post on the forum? Living vicariously can be healthy.

Totally agree. Some folks are housebound through obligations, wheelchair bound or in poor health, financially bound, etc.
Living vicariously through "armchair travel" is no bad thing and can lift their spirits.

 

[Bristle Boy]

I agree and it’s why I deleted my account a few weeks back (but here I am again). Let people have their joy for gods sake.

I couldn't agree more. I suspect he has whetted more appetite for this camino than all the other negativity displayed on this forum.
Don't like it...don't watch it
Effren has just as much right to engage in his enjoyment (and professionalism) as anyone else.

 

[Kathar1na]

Chill, people. In post #14, a future Camino pilgrim expressed the opinion that watching YouTube offerings such as Efren's videos are like watching trailers of upcoming movies and of similar "coming attractions". That caused a reaction from people who had walked without having seen other people's visual recordings before even setting foot on the path, and they caution newcomers against such "previewing". Advice that I share, btw. Others have said that they enjoy "postviewing" such videos which is something entirely different.

 

[Kathar1na]

What’s the difference between a vlog and a “live from the Camino” post on the forum?

Seriously? I'd say that the difference lies in the intention: whether it's just about sharing a personal experience or whether it is about drumming up business, be it clicks and income from online advertisement or more. BTW, I myself don't have an issue with commercial exploitation of the Camino Francés in particular, although I, too, often think of those sections of my way to Santiago when there were few pilgrims in sight and mostly none.

Edited for clarification: commercial exploitation is a "term referring to all activities used to benefit commercially" from material or immaterial assets. Not meant in a negative sense.

 

[Kathar1na]

Moderator please close the thread

FYI: Click on the "Report" button (bottom left) beneath one of your own posts and ask for closure. That's the most efficient way to do it.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

Seriously? I'd say that the difference lies in the intention: whether it's just about sharing a personal experience or whether it is about drumming up business, be it clicks and income from online advertisement or more. BTW, I myself don't have an issue with commercial exploitation of the Camino Francés in particular, although I, too, often think of those sections of my way to Santiago when there were few pilgrims in sight and mostly none.

Yes, seriously. I’m not looking to get into a deep excavation of my comment @Kathar1na. My point was the OP expressed excitement over meeting Efren, and another member dumped cold water on it.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

... I'd say that the difference lies in the intention:

It seems that "walking the Camino with intention" has become an overused cliche on the forum (imo) because it separates those who feel they are the "purists" from everyone else.

 

[ivar]

Closed the thread.