Oversaturation

[William Garza]

Not a pointy finger by any means.
I wonder sometimes if there will be a point of saturation on the Camino.

When every picture taken at every angle and every seasons hour of...XYZ on Camino X...and Y..or Z.

Will people have vicariously lived every magic through descrition,photo and video?

My extreme cynic side..yes.
My Optimist..no
My Realist side.eh-meh-hmmm

Every subject is finite,every idea the same. There comes a time when every angle has been covered and a ennui sets its claws to the subject.

Will the Caminos be forgotten to be re discovered again? The "ruins" buried in the collective memories until they are novel again.

My romantic optimist side says as long as there is a road..a Way...there will always be people looking for it.
What say you?

 

[NicP]

This is such a great question to ponder, thank you so much for asking it!

For me, whilst “the camino” (which ever path that might be) will get busier, and then maybe after a time, quieter again, I don’t think it will be possible to be saturated by the vicarious experience - the photos, videos, podcasts, blogs, are all just one person’s (or several people’s) experience(s) and no matter how many we see or watch or listen to, they will not be the same as our own, when when walk, and where we walk, and with whom… it’s certainly different now to how it was 30 years ago (and 500 years ago), but I think that might be one of the things what helps keep it interesting.

I think maybe what it is that keeps some people coming back time and again, is the uniqueness of each moment on the camino, and the spirit of the camino, which facilitates a kind of connection between people that is not so easy to find elsewhere in the world and in life. That is not to say you cannot find it elsewhere, just that it seems to be available in abundance on the camino. Whilst that’s still there, I guess I’ll keep coming back. The vicarious experience (of photos, videos, etc.) might get repetitive, but the camino itself is perhaps a different thing to the vicarious experience?

Then again- who knows what it might be like in another 500 years? These are the time scales of the camino!

It’s a great question to think about!

 

[William Garza]

"I think maybe what it is that keeps some people coming back time and again, is the uniqueness of each moment on the camino, and the spirit of the camino, which facilitates a kind of connection"

Mayhap its the inner spirit seeking similar"familiars" creates the spirit of kinship among Camino walkers. Its funny you mention years past, i wonder what it was like back decades.90s,80s,70s...hippie times and further. A buddy mentioned the Way back in my bar working days, a bartender looked at me increduliously as if the Way and Ways were everyday phenomenon.

I create muti media here in town and as ine flower in a field of flowers creating the same images as everyone else, my pov gets cloudy

 

[thejoker]

"I think maybe what it is that keeps some people coming back time and again, is the uniqueness of each moment on the camino, and the spirit of the camino, which facilitates a kind of connection"

Agree. I've walked lots of different Caminos and they are different every time. Every village and many bar/accommodation owners become like personal friends even though you only see them once a year. It's amazing they also remember the yearly / every 2 year pilgrim too.

i wonder what it was like back decades.90s,80s,70s...hippie times and further. y

I can't speak for earlier than the 90's, but there were people saying it was saturated even in the late 90's. The 1999 Xacobeo year was seen as a massive spike and very busy in terms of a saturation point versus the availability of refugios. It was fine though, and no big deal to be happy to sleep in church porticos, sports halls, pelota courts and well...anywhere a space was available.

We are totally spoilt nowadays and as someone who takes about 60 days to walk the Frances staying in very comfortable private accommodation throughout (other than the dorm in Orisson (fabulous as it is, of course) - my one time, one use sleeping bag place) and enjoying excellent a la carte food and wines with the occasional craft beer to boot, I think the Camino is actually better than ever.

 

[Flatlander]

Don't forget that a forum such as this is representative of only a teeny-tiny subset of people who are contemplating or have done a Camino. And a confident-in-English subset at that too.

In her book "Land of Lost Borders" about a bicycle adventure along the Silk Road, Kate Harris talks of travel and visiting places and compares it to falling in love. It doesn't matter how many times other people do it, it is still unique to me.

Another wise sage, Ray Wyllie Hubbard sings along the lines of "the days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations I have pretty good days".
In this day and age where photos are now from drones, videos are so easily made and shared and a lot of production is for likes or $ there is a real danger that people's expectations can be high, or perhaps unreal.

People like their comforts and "knowing" is one of the great comforts. Knowledge, though, can build expectations.
If ever a route was designed for the self-propelled, long distance traveller to just "arrive" and head off in an unprepared state it is the CF.

 

[mspath]

Perhaps these words will help you ponder the magic of a repeated journey.

"The end of one journey is simply the start of another. You have to see what you missed the first time, see again what you already saw, see in springtime what you saw in summer, in daylight what you saw at night, see the sun shining where you saw the rain falling, see crops growing, the fruit ripen, the stone which has moved, the shadow that was not there before. You have to go back to the footsteps already taken, to go over them again or add fresh ones alongside them.You have to start the journey anew. Always"
Jose Saramago, A Journey to Portugal

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Just because every trail/place/view/angle/sight/season, etc, may have been captured in any format (photos/videos/blogs/vlogs/written/described, etc) doesn't mean we have to partake in any of it!
Eg; 'The Way' movie came out just before I took my first tentative steps on a long distance path, namely the CF from SJPdP, but I deliberately avoided seeing the film until my return, as I didn't want to walk with preconceived ideas of what I may see or experience.
Limitless information may be out there now but we can still choose not to seek it.
Even in this day & age, there is still the opportunity to discover something for yourself...you just have to block out all the 'noise' & let it unfold...

 

[wes]

Perhaps these words will help you ponder the magic of a repeated journey.

"The end of one journey is simply the start of another. You have to see what you missed the first time, see again what you already saw, see in springtime what you saw in summer, in daylight what you saw at night, see the sun shining where you saw the rain falling, see crops growing, the fruit ripen, the stone which has moved, the shadow that was not there before. You have to go back to the footsteps already taken, to go over them again or add fresh ones alongside them.You have to start the journey anew. Always"
Jose Saramago, A Journey to Portugal

Nicely done, thank you, a wonderful quote and life reminder from the peerless Saramago.

 

[Bradypus]

i wonder what it was like back decades.90s,80s,70s...hippie times and further.

Quieter!

We are totally spoilt nowadays and as someone who takes about 60 days to walk the Frances staying in very comfortable private accommodation throughout (other than the dorm in Orisson (fabulous as it is, of course) - my one time, one use sleeping bag place) and enjoying excellent a la carte food and wines with the occasional craft beer to boot, I think the Camino is actually better than ever.

"better" is a very subjective idea. If you mean less physically demanding and provided with more infrastructure to support walkers then the Camino Frances of today is far better than in the 1980s and 1990s. For those who are looking for companionship while walking and the buzz of being part of a large-scale collective event then it is clearly far better today. As a cantankerous old misanthrope I am personally inclined to prefer the solitude and silences of my early Camino experience and I feel that the comparative lack of comforts and greater physical demands were a very modest price to pay for that. But with this year's Compostela figures on course to top half a million it seems I am in a minority there!

 

[thejoker]

Quieter!


"better" is a very subjective idea. If you mean less physically demanding and provided with more infrastructure to support walkers then the Camino Frances of today is far better than in the 1980s and 1990s. For those who are looking for companionship while walking and the buzz of being part of a large-scale collective event then it is clearly far better today. As a cantankerous old misanthrope I am personally inclined to prefer the solitude and silences of my early Camino experience and I feel that the comparative lack of comforts and greater physical demands were a very modest price to pay for that. But with this year's Compostela figures on course to top half a million it seems I am in a minority there!

Sure, you're absolutely right in everything you've written here.
I'm speaking from my current perspective as more of a comfort loving oldie than when I was a younger, healthier, slimmer person that loved the adventure of it all. I remeber I even ended up being ok in San Bol after an hour of 'familiarisation' to the whole thing (I have never done drugs), and appreciated it was actually a nice place to pass the night when I stayed there more than 20 years ago.

'Better' is entirely from my perspective as an older person today that loves the comfortable availability of pleasant accommodation on the Camino that can be availed upon. So yes you're right, maybe 'better' is the wrong word given perspectives across age, financial means, and a more / less desire for absolute solitude from May to October. Anyway, Buen Camino, we still all love it over the years. Usually saying 'better than ever' means just as good as we remembered it earlier.

Just to edit this an hour after... I appreciate Bradypus comment more than on the surface as over the past hour I have been mulling over the question of 'Why?' and looking at it in terms of why In have continued to walk the Camino over the decades. So, cheers to Bradypus.

 

[William Garza]

Perhaps these words will help you ponder the magic of a repeated journey.

"The end of one journey is simply the start of another. You have to see what you missed the first time, see again what you already saw, see in springtime what you saw in summer, in daylight what you saw at night, see the sun shining where you saw the rain falling, see crops growing, the fruit ripen, the stone which has moved, the shadow that was not there before. You have to go back to the footsteps already taken, to go over them again or add fresh ones alongside them.You have to start the journey anew. Always"
Jose Saramago, A Journey to Portugal

That which we love..never grows old, never withers on the vine or gets wrinkled and bent with age. But were we trees, would others look on us and wonder, whither rugged bark were ever smooth and fine and less burned from countless summer days,winters firery caress and the cruel winds plucking our leaves, carefully nurtured from our fingers...

Or does it,but in our nature to overlook the realities in favor of a innocent Hope that love is eternal and unchanging..not to unravel a comforting wrap...about the aging fading memoires in our hearts..once unraveled...reality rudely roars into our tread and breathe to show what we feared to pass...happened

Jose told the essence of travel beautifully!

 

[woody66]

My romantic optimist side says as long as there is a road..a Way...there will always be people looking for it.
What say you?

Hi William! (love your posts;Because the sun has been at my face is on my wall)

I think that people will always be drawn to the Camino even with it's now substantial exposure in various forms.
It's people sharing images that move,excite and motivate many to say "i want to experience that";be it the Camino, swimming with sharks(nutters) going on the biggest roller coaster or climbing Everest!
They will come
Woody

 

[William Garza]

Hi William! (love your posts;Because the sun has been at my face is on my wall)

I think that people will always be drawn to the Camino even with it's now substantial exposure in various forms.
It's people sharing images that move,excite and motivate many to say "i want to experience that";be it the Camino, swimming with sharks(nutters) going on the biggest roller coaster or climbing Everest!
They will come
Woody

Its the experiential, the totality of being there that excites me.
I Remember sights, the smell at that moment,what was heard, how i felt,the taste, the roaring silences,the wind,rain etc.
its a blessing and curse ime sure everyone has.
I remember a moment at 16-17 years old,our beach at evening,theres a special golden quality of light in late summer/early fall here, i was barefoot coming off the sand onto Bob Hall pier, the feel of the sand between the concrete and my foot, the suns warmth on skin,the air temp on skin, the moisture....remember the feel of wind blown, humidity salt matted hair, the wind on my leg hair
I could go on for a few minutes..but saying it was perfect is an understatement.
It is moments in moments in moments..on and on..all I have to do is focus and the whole...and infinite open like a rose.
Ime sure its like that for everyone at some point on the Way!

Some of you guys will trigger a memory, something that has been missing...idea and my muse wakes up and slaps me..falling headlong into a image/words/feelings soup.
The idea..of traveling,the escape from my mortal coil into a better time and place..the media..leaves me.dry and withered sometimes. But, there are always other pictures and sentiments

 

[wisepilgrim]

It makes me wonder. I do believe that the Camino Francés will very soon see the number of pilgrims reach a plateau, as the experience moves from one where the pilgrim returns home raving (and thereby encouraging others) about the joys of the camino to one where the pilgrim returns home with a luke warm experience caused (in part) by the race for beds. Mind you, the race for beds isn't a new phenomenon but the number of runners now represents a much larger percentage of the whole. This is evidenced by the growing trend of posts on the topic, which will ultimately have an effect on the number of pilgrims but whose effect will never be known specifically but rather anecdotally as part of a declining growth trend.

Saturation? Just to the point. Forgotten to be rediscovered? Not likely.

More likely is that the other primary routes (Portugués largely, and Norte secondarily) will see more growth. And the tertiary routes (for lack of a more prestigious term) will also start to grow. We see this here on the forums with much more buzz than every surrounding the Invierno, Salvador, Olvidado, etc.

The camino is changing to the desires of the pilgrims, for bettor or for worse.

All that said, I do encourage everyone to set off with as little information and as little stuff as possible to leave space for the magic of the camino to hitch a ride with you.

 

[William Garza]

It makes me wonder. I do believe that the Camino Francés will very soon see the number of pilgrims reach a plateau, as the experience moves from one where the pilgrim returns home raving (and thereby encouraging others) about the joys of the camino to one where the pilgrim returns home with a luke warm experience caused (in part) by the race for beds. Mind you, the race for beds isn't a new phenomenon but the number of runners now represents a much larger percentage of the whole. This is evidenced by the growing trend of posts on the topic, which will ultimately have an effect on the number of pilgrims but whose effect will never be known specifically but rather anecdotally as part of a declining growth trend.

Saturation? Just to the point. Forgotten to be rediscovered? Not likely.

More likely is that the other primary routes (Portugués largely, and Norte secondarily) will see more growth. And the tertiary routes (for lack of a more prestigious term) will also start to grow. We see this here on the forums with much more buzz than every surrounding the Invierno, Salvador, Olvidado, etc.

The camino is changing to the desires of the pilgrims, for bettor or for worse.

All that said, I do encourage everyone to set off with as little information and as little stuff as possible to leave space for the magic of the camino to hitch a ride with you.

Thats not me, ill tell those who care a few things..the rest...nah. i would burn out meteorically... trying to unpack everything.
Having a shared smile, a grunt of agreement between travelors over a just shared day..the look..that feeling between people who have been "there" is enough

EDit.what can you say? What can convey the experience And how?
How do you explain a movement..unless your moving along in it?


Do the Camino-s have the weekend issues, people walk 5 days then weekend?
Idk

 

[Kathar1na]

@William Garza, how do you see it from your personal point of view? Correct me if I am wrong but I think that you have not yet walked on a Camino? Are you still planning to go or do the current narratives put you off the idea?

Already several decades ago, I decided that there are a two places that I will not travel to and not visit: the Pyramids in Egypt and the Inca Trail in Peru, despite both having considerable attraction for me for various aspects. Reason: too many people having the same idea as I. I've never regretted my decision. And I am pretty certain that many many people continue to visit these places. It's the same with the Camino Francés. Or the Mount Everest that has already been mentioned as well as so many other places on this planet that combine physical exercise with cultural, historical, natural environment and spiritual elements.

 

[William Garza]

@William Garza, how do you see it from your personal point of view? Correct me if I am wrong but I think that you have not yet walked on a Camino? Are you still planning to go or do the current narratives put you off the idea?

Already several decades ago, I decided that there are a two places that I will not travel to and not visit: the Pyramids in Egypt and the Inca Trail in Peru, despite both having considerable attraction for me for various aspects. Reason: too many people having the same idea as I. I've never regretted my decision. And I am pretty certain that many many people continue to visit these places. It's the same with the Camino Francés. Or the Mount Everest already mentioned and other places that combine physical expertise with cultural, historical, natural environment and spiritual elements.

I listened to track 19 of The Way ost by Tyler Bates. The track where Joost dropped to his knees in supplication.
The almighty fierce tug hurts physically...as soon as I showed an interest years ago,the tug is still as strong and fierce.

I will regret if i dont.
It isnt my Everest, i dont know why the pull is as strong and hard as it has stayed.
Too many people in one place and time does turn me off though as i seem to be easily gregarious until its too much for an introvert to handle.
Will never travel in mexico because i was held for ransom there...
all the rest is open, esp high lonesome places, where life is hard,raw and authentic

 

[Kathar1na]

Will never travel in mexico because i was held for ransom there...
all the rest is open, esp high lonesome places, where life is hard,raw and authentic

Where life is hard, raw and authentic ... then the Camino Francés may not be what you are looking for. Life as a @peregrino on the Camino Francés is neither hard nor raw, you travel through cultivated landscapes and hit a Spanish town or village about every hour or every two hours of your walking day or even more often. Authentic ... I don't know what that means. Life is authentic for me every day and everywhere I am ...

 

[William Garza]

Where life is hard, raw and authentic ... then the Camino Francés may not be what you are looking for. Life as a @peregrino on the Camino Francés is neither hard nor raw, you travel through cultivated landscapes and hit a Spanish town or village about every hour or every two hours of your walking day or even more often. Authentic ... I don't know what that means. Life is authentic for me every day and everywhere I am ...

Its that!

The authentic life.
To my friends..an apple is an apple.
To me? But its an apple.from Spain..in Spain

Or its just wine..me?

I drank this wine... i Igot in Spain with people I met and shared a moment with.in spain on some random patio

Physically it will be a trial..thats the wild high lonesome..me v me is all.
The gentle slopes will be welcome!
There are too many roads and so little time!

 

[Kathar1na]

Or its just wine..me?

Well, as someone who drank wine here and there in Spain and in France on the way to the apostle in Compostela, let me tell you this in order to avoid future disappointment: As lovely as it tastes there, it never tastes the same at home.

I am sharing this with you as someone who had a marvellous glass or two of a red Rioja from the Ostatu bodegas in a small restaurant in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, associated with great memories of that day and that evening, and who orders a few bottles every year for our Christmas Day meal. And the same goes for a white Vouvray that we discovered on our way to Tours. Yes, it tastes fine at home but it never the same as it tasted there and then.

 

[Bradypus]

No, it tastes fine at home but it never the same as it tasted there and then.

I can't buy patxaran here at home in Wales. So when there is a decent crop of sloes I make my own. As good as my first sip of the proper stuff by the swimming pool in Hontanas on a hot August day? No! But good enough to brighten up a damp grey afternoon on the Celtic fringe....

 

[William Garza]

Well, as someone who drank wine here and there in Spain and in France on the way to the apostle in Compostela, let me tell you this in order to avoid future disappointment: As lovely as it tastes there, it never tastes the same at home.

I am sharing this with you as someone who had a marvellous glass or two of a red Rioja from the Ostatu bodegas in a small restaurant in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, associated with great memories of that day and that evening, and who orders a few bottles every year for our Christmas Day meal. And the same goes for a white Vouvray that we discovered on our way to Tours. Yes, it tastes fine at home but it never the same as it tasted there and then.

Actually, I am more a fan of Isla or Highland single malts..but, I am learning to discern the different things in there. As for wines i tend to lighter acidic wines than sweet.
Here we have a over active Chihuahua of a secondary market..Yamazaki 18 cost me a bundle, Pappy Van Winkle is WAY over priced and rated. I digressed.
The comforting silence between people at a sunset ...

A few decades ago i had a dream i was sitting in one amazing sunset...
A far off place,a low patio wall and an old friend..maybe my muse and ive been searching and working my photographic life to re create the light...until i get to Spain..because some of the pictures of Albergues ive seen sure are close

I go to the beach here and share a bottle of rum on occasion...

 

[William Garza]

I can't buy patxaran here at home in Wales. So when there is a decent crop of sloes I make my own. As good as my first sip of the proper stuff by the swimming pool in Hontanas on a hot August day? No! But good enough to brighten up a damp grey afternoon on the Celtic fringe....

Had to look up sloes..good lord, i would try that liquid!

 

[lt56ny]

Personally I do not worry about these kinds of things as my caminos are very personal experiences. More importantly I am very impressed with your vocabulary. I never heard of the word ennui before or had any idea how to pronounce it. Thank goodness for google so I could look up the meaning and hear how the word is pronounced. Very doubtful if I will remember how to pronounce it.

 

[William Garza]

Personally I do not worry about these kinds of things as my caminos are very personal experiences. More importantly I am very impressed with your vocabulary. I never heard of the word ennui before or had any idea how to pronounce it. Thank goodness for google so I could look up the meaning and hear how the word is pronounced. Very doubtful if I will remember how to pronounce it.

thank you! you should have seen what i could write before some medicine took my short term memory!

 

[Speddy]

Just because every trail/place/view/angle/sight/season, etc, may have been captured in any format (photos/videos/blogs/vlogs/written/described, etc) doesn't mean we have to partake in any of it!
Eg; 'The Way' movie came out just before I took my first tentative steps on a long distance path, namely the CF from SJPdP, but I deliberately avoided seeing the film until my return, as I didn't want to walk with preconceived ideas of what I may see or experience.
Limitless information may be out there now but we can still choose not to seek it.
Even in this day & age, there is still the opportunity to discover something for yourself...you just have to block out all the 'noise' & let it unfold...

I walked the CF in 2011. I read two books before I went. The experience was very powerful in so many ways.I heard something about a move the way was coming out at about the same time I was returning to the US.I still have not seen the movie. My thought then and now is why would I want to see a factious movie for something that I had just had a real experience from. Nothing personal about the film. In fact, it has inspired many Americans to walk. This is a lot of the reason I am reluctant to go back to the CF. I may try the Le Puy route next year. Thank you for your comment.

 

[t2andreo]

Not a pointy finger by any means.
I wonder sometimes if there will be a point of saturation on the Camino.

When every picture taken at every angle and every seasons hour of...XYZ on Camino X...and Y..or Z.

Will people have vicariously lived every magic through descrition,photo and video?

My extreme cynic side..yes.
My Optimist..no
My Realist side.eh-meh-hmmm

Every subject is finite,every idea the same. There comes a time when every angle has been covered and a ennui sets its claws to the subject.

Will the Caminos be forgotten to be re discovered again? The "ruins" buried in the collective memories until they are novel again.

My romantic optimist side says as long as there is a road..a Way...there will always be people looking for it.
What say you?

Every photo taken captures a moment in time and space. That moment can never be duplicated. There are too many variables.

I can subscribe to a physical saturation of available senda, trails and roads at some point. But we are not there - yet.

Hope this helps the dialog.

Tom

 

[hikinggirl]

Just because every trail/place/view/angle/sight/season, etc, may have been captured in any format (photos/videos/blogs/vlogs/written/described, etc) doesn't mean we have to partake in any of it!
Eg; 'The Way' movie came out just before I took my first tentative steps on a long distance path, namely the CF from SJPdP, but I deliberately avoided seeing the film until my return, as I didn't want to walk with preconceived ideas of what I may see or experience.
Limitless information may be out there now but we can still choose not to seek it.
Even in this day & age, there is still the opportunity to discover something for yourself...you just have to block out all the 'noise' & let it unfold...

I agree completely! My walk starts in September from SJPDP To Finesterre. I have purposely avoided studying photos, seeing The Way or anything else that can give away the surprise. I am reading posts so I don’t go into this blind but lots of the fun I experience is the joy of first discovery.

 

[mspath]

For many of us now so much has changed.
Thankfully memories still remain.

"...But to have been,
This once, completely, even if only once:
To have been at one with the earth, seems beyond undoing."

Rainer Maria Rilke, 9th Duino Elegy,
(translated by Stephen Mitchell).

 

[Tassie Kaz]

@Speddy & @hikinggirl, I'm with you both! I too read a few books prior to walking (& must acknowledge that was how I 'discovered' the Camino even existed) but somehow reading without photos does not take away from the trail unveiling itself to you; the picture in your imagination stems from the authors description...not from actual an representation.
@Speddy, I also let the experience of my walks stand alone by not repeating any paths.
@hikinggirl, best wishes for your Camino in September...I love how you are relishing the unknown leaving yourself open to whatever unfolds!
Happy trails.

 

[David Tallan]

Not a pointy finger by any means.
I wonder sometimes if there will be a point of saturation on the Camino.

When every picture taken at every angle and every seasons hour of...XYZ on Camino X...and Y..or Z.

Will people have vicariously lived every magic through descrition,photo and video?

My extreme cynic side..yes.
My Optimist..no
My Realist side.eh-meh-hmmm

Every subject is finite,every idea the same. There comes a time when every angle has been covered and a ennui sets its claws to the subject.

Will the Caminos be forgotten to be re discovered again? The "ruins" buried in the collective memories until they are novel again.

My romantic optimist side says as long as there is a road..a Way...there will always be people looking for it.
What say you?

If every angle wasn't covered in the first thousand years, I have no worries that they will all be covered in the next few hundred.

 

[Introibo]

As people queued to file past the body of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the second, of Blessed and Glorious memory, an interviewer asked a lady why she had brought her young daughter to London to stand in line for such a long time to pay her respects. The lady was French and said she had no great attachment to the late Queen. She went on to say that she was tired of seeing her daughter live out her life through a screen. Experiencing events second hand through social media. For once, she wanted her to be physically present and have an experience that was not filtered.
No matter how much we "pre-view" a Camino, no matter how much we "pre-pare" for a Camino, the reality will always be fresh and new

 

[williamlittig]

Not a pointy finger by any means.
I wonder sometimes if there will be a point of saturation on the Camino.

When every picture taken at every angle and every seasons hour of...XYZ on Camino X...and Y..or Z.

Will people have vicariously lived every magic through descrition,photo and video?

My extreme cynic side..yes.
My Optimist..no
My Realist side.eh-meh-hmmm

Every subject is finite,every idea the same. There comes a time when every angle has been covered and a ennui sets its claws to the subject.

Will the Caminos be forgotten to be re discovered again? The "ruins" buried in the collective memories until they are novel again.

My romantic optimist side says as long as there is a road..a Way...there will always be people looking for it.
What say you?

There will need to be more rainy day pictures.

 

[philleethomas]

Not a pointy finger by any means.
I wonder sometimes if there will be a point of saturation on the Camino.

When every picture taken at every angle and every seasons hour of...XYZ on Camino X...and Y..or Z.

Will people have vicariously lived every magic through descrition,photo and video?

My extreme cynic side..yes.
My Optimist..no
My Realist side.eh-meh-hmmm

Every subject is finite,every idea the same. There comes a time when every angle has been covered and a ennui sets its claws to the subject.

Will the Caminos be forgotten to be re discovered again? The "ruins" buried in the collective memories until they are novel again.

My romantic optimist side says as long as there is a road..a Way...there will always be people looking for it.
What say you?

Just as an aside; I'm currently on the Mozárabe between Granada and Córdoba and have met NO pilgrims whatsoever! It's a different experience to the Francés in that I have the whole Way to myself: not worse or better, just different. I guess the Francés (which I assume is what you are talking about) will reach some sort of critical mass and pilgrims will choose alternative routes, the 'roads less travelled'.

 

[DJwalKing]

No matter how much you read, or how many videos/pictures you see, there is absolutely nothing that can replace the experience itself. So, IMHO, the oversaturation wouldn't affect my experience at all.

 

[Speddy]

Just because every trail/place/view/angle/sight/season, etc, may have been captured in any format (photos/videos/blogs/vlogs/written/described, etc) doesn't mean we have to partake in any of it!
Eg; 'The Way' movie came out just before I took my first tentative steps on a long distance path, namely the CF from SJPdP, but I deliberately avoided seeing the film until my return, as I didn't want to walk with preconceived ideas of what I may see or experience.
Limitless information may be out there now but we can still choose not to seek it.
Even in this day & age, there is still the opportunity to discover something for yourself...you just have to block out all the 'noise' & let it unfold...

@Speddy & @hikinggirl, I'm with you both! I too read a few books prior to walking (& must acknowledge that was how I 'discovered' the Camino even existed) but somehow reading without photos does not take away from the trail unveiling itself to you; the picture in your imagination stems from the authors description...not from actual an representation.
@Speddy, I also let the experience of my walks stand alone by not repeating any paths.
@hikinggirl, best wishes for your Camino in September...I love how you are relishing the unknown leaving yourself open to whatever unfolds!
Happy trails.

When I went back in 2011, There were a lot of Germans on the Camino who had just read " I'm off Then" by a German author, which was coincidentally one of the two books I read. I would recommend it if you're looking for a fun read. Looking back, I'm so grateful I could get a bed without worrying. I did not bring a phone which these days would seem impossible. When I went back more recently, I noticed so many people on their phones- texting back home, texting to get a bed, and talking on their phones. In 2011,I would invite myself to a table and share our Camino experience over a cafe con Leche. Sometimes with a lot of tears. I hope this still happens for Pilgrims.
Hikinggirl, I wish you the very best. That was around the same time I went and only had two days of rain.
If you ask me - The less you " know" the more you will receive. Buen Camino, speedy ( who carried a huge stuffed turtle on her back)

@Speddy & @hikinggirl, I'm with you both! I too read a few books prior to walking (& must acknowledge that was how I 'discovered' the Camino even existed) but somehow reading without photos does not take away from the trail unveiling itself to you; the picture in your imagination stems from the authors description...not from actual an representation.
@Speddy, I also let the experience of my walks stand alone by not repeating any paths.
@hikinggirl, best wishes for your Camino in September...I love how you are relishing the unknown leaving yourself open to whatever unfolds!
Happy trails.

 

[William Garza]

Begs the question
Then who are the most enthusiastic Pilgrims from what country?

 

[Anamya]

No matter how much you read, or how many videos/pictures you see, there is absolutely nothing that can replace the experience itself.

I can't agree more.
On a non-camino example, this year I had the chance to go to Paris, and among other things, I obviously entered the Louvre. Ventured into that super-crowded room with the Mona Lisa on one side, and took a nice look at her. I've seen her photo a million times. We've all seen her on the internet, in movies, on the newspaper, in all sort of trinket related to Paris or to Leonardo da Vinci.

And as much as her face has been scrutinized millimeter by millimeter in all sorts of media, I couldn't stop myself thinking, after seeing her for real: "Lady, you are indeed very pretty. I'm glad I met you".

The camino experience is so unique to each person, and there is literally so much ground to cover that I doubt it will ever be saturated, in the sense of "we've had enough of this". Maybe it won't be so popular one day. or maybe it will be even more. But being there will still be unique.

 

[Vancouver Rose]

Seeing and experiencing the Camino through your own eyes will never be the same as experiencing it through someone else's. Someone else's experience, and the things they find photo-worthy may be similar to yours, but it can never be "the same", because even though you may be walking the same path, and taking the photo from the same spot, what brought you there and what you found when you arrived will not be the same as it is for someone else. As in any life, saturation by virtue of photographs, and even stories, isn't possible in my opinion.

 

[WalkingInGers]

Seeing and experiencing the Camino through your own eyes will never be the same as experiencing it thought someone else's. Someone else's experience, and the things they find photo-worthy may be similar to yours, but it can never be "the same", because even though you may be walking the same path, and taking the photo from the same spot, what brought you there and what you found when you arrived will not be the same as it is for someone else. As in any life, saturation by virtue of photographs, and even stories, isn't possible in my opinion.

Interesting and factual.

 

[alexwalker]

“No man ever steps in the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” Heraclitus​

Heraclitus - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org