nickpellatt
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- French 2015 Portuguese 2018 Norte May 2019 Finesterre and Muxia April 2019
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@nickpellatt, your passionate appeal which I admire is a good example for me that people can see much significance and meaning in something where others see none.In addition, there can be a huge amount of satisfaction (and sometimes relief), in finding or spotting the next marker. They become an integral part of the Camino experience providing reassurance and comfort throughout, and they help to keep your focus and keep you in the moment. You can rely solely on them.
I wonder what else people miss when their eyes are on their screens.I met my first fellow pilgrim on the route, and when chatting I mentioned how good I thought the waymarking was. He said he hadn't noticed it as he was just following an app on his phone.
Yellow arrows are nice and reassuring, of course, but for those of us who are directionally challenged (and like "odd" caminos), electronic maps and apps are necessary.
LUV this.Keep your apps as a last minute, get-out-of-jail card rather than relying on them as waymarkers. You see and feel a lot more that way I think.
This is a "Miss Marple" moment - Which elements of the available evidence can you trust? Which elements are there to mislead you? You need to filter the circumstantial evidence through your knowledge of human nature to figure out who might have been involved, with what motivation, and when.But the track I found online (not a specific Camino app) was outdated -- now crossed by a high-speed railway line and deep road cutting -- so that cost me some distance and time anyway, and to be fair following arrows more trustingly for those bits would have helped me.
HI,As above ^^^ all interesting points, everyone walks their own path of course, but my advice is more relevant (IMHO) for first-time pilgrims rather than the experienced walker, who may prefer to seek out new paths and walk the road less travelled.
The apps aren't always accurate either so I think it's a mistake to rely on them. Camino Places misdirected me on the Norte and took me on a path that the German Jakobsweg book recommends avoiding as it is dangerous. It was one of the few times I opened the app, and I followed it rather than my instinct.
The Buen Camino app was also incorrect on the road to Muxia, and it avoids the Mt Aro albergue. I checked this en-route as the hospitalero told me about it.
Of course, maps, apps, GPS and smartphones are tools we can use in any experience in life .... but on the Camino, especially on the first Camino, it's great to unplug, and really live in the moment much more than we are used to in our 'regular' lives.
Buen Camino to all
The waymarking was, in my experience, excellent on all routes and can be relied upon to direct you from place to place easily. In addition, there can be a huge amount of satisfaction (and sometimes relief), in finding or spotting the next marker. They become an integral part of the Camino experience providing reassurance and comfort throughout, and they help to keep your focus and keep you in the moment. You can rely solely on them. After all, people have followed them for years right?
A agree Never used an appThis is very much my opinion, but may be very relevent for anyone walking the Camino on the more recognised routes; Frances, Portugues, Norte and Finesterre / Muxia.
The waymarking was, in my experience, excellent on all routes and can be relied upon to direct you from place to place easily. In addition, there can be a huge amount of satisfaction (and sometimes relief), in finding or spotting the next marker. They become an integral part of the Camino experience providing reassurance and comfort throughout, and they help to keep your focus and keep you in the moment. You can rely solely on them. After all, people have followed them for years right?
When I walked the Frances, pretty much everyone just followed the waymarking.
When I walked the Portguese, after a gap of two years away from the Camino, the relief was palpable when I spotted the first waymarker at the cathedral in Lisbon, and I carefully followed them to the edge of the city. At that point, I met my first fellow pilgrim on the route, and when chatting I mentioned how good I thought the waymarking was. He said he hadn't noticed it as he was just following an app on his phone.
This was even more evident on my recent Camino, and even though I'm relatively new to this board, I have noticed several posts mentioning apps and maps. On the Norte this year, someone commented in a discussion about waymarking to say he had to use and follow an app as it was his first Camino.
But, I disagree ... if it is your first Camino, it's even more important to NOT use an app and follow the waymarking. There really is a beauty in just following the arrows I think, and the Camino is a good time to unplug a little. I saw a number of people this year, head down, just following maps ... and I'm pretty sure they miss out because of it. If this is your first Camino, I promise you ... you can find your way with the arrows and it's a more satisfying experience too. If you plan on walking a regular route, the markers will guide you and keep you in the moment, and being 'now' is an essential part of the Camino I think.
Keep your apps as a last minute, get-out-of-jail card rather than relying on them as waymarkers. You see and feel a lot more that way I think.
This has been one of the best posts I have read for a long time. I heartily second this!! I’m starting my third Camino August 8th and I love the adventure of looking for the Waymarkers!This is very much my opinion, but may be very relevent for anyone walking the Camino on the more recognised routes; Frances, Portugues, Norte and Finesterre / Muxia.
The waymarking was, in my experience, excellent on all routes and can be relied upon to direct you from place to place easily. In addition, there can be a huge amount of satisfaction (and sometimes relief), in finding or spotting the next marker. They become an integral part of the Camino experience providing reassurance and comfort throughout, and they help to keep your focus and keep you in the moment. You can rely solely on them. After all, people have followed them for years right?
When I walked the Frances, pretty much everyone just followed the waymarking.
When I walked the Portguese, after a gap of two years away from the Camino, the relief was palpable when I spotted the first waymarker at the cathedral in Lisbon, and I carefully followed them to the edge of the city. At that point, I met my first fellow pilgrim on the route, and when chatting I mentioned how good I thought the waymarking was. He said he hadn't noticed it as he was just following an app on his phone.
This was even more evident on my recent Camino, and even though I'm relatively new to this board, I have noticed several posts mentioning apps and maps. On the Norte this year, someone commented in a discussion about waymarking to say he had to use and follow an app as it was his first Camino.
But, I disagree ... if it is your first Camino, it's even more important to NOT use an app and follow the waymarking. There really is a beauty in just following the arrows I think, and the Camino is a good time to unplug a little. I saw a number of people this year, head down, just following maps ... and I'm pretty sure they miss out because of it. If this is your first Camino, I promise you ... you can find your way with the arrows and it's a more satisfying experience too. If you plan on walking a regular route, the markers will guide you and keep you in the moment, and being 'now' is an essential part of the Camino I think.
Keep your apps as a last minute, get-out-of-jail card rather than relying on them as waymarkers. You see and feel a lot more that way I think.
We don't use that system in our navigational devices.Here's a good reason to follow the arrows: technology sometimes fails.
Galileo sat-nav system experiences service outage:
Galileo sat-nav system still without service
"Europe's GPS" remains offline as it grapples with a technical glitch in its ground infrastructure.www.bbc.co.uk
There was at least once on our 2016 Camino Frances where we had been doing as suggested, just following the yellow arrows, and missed one and ended up several km off the track with no idea of how to get back. Having an app that could show where we were and where the Camino was was very handy so that we could reconnect. It also helped the other pilgrims we found off the track that time who had missed the same turn off.As far as the Frances is concerned, I cannot think of a single part of it in which a waymarking/gps phone app is needed. None. I have never used one anywhere on the Camino and honestly don't want to walk with a phone to my face...ugh. No way. It stays in my pocket and only comes out to take a photo with it.
There is some serendipity in following the markers, isn’t there?!This is very much my opinion, but may be very relevent for anyone walking the Camino on the more recognised routes; Frances, Portugues, Norte and Finesterre / Muxia.
The waymarking was, in my experience, excellent on all routes and can be relied upon to direct you from place to place easily. In addition, there can be a huge amount of satisfaction (and sometimes relief), in finding or spotting the next marker. They become an integral part of the Camino experience providing reassurance and comfort throughout, and they help to keep your focus and keep you in the moment. You can rely solely on them. After all, people have followed them for years right?
When I walked the Frances, pretty much everyone just followed the waymarking.
When I walked the Portguese, after a gap of two years away from the Camino, the relief was palpable when I spotted the first waymarker at the cathedral in Lisbon, and I carefully followed them to the edge of the city. At that point, I met my first fellow pilgrim on the route, and when chatting I mentioned how good I thought the waymarking was. He said he hadn't noticed it as he was just following an app on his phone.
This was even more evident on my recent Camino, and even though I'm relatively new to this board, I have noticed several posts mentioning apps and maps. On the Norte this year, someone commented in a discussion about waymarking to say he had to use and follow an app as it was his first Camino.
But, I disagree ... if it is your first Camino, it's even more important to NOT use an app and follow the waymarking. There really is a beauty in just following the arrows I think, and the Camino is a good time to unplug a little. I saw a number of people this year, head down, just following maps ... and I'm pretty sure they miss out because of it. If this is your first Camino, I promise you ... you can find your way with the arrows and it's a more satisfying experience too. If you plan on walking a regular route, the markers will guide you and keep you in the moment, and being 'now' is an essential part of the Camino I think.
Keep your apps as a last minute, get-out-of-jail card rather than relying on them as waymarkers. You see and feel a lot more that way I think.
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