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OBSOLETE COVID THREAD State of Emergency, Again - Patience is a Virture

OBSOLETE COVID THREAD
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scruffy1

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Holy Year from Pamplona 2010, SJPP 2011, Lisbon 2012, Le Puy 2013, Vezelay (partial watch this space!) 2014; 2015 Toulouse-Puenta la Reina (Arles)
'Patience is a Virtue' is often credited to a pagan source, Cato to the Elder in the third or fourth century. Patience was never before so needed as in these times - both along the Camino and at home. I am still continuing to plan my last full Camino - with age it has become very hard for me to walk the distances required but the upcoming Holy Year is a great allurement tempting me to set out again ... but not at the current risk. History may not help my failing constitution but past events within history contain great comfort. History teaches us that the Camino has been here for more than a 1000 years always offering spiritual enlightenment, camaraderie with fellow pilgrims, a refuge from mundane life, a Get Out of Jail card for some epiphany for others. a challenge, as well as great fun. 'Patience is a Virtue' since the Camino will be here in the next year, in the next decade, also in the next generation. Perhaps I won't be able to walk again, I know that I have affected and influenced my children with the Camino Virus and that they too will one day walk and think there of me.
 
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'Patience is a Virtue' is often credited to a pagan source, Cato to the Elder in the third or fourth century. Patience was never before so needed as in these times - both along the Camino and at home. I am still continuing to plan my last full Camino - with age it has become very hard for me to walk the distances required but the upcoming Holy Year is a great allurement tempting me to set out again ... but not at the current risk. History may not help my failing constitution but past events within history contain great comfort. History teaches us that the Camino has been here for more than a 1000 years always offering spiritual enlightenment, camaraderie with fellow pilgrims, a refuge from mundane life, a Get Out of Jail card for some epiphany for others. a challenge, as well as great fun. 'Patience is a Virtue' since the Camino will be here in the next year, in the next decade, also in the next generation. Perhaps I won't be able to walk again, I know that I have affected and influenced my children with the Camino Virus and that they too will one day walk and think there of me.
Right on brother! I know that dilemma about age, ability and the sheer spiritual need simply to go a-camino. I wonder if there is a rest-house for old ghosts somewhere along the trail! :)

Samarkand.
 
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Patience was never before so needed as in these times
Certainly we need patience in these times. But to say it was never before so needed is, perhaps, just a bit of an exaggerated. Newlyweds separated by war in 1918 or 1939 probably needed patience at least as much, for a couple of examples. Home by Christmas indeed!
 
And so our boots
In Covid times
Did sulk behind the closet door,

Bring we our Kelty and our Berghaus,
Our Lekis and our Hokas
To airport gates and passageways
Met with countenance masked and words unkind.

Bring us our compostelas unsullied, pure and white
Bring us our cafe, solo y con leche
Bring us our April mornings, fresh and bright
Bring us the gift of pilgrimage, that which we in our pilgrim hearts
Do
Most Deeply and Devout
Desire.

- With apologies to William Blake.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
'Patience is a Virtue' is often credited to a pagan source, Cato to the Elder in the third or fourth century. Patience was never before so needed as in these times - both along the Camino and at home. I am still continuing to plan my last full Camino - with age it has become very hard for me to walk the distances required but the upcoming Holy Year is a great allurement tempting me to set out again ... but not at the current risk. History may not help my failing constitution but past events within history contain great comfort. History teaches us that the Camino has been here for more than a 1000 years always offering spiritual enlightenment, camaraderie with fellow pilgrims, a refuge from mundane life, a Get Out of Jail card for some epiphany for others. a challenge, as well as great fun. 'Patience is a Virtue' since the Camino will be here in the next year, in the next decade, also in the next generation. Perhaps I won't be able to walk again, I know that I have affected and influenced my children with the Camino Virus and that they too will one day walk and think there of me.
Thoughts and prayers are with you are with you. Next March is my 70th and I had planned to celebrate in style arriving in Santiago on my birthday. Not to be. Who knows, maybe my 80th. Let's hope not my 90th. However everyone's safety is more important than a pilgrimage. Not just for the pilgrims but more importantly, the local people.

Stay safe, I am sure that one day I will return to Santiago.

Bom caminho
 
Over the last few months living through these "lockdowns", unable to freely go anywhere I have found myself sulking over not being able to go through with my Camino plans.
Just recently I came to the realization that my perceived "problems" are far from the ones others in this world are currently experiencing such as losing a loved one, losing their source of income, losing their homes to natural disasters etc...
Once I finally woke up from my "pity party" I have chosen to sit back, enjoy life in my current situation and look forward to a positive future somewhere along a Camino.
Currently I am creating challenges to keep myself healthy and in shape as well as learning a new instrument....
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Isn't life so back-the-front.

If only we knew at 20 years of age what we know at 70.

A curse on this virus. It has stopped us all in our tracks.
Yes it has definitely done that, BUT As from a Camino perspective, if nothing else, I think that as evil and devastating as it has proven to be, something such as this was VERY definitely needed. The Camino, especially the more popular routes sucb as The Frances and The Portuguese (from Porto to Santiago) could not handle the ever increasing volume of walkers without imploding. The ever increasing tour companies who were encroaching on the Camino needed to be pulled back for a start. Sadly, Walking the Camino was becoming more of something to cross off ones bucket list than a Spiritual walk or a 'Walk to find oneself again'. I run two Camino groups so am not just making up words to fill the page here. I am writing with genuine concern.
 
Not that I want it,
not that I would wish it on anyone
and not that I would choose it at this stage of my life but
like most people I've had to learn once again how to find some pleasure
and a little solace in the small to very incidental things around me .....
and yes, absolutely, I feel for those who have suffered much, much more than I.


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It's a state of alarm not emergency! Wish people would get their facts right
Nope. People have got their facts right.

State of emergency is a correct term to refer to the estado de alarma in English. I am not a native speaker of English but I say this with great confidence ... 🤓

A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of their citizens. State of emergency is what an English speaker will understand and it is exactly what an estado de alarma is as defined in the Spanish Constitution. A literal translation as state of alarm is meaningless to anyone who is not familiar with the three different states of emergencies that the Spanish Constitution of 1978 defines (estado de alarma, estado de excepción y estado de sitio).
 
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@anthikes, you may also want to consult Wikipedia, a frequently useful source of information:

State of alarm​

State of alarm may refer to:​
 
Yes it has definitely done that, BUT As from a Camino perspective, if nothing else, I think that as evil and devastating as it has proven to be, something such as this was VERY definitely needed. The Camino, especially the more popular routes sucb as The Frances and The Portuguese (from Porto to Santiago) could not handle the ever increasing volume of walkers without imploding. The ever increasing tour companies who were encroaching on the Camino needed to be pulled back for a start. Sadly, Walking the Camino was becoming more of something to cross off ones bucket list than a Spiritual walk or a 'Walk to find oneself again'. I run two Camino groups so am not just making up words to fill the page here. I am writing with genuine concern.
I think you'd be surprised at what the Camino is capable of handling.

The difference between when you first walked the Camino in 2013 and where the Camino was at when Covid started is as nothing compared to the difference between my first Camino (1989) and the Camino in 2013. In 1989 there were only about 5000 compostelas handed out and there were neither mobile phones nor available Internet. Let's not talk about the Camino infrastructure then (which was already much better than it had been in the 60s or 70s). The change in the volume of walkers and the commercial aspects of the Camino was immense. Yet still, somehow, walking in 2013, you found enough value in your Camino to return again and again. When I walked it in 2016 (Frances) and 2018 (Portugues), I was still able to find the essential Camino experience

If the Camino could handle the growth in walkers, commerce, infrastructure, etc. from 1989 to 2013 and 2018 without losing the essential experience, I don't think it was in any real danger coming up in the next few decades.

I don't run any Camino groups (although I recognize that the existence of many such groups is another manifestation of the change that concerns you - the growing popularity). But I have witnessed the Camino, and its resilience over a reasonably long period to give me some perspective (although not as long or as closely as some here). I think you underestimate the Camino, the people who travel it and the people who live along it.

I really don't think the Camino, nor the towns and villages along the Camino, needed a pandemic.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Thankyou David Tallan....I was in No Way suggesting that the 'needed a Pandemic' rather, it DID and DOES need a rest. Camino Blessings Susanawee.
 
Yes it has definitely done that, BUT As from a Camino perspective, if nothing else, I think that as evil and devastating as it has proven to be, something such as this was VERY definitely needed.

No comment

The Camino, especially the more popular routes sucb as The Frances and The Portuguese (from Porto to Santiago) could not handle the ever increasing volume of walkers without imploding.

Not entirely true.
Using numbers from the official website in Santiago de Compostela and looking only at the Frances route from 2015 through 2019 (the last complete year) we see that while the total number of walkers (who collected a Compostela) did increase, the number of people who started from SJPdP has been steady or even slightly decreased while those starting from Saria has increased substantially.

Further, if we subtract the Saria starters from the total who walked the Frances and collected a Compostela then we see that the total non-Saria people have decreased over this time.


YearFrancesSt. JSaria
2015172,24331,05867,419
2016176,07533,65671,766
2017180,73733,17779,717
2018186,19932,89988,509
2019189,93733,19796,124

The ever increasing tour companies who were encroaching on the Camino needed to be pulled back for a start. Sadly, Walking the Camino was becoming more of something to cross off ones bucket list than a Spiritual walk or a 'Walk to find oneself again'. I run two Camino groups so am not just making up words to fill the page here. I am writing with genuine concern.

No comment

Edited a number of times to get the formatting correct!
 
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I did a slightly more comprehensive analysis and it is attached as a PDF (hopefully). It is only of the Frances and is from 2009. 2010 seems to have been a big year, I assume the equivalent of 2021. If so then it looks like if there is additional traffic on the Frances is will mostly be found from Cebreiro onwards with the biggest spike from Saria.

Interesting notes:
- In 2013 there was no figure for Saria and so I have estimated it based on the prior year and expected relationship with the total (around 24% with a fudge to make it sensible). I think that 2013 figures in general may be suspect.
- Clearly Saria has shown the greatest growth over the 11 year period.
- Non-Saria has shown only modest growth over the 11 years and has shrunk over the past 4 and 5 years.
- St. Jean more than doubled over the 11 year period but had very modest growth over the 5 year period and shrunk over the past 4 years.
- Leon has maintained its numbers with a small shrinkage over the past 4-5 years.
- The other major starting points have all shrunk over all periods.
 

Attachments

  • FrancesCompostelasSince2009.pdf
    42.9 KB · Views: 4
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Just to keep this balanced, the Portuguese routes have all grown substantially over this 11 year period and they have continued their growth over the past 4-5 years. The routes in Portugal have had a level of growth that would warrant someone saying that the numbers have exploded.

No details about Portugal as it is getting a bit late here in NZ (1:32 am) and I want to head off to bed. Perhaps someone else can do the analysis on the Portuguese routes???
 
If at sometime in the far off future I end up with a failing mind and body, just put a photo of lovely Spanish countryside on the wall, and a pair of poles in my hands...
This reminds me of a memory that always makes me laugh. We were in a Carl's Jr.fast food hamburger place in a depressing town (in the US). A family near us included an elderly woman who apparently had dementia. She kept asking, "Where am I?" The daughter kept saying Carl's Jr, mom, you're in CARLS JR!" My mom said, "Why don't they tell her she's in Paris?"
 
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