The camino is boring landscapes, paved roads, traffic…

[ginniek]

I'm glad to be in this thread with so many of my contemporaries--I'll be 73 next month. Since I'm both a historian and an urban planner, one of my real pleasures on the CF is walking through and to so many truly historic villages, towns and cities. Some days I'll count the number of medieval (or with medieval districts) places I've walked through and post the pictures on-line. Some friends criticize me for only posting photos of buildings and urban spaces, such as squares--where are the people? they ask.

 

[Bradypus]

Some friends criticize me for only posting photos of buildings and urban spaces, such as squares--where are the people? they ask.

I very rarely take photos of people. Partly because I usually walk quite solitary routes. But probably more because I very strongly dislike having my own photo taken and see no reason to inflict the experience on someone else.

 

[ISABEL linares]

Yes please post the pictures from all the plazas and the houses in the little villages.

 

[ginniek]

Yes please post the pictures from all the plazas and the houses in the little villages.

Thanks for the offer. I will get my act together and post some in the next day or two.

 

[Nigel Clark]

Have you mentioned that there's a burger king in Santiago? That thought kept me going for over 1100km

IF you are that desperate for a burger then the place to go is La Pepita

 

[Molly Cassidy]

I very rarely take photos of people. Partly because I usually walk quite solitary routes. But probably more because I very strongly dislike having my own photo taken and see no reason to inflict the experience on someone else.

I agree. I hate being photographed.

 

[notion900]

I feel like the whole point of the camino is that substantial parts of it are not 'nice'. And big parts are. Like life.

 

[Canche]

Some people enjoy beaches, some enjoy cruises. Some people prefer to stay within an hour of home. To each their own. Some people get their exercise walking around their neighbourhood, some pay to go to a gym. To each their own.

Is it really necessary for your friend to understand?

Good point

 

[Delphinoula]

On my first Camino I thought it was important to finish it and embrace the saint but then I walked on to Muxia. The next year I started two Camino from different directions and being time restricted job wise planned on continuing as I could. No. I think I never left the Camino reallyU it’s part of me. So if you grew up in the mountains that maybe your nonplusulta likewise near the sea or a river.
So a friend for me is one that I can support and that supports me. And the Alps can be great. There is pilgrimage to Rome across the Alps. just a thought.

 

[Rosie Woodhouse]

I'm a very social person and one of the biggest draw for me is connection. Connecting with my sister who walks beside me. Connecting with all these other pilgrims from all over the world. Connecting with the past and the millions of feet that have walked this same path over the last thousand years.
I love history and stories. The Camino is rich with them if you take time to look. Not only the stories of these ancient places but of the pilgrims I meet along the way.

I love the inspiration to be intentional and live in the moment. I love surrounding myself with simple pleasures. Sun and shade. Water and coffee. Birdsong and cow bells.

I love the shared experience. Joy's of the unexpected food truck, or bathroom or bench. As well as the pain and struggles. Blisters, sore muscles and those what the heck stairs into Portamarin. Everyone around me understands even when we don't speak the same language, we know and nod.
We might not understand why we do this or why we love it so much, but we can recognize the moments we will always charish.

 

[pepi]

I'm a very social person and one of the biggest draw for me is connection. Connecting with my sister who walks beside me. Connecting with all these other pilgrims from all over the world. Connecting with the past and the millions of feet that have walked this same path over the last thousand years.
I love history and stories. The Camino is rich with them if you take time to look. Not only the stories of these ancient places but of the pilgrims I meet along the way.

I love the inspiration to be intentional and live in the moment. I love surrounding myself with simple pleasures. Sun and shade. Water and coffee. Birdsong and cow bells.

I love the shared experience. Joy's of the unexpected food truck, or bathroom or bench. As well as the pain and struggles. Blisters, sore muscles and those what the heck stairs into Portamarin. Everyone around me understands even when we don't speak the same language, we know and nod.
We might not understand why we do this or why we love it so much, but we can recognize the moments we will always charish.

Beautifully written, Rosie, my feelings exactly but I could've not said it so well. Allow me to copy and paste it to my friend
Buen Camino

 

[Rosie Woodhouse]

Beautifully written, Rosie, my feelings exactly but I could've not said it so well. Allow me to copy and paste it to my friend
Buen Camino

I'd be happy for you to share

 

[JabbaPapa]

He is 63 y old, a keen mountain hiker and does not understand my camino addiction. I tried in vain to pass the virus on to him. «I have all the natural beauty, the real mountains, lakes, the crisp air, clean refuges and good food, all just an hour away from my porch (he is Swiss), why should I go to Spain?». Of course he is right, but how do I explain him that the camino is not a hike, but a long pilgrimage into ones inner self.

Switzerland does not have "all the natural beauty" that you would encounter along the Swiss Way via Lausanne > Geneva >Le Puy > SJPP

And there's a particular kind of beauty to the meseta for example that many mountain hikers can misunderstand, including because the "boringness" of it is part and parcel of that beauty.

As for that "long pilgrimage into ones inner self", hmmm, it's not something that every pilgrim will embark upon -- and you can't transfer your own personal Way onto someone else, it just doesn't work.

If he did it, it would need to be on his terms, not yours -- and if natural beauty and more mountain hiking is what he wants from life, then he might simply need a much longer and more mountainous Camino than you did.

Maybe show him what the Camino is, instead of trying to describe what your own personal one is like ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

Yes, the Swiss Camino sections are beautiful and recommendable, but there is a different spirit, more deeply religious, more serious than the tolerant Spanish ways....

That is exactly what nearly all pilgrims miss out on by just flying into SJPP or wherever ...

The Camino proper is a combination of the above with what you will find along the Francès etc.