John Briscoe
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Francais 2014
Camino Portuguese 2016
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@mspathFor several fascinating French accounts/memoires of early 20th c. walkers on the camino see/read the links cited in this earlier reportage from Pèlerin Magazine.
http://marcheurs.blog.pelerin.info/...-a-la-rencontre-des-pionniers-de-compostelle/
Imagine walking as a student as
Dominique Paladilhe did in 1948 during the time of Franco; his notebook/journal is still available on line!
@mspath
I would love to read this notebook/journal but couldn't locate it online
Downloadable as either PDF or epub from this website.@mspath
I would love to read this notebook/journal but couldn't locate it online
Thank you for this reply.Back in the summer of 1977 it would never have occurred to me to actually walk the Camino. I wasn't 'Camino conscious' in 1977 - but then, who was, other than Don Elias?
But I knew my Spanish/Church history, and I knew that I absolutely had to visit SdeC when I did the classic young-American-with-a-backpack-and-a-Eurrail-pass thing....
Went from Paris to Lourdes, by train. Lourdes was then what it probably still is - wonderful, and very strange. (I'll find out soon enough. I'm revisiting Lourdes next May.) My 1977 visit inspired in me a very special, very private, devotion to Our Lady.
Then to Burgos, by train. Burgos was surprisingly quiet, as I recall, and a bit run down.... Not much of a tourist destination back then; and I cannot recall seeing any peregrinos at all.... I got a room for two nights in a Hostal Cordon, now gone, that was actually inside the historic Casa del Cordon (unlike the current Hotel Cordon), but cold and shabby for all that. Ah, the cathedral was magnificent! Although it seemed to me then (and still does) more an art museum than a place of worship.... I recall that the Solar del Cid disappointed, and that climbing up to the Castillo was a bit dicey.... I was the only American visiting Las Huelgas that day, and it was not the polished operation it is now, but splendid nevertheless. Loved las Huelgas! Especially seeing the famous banner taken from the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa....
Then via Madrid to SdeC, by overnight train. Compostela was also very quiet, by today's standards. Nothing like the flashy, busy, hustle-and-bustle modern city. Was there a Pilgrim Office back then? No idea. Didn't look for one. I wasn't pretending to be anything other than a devout and respectful tourista.... Explored the cathedral, put my hand in the famous hand-print, no swinging butafumero in sight, no guided trips to the cathedral roof, only a very few visibly identifiable peregrinos - and they were being treated like saints.... Side-tripped to Santa Maria del Sar, enjoyed it very much... The street that runs from the Plaza de Cervantes past San Martin Pinario to the tunnel looked just about the way it does now. That I remember vividly! Lots of trinkets for sale, lots of tee-shirts.... Did not stay the night; took the midnight train back to Madrid. A mistake - but I was young and foolish and feeling compelled to keep moving no matter what....
I would love to see any films or photos of 1970s Lourdes, Burgos, Compostela. I will try and find my old photos, convert them to shareable form, and push them out....
Thanks so much for this thread, @John Briscoe ! I love reading about Camino experiences prior to 2005, and would love to read Hilary James article in the Australian Great Walks magazine about her family's 1973 Camino del Norte. But, I can't seem to find the article - such that I can read it - on the magazine's website - only vague reference to it on the cover. And I don't find reference to her book on-line. So, if you can provide details, I would be very grateful - alas, I'm not in Australia... Thanks again!
And thanks so much, @rappahannock_rev , for your reminiscence of your 1977 experiences!
This resonates with me. I was a green, young 19yo with a Eurailpass back in 1978. Took an overnight train from Paris to Madrid (!), leaving at 11:30pm and arriving in Madrid the next afternoon. (I learned a lesson from that over-ambition...) Passed though Burgos en route, which at the time triggered only historical references for me, the young amateur historian. Thirty five years later I arrived back in Burgos, this time by foot, as a pilgrim.Back in the summer of 1977 it would never have occurred to me to actually walk the Camino. I wasn't 'Camino conscious' in 1977 - but then, who was, other than Don Elias?
But I knew my Spanish/Church history, and I knew that I absolutely had to visit SdeC when I did the classic young-American-with-a-backpack-and-a-Eurrail-pass thing....
Went from Paris to Lourdes, by train. Lourdes was then what it probably still is - wonderful, and very strange. (I'll find out soon enough. I'm revisiting Lourdes next May.) My 1977 visit inspired in me a very special, very private, devotion to Our Lady.
Then to Burgos, by train. Burgos was surprisingly quiet, as I recall, and a bit run down.... Not much of a tourist destination back then; and I cannot recall seeing any peregrinos at all.... I got a room for two nights in a Hostal Cordon, now gone, that was actually inside the historic Casa del Cordon (unlike the current Hotel Cordon), but cold and shabby for all that. Ah, the cathedral was magnificent! Although it seemed to me then (and still does) more an art museum than a place of worship.... I recall that the Solar del Cid disappointed, and that climbing up to the Castillo was a bit dicey.... I was the only American visiting Las Huelgas that day, and it was not the polished operation it is now, but splendid nevertheless. Loved las Huelgas! Especially seeing the famous banner taken from the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa....
Then via Madrid to SdeC, by overnight train. Compostela was also very quiet, by today's standards. Nothing like the flashy, busy, hustle-and-bustle modern city. Was there a Pilgrim Office back then? No idea. Didn't look for one. I wasn't pretending to be anything other than a devout and respectful tourista.... Explored the cathedral, put my hand in the famous hand-print, no swinging butafumero in sight, no guided trips to the cathedral roof, only a very few visibly identifiable peregrinos - and they were being treated like saints.... Side-tripped to Santa Maria del Sar, enjoyed it very much... The street that runs from the Plaza de Cervantes past San Martin Pinario to the tunnel looked just about the way it does now. That I remember vividly! Lots of trinkets for sale, lots of tee-shirts.... Did not stay the night; took the midnight train back to Madrid. A mistake - but I was young and foolish and feeling compelled to keep moving no matter what....
I would love to see any films or photos of 1970s Lourdes, Burgos, Compostela. I will try and find my old photos, convert them to shareable form, and push them out....
Karl We did the Francaise in Sept 2014 and the Portuguese in June 2016. Thanks for your comments.This resonates with me. I was a green, young 19yo with a Eurailpass back in 1978. Took an overnight train from Paris to Madrid (!), leaving at 11:30pm and arriving in Madrid the next afternoon. (I learned a lesson from that over-ambition...) Passed though Burgos en route, which at the time triggered only historical references for me, the young amateur historian. Thirty five years later I arrived back in Burgos, this time by foot, as a pilgrim.
I feel glad about it. I can't express exactly what I feel glad about, but I feel glad about it.
Downloadable as either PDF or epub from this website.
http://www.museedeseineport.info/MuseeVirtuel/Salles/PaladilheDominique/DominiquePaladilhe.htm
Read Walter Starkie The Road to Santiago which is based on his 3 pilgrimages to Santiago in the 1950's. A lot of his research was GG King"s 1903 classic trilogyThe Way of St James. Also read Edwin Mullins 1974 The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago where he describes how nobody remembered where the old paths were. I havent updated my books post since 2009 but you can find a list of books in date order here. Www.amawalker.blogspot.co.za/2009/09/books-on-camino.html
I walked the Camino in 1974 as part of a student group led by David Gitlitz. I'll try to upload a few photos (scanned slides, of course) that I took of some of the small towns that we walked through. They look very different today.As a keen walker apart from Caminos, I subscribe to the Australian Great Walks magazine which features some great stories (walks) and gear reviews etc. But this month, there was an article written by Hilary James on her family's 1973 Camino across the route now known as the Norte. They did not get to Santiago but did experience life along the way. But it does raise the question of all you older travelers who may have walked the Camino in the 70's or 80's before smart phones and albuergues etc.
Can we see if there are a few stories and even converted camera slides. (Because the digital camera did not make an entrance until the early 90's.)
As an aside, Hilary did write a book of her adventures and I can give the details if anyone in Australia is interested.
Thanks.
For those who are interested, the pictures are of Grañón, Rabanal del Camino, El Ganso, Manjarín - yes, there were still buildings standing then, El Acebo, and O Cebreiro.I walked the Camino in 1974 as part of a student group led by David Gitlitz. I'll try to upload a few photos (scanned slides, of course) that I took of some of the small towns that we walked through. They look very different today.View attachment 37314 View attachment 37315 View attachment 37316 View attachment 37317 View attachment 37318 View attachment 37319
Just curious. How many of you who walked then have continued to walk now, and how do you feel about all the changes?I walked the Camino in 1974 as part of a student group led by David Gitlitz.
That must have been amazing. Well done and thank you.I walked the Camino in 1974 as part of a student group led by David Gitlitz. I'll try to upload a few photos (scanned slides, of course) that I took of some of the small towns that we walked through. They look very different today.View attachment 37314 View attachment 37315 View attachment 37316 View attachment 37317 View attachment 37318 View attachment 37319
Hi, Lynn,I walked the Camino in 1974 as part of a student group led by David Gitlitz. I'll try to upload a few photos (scanned slides, of course) that I took of some of the small towns that we walked through. They look very different today.View attachment 37314 View attachment 37315 View attachment 37316 View attachment 37317 View attachment 37318 View attachment 37319
Hi, Lynn,
Let me add a welcome to the forum. How very lucky you are, I can't even imagine walking the Camino in 1974. Would love to hear any of the memories you care to share, and if posting photos is not too much of a problem, they are a real treat.
Your picture of Rabanal shows people with day packs, I think. Since your walk predates Jacotrans by many decades, I'm wondering how you got stuff from point A to point B or whether you walked with a truly minimalist kit!
Buen camino, Laurie
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