- Time of past OR future Camino
- May 2023: Via Francigena, Lucca to Rome
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That's what I used on my first camino. It was perfect. No-one was telling me where they thought I should stop, or what profound reflections I should ponder. So I guess I was never captive.I stuck to the small green booklet ( only maps ) from Michelin.
As a pilgrim on the via Francigena said to me:"Bugger the view, I want to get there".The second day I think. I was in France and the Camino was also a GR, a French walking route. I looked at the map and saw that I was expected to leave the road, walk up a high hill and along the ridge and come back down again ... I remember thinking that no historic pilgrim route would have done that, unless there was a shrine or similar up there and it merely went that way to give a '"nice view".
I stayed on the road and after that ignored any pointless diversions as well as stopping for the night where I ended up. Never booked anywhere, just turned up - all was well.
For me the the clue to what a guide book is is in the title - a "guide" book - not a rule book
Me too!I've never used a guidebook.
It's a guide book, not a bible. Trust the Camino.This is a question I've pondered off and on over the years. Some quick background to explain what I mean:
I started walking in Le Puy, so by the time we crossed the Pyrenees I was in decent physical shape, and mentally already in "camino space." My first couple days on the Camino Francés I was fascinated watching new pelegrinos learn and adapt to the Camino, and go through the same process I had gone through a month before.
Now: on the forums we all talk about the freedom to walk as far as you want each day, and to stop when you want each day. And by the time we reached the meseta this was true for most people. However, I found this was not true in the beginning, back when we were all in Navarre and La Rioja ... and I witnessed some drama among folks the first time they stopped for the night outside a "Brierley" stage. For example:
1. It was an unexpectedly hot and humid day in Navarre. A couple of us stopped earlier than I usually do. Another group we knew came up, and were surprised that we were stopping off stage. Two wanted to stop. Two wanted to keep to their guidebook's recommendations. It was an intense discussion, and I think there was genuine fear among the latter two about going off stage. In the end they stopped, and never bothered about "official" stages again.
2. It was a beautiful day in La Rioja. It was still mid-afternoon, and a buddy and I decided to walk a few more hours before dinner. This time the other pelegrinos were afraid for us. Will we find food? Will we find lodging? Will we be ok out there on our own away from the larger groups? We assured them we would be fine, but they were genuinely worried.
So what I wonder is, what was the breakthrough point for other pilgrims? Did you really just start walking without a plan, or was it something you learned on route?
This is a question I've pondered off and on over the years. Some quick background to explain what I mean:
I started walking in Le Puy, so by the time we crossed the Pyrenees I was in decent physical shape, and mentally already in "camino space." My first couple days on the Camino Francés I was fascinated watching new pelegrinos learn and adapt to the Camino, and go through the same process I had gone through a month before.
Now: on the forums we all talk about the freedom to walk as far as you want each day, and to stop when you want each day. And by the time we reached the meseta this was true for most people. However, I found this was not true in the beginning, back when we were all in Navarre and La Rioja ... and I witnessed some drama among folks the first time they stopped for the night outside a "Brierley" stage. For example:
1. It was an unexpectedly hot and humid day in Navarre. A couple of us stopped earlier than I usually do. Another group we knew came up, and were surprised that we were stopping off stage. Two wanted to stop. Two wanted to keep to their guidebook's recommendations. It was an intense discussion, and I think there was genuine fear among the latter two about going off stage. In the end they stopped, and never bothered about "official" stages again.
2. It was a beautiful day in La Rioja. It was still mid-afternoon, and a buddy and I decided to walk a few more hours before dinner. This time the other pelegrinos were afraid for us. Will we find food? Will we find lodging? Will we be ok out there on our own away from the larger groups? We assured them we would be fine, but they were genuinely worried.
So what I wonder is, what was the breakthrough point for other pilgrims? Did you really just start walking without a plan, or was it something you learned on route?
In 1989 I didn't have a guidebook when I started the Camino. In 2016, I had an e-book guidebook and apps and my son had a physical copy of Brierley. He was a bit leery of going "off stage" but I was okay with it. As it turned out, we went "off stage" on the second day. On the one hand, we were unsure of getting beds in Pamplona during the San Fermines (we had started in Roncesvalles). On the other hand, we wanted a few short days to get our legs under us, as we hadn't done any training. So we had a few short days before getting back "on stage" again for a while. That first "off stage" day was five years ago today.This is a question I've pondered off and on over the years. Some quick background to explain what I mean:
I started walking in Le Puy, so by the time we crossed the Pyrenees I was in decent physical shape, and mentally already in "camino space." My first couple days on the Camino Francés I was fascinated watching new pelegrinos learn and adapt to the Camino, and go through the same process I had gone through a month before.
Now: on the forums we all talk about the freedom to walk as far as you want each day, and to stop when you want each day. And by the time we reached the meseta this was true for most people. However, I found this was not true in the beginning, back when we were all in Navarre and La Rioja ... and I witnessed some drama among folks the first time they stopped for the night outside a "Brierley" stage. For example:
1. It was an unexpectedly hot and humid day in Navarre. A couple of us stopped earlier than I usually do. Another group we knew came up, and were surprised that we were stopping off stage. Two wanted to stop. Two wanted to keep to their guidebook's recommendations. It was an intense discussion, and I think there was genuine fear among the latter two about going off stage. In the end they stopped, and never bothered about "official" stages again.
2. It was a beautiful day in La Rioja. It was still mid-afternoon, and a buddy and I decided to walk a few more hours before dinner. This time the other pelegrinos were afraid for us. Will we find food? Will we find lodging? Will we be ok out there on our own away from the larger groups? We assured them we would be fine, but they were genuinely worried.
So what I wonder is, what was the breakthrough point for other pilgrims? Did you really just start walking without a plan, or was it something you learned on route?
We never really followed it, the first time we went I estimated how far we would walk and where we would stay (I was completely wrong) we read the guide book but didn’t really use it for anything other than information about the area we were in. The most used and helpful thing we used were the papers from the Pilgrim Office listing the Albergues and distances. In the morning we would have a concept of 3 villages we may end up at and made the decision on the day at each place if we wanted to stay or keep walking.This is a question I've pondered off and on over the years. Some quick background to explain what I mean:
I started walking in Le Puy, so by the time we crossed the Pyrenees I was in decent physical shape, and mentally already in "camino space." My first couple days on the Camino Francés I was fascinated watching new pelegrinos learn and adapt to the Camino, and go through the same process I had gone through a month before.
Now: on the forums we all talk about the freedom to walk as far as you want each day, and to stop when you want each day. And by the time we reached the meseta this was true for most people. However, I found this was not true in the beginning, back when we were all in Navarre and La Rioja ... and I witnessed some drama among folks the first time they stopped for the night outside a "Brierley" stage. For example:
1. It was an unexpectedly hot and humid day in Navarre. A couple of us stopped earlier than I usually do. Another group we knew came up, and were surprised that we were stopping off stage. Two wanted to stop. Two wanted to keep to their guidebook's recommendations. It was an intense discussion, and I think there was genuine fear among the latter two about going off stage. In the end they stopped, and never bothered about "official" stages again.
2. It was a beautiful day in La Rioja. It was still mid-afternoon, and a buddy and I decided to walk a few more hours before dinner. This time the other pelegrinos were afraid for us. Will we find food? Will we find lodging? Will we be ok out there on our own away from the larger groups? We assured them we would be fine, but they were genuinely worried.
So what I wonder is, what was the breakthrough point for other pilgrims? Did you really just start walking without a plan, or was it something you learned on route?
We used the guide book as a resource that first time, until we walked into Belorado and it was only 1130 and much, much too early to stop. We had a coffee and map session, the two of us, and decided to go on for another 7km to Villambistia. (We didn't go for that famous "camino family" thing, we had each other for walking buddies.) After that we were liberated. I was truly confused why so many people were stopping so early just because it was an end-of-stage in the Brierly. There wasn't much to see in Belorado, it didn't look like.This is a question I've pondered off and on over the years. Some quick background to explain what I mean:
I started walking in Le Puy, so by the time we crossed the Pyrenees I was in decent physical shape, and mentally already in "camino space." My first couple days on the Camino Francés I was fascinated watching new pelegrinos learn and adapt to the Camino, and go through the same process I had gone through a month before.
Now: on the forums we all talk about the freedom to walk as far as you want each day, and to stop when you want each day. And by the time we reached the meseta this was true for most people. However, I found this was not true in the beginning, back when we were all in Navarre and La Rioja ... and I witnessed some drama among folks the first time they stopped for the night outside a "Brierley" stage. For example:
1. It was an unexpectedly hot and humid day in Navarre. A couple of us stopped earlier than I usually do. Another group we knew came up, and were surprised that we were stopping off stage. Two wanted to stop. Two wanted to keep to their guidebook's recommendations. It was an intense discussion, and I think there was genuine fear among the latter two about going off stage. In the end they stopped, and never bothered about "official" stages again.
2. It was a beautiful day in La Rioja. It was still mid-afternoon, and a buddy and I decided to walk a few more hours before dinner. This time the other pelegrinos were afraid for us. Will we find food? Will we find lodging? Will we be ok out there on our own away from the larger groups? We assured them we would be fine, but they were genuinely worried.
So what I wonder is, what was the breakthrough point for other pilgrims? Did you really just start walking without a plan, or was it something you learned on route?
I was already out of sync from the first day on seeing I started in Roncesvalles and not in St Jean Pied de Port
Till Pamplona I followed " his stops " and then I discovered gorgeous quiet Obanos and stopped there.
Yes - I think that is the more pertinent question. Most experienced travelers are able to see a guide book for what it is. But it is more difficult to figure out how to manage the culture and attractions of Camino groups, especially at the start.Maybe "break free from the group" is a better way to think of it?
Me too. I have a shoebox (from the first pair of Merrells I wore on the Camino) filled with my compostela's, guidebooks, shells, city maps from the Camino, receipts etc. All that stuff holds fond memories for me. Don't think I could say the same thing about a virtual app of digital images. lolI don't break free.
I purchase a guidebook for every camino I have walked. I study them before I go, take notes in the margins while walking, and end of day I study the next day's possibilities. After I return home I look at them occasionally to refresh myself if I'm contributing to a forum question.
They hold a special place in my personal library and I love them!
I too, love the Brierley and the easy to follow, simple maps are the best! I have used his guides for the Frances and the Portuguese; on the Norte/Pimitivo I used Cicerone's The Northern Caminos; for the Via Podiensis I used the Lightfoot guide; and for the Fisherman's Tail I used the Rota Vicentina guidebook.Re the Frances - I love the Brierley .. the warm tone, the maps, the background info, the spirituality, the suggestions. I have a full (ancient and well thumbed) Brierley at home - which I look at the same way I watch The Way - as invigorating positive reinforcement, but take the Brierley 'Maps only' with me - lighter, informative, great maps and info, great for wondering 'what is next' ... but I don't 'do' apps .. crikey! when a child my toys were clockwork, I wound them up to use them, but just haven't found the key slot on my smartphone
I think another factor is infrastructure. The places the guidebooks put as end stages are more likely to have restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. If, like many, you prefer to do your shopping after you've finished walking and settled in at you albergue, and/or want to go out to eat in the evening, these places might be more attractive than a smaller "in between" village that just has an albergue. Of course, it is a bit of a circle. All the pilgrims stopping there brings enough spending to support the infrastructure and the infrastructure acts as a bit of a magnet for the pilgrims when they are deciding where to stop.I expect that the reason many people stick to the stages in their books is simply that they have allocated a number of days based on the guide.
I hadn't even heard of Brierly when I first walked - just took the printout of accommodation from the Pilgrim office in St Jean.This is a question I've pondered off and on over the years. Some quick background to explain what I mean:
I started walking in Le Puy, so by the time we crossed the Pyrenees I was in decent physical shape, and mentally already in "camino space." My first couple days on the Camino Francés I was fascinated watching new pelegrinos learn and adapt to the Camino, and go through the same process I had gone through a month before.
Now: on the forums we all talk about the freedom to walk as far as you want each day, and to stop when you want each day. And by the time we reached the meseta this was true for most people. However, I found this was not true in the beginning, back when we were all in Navarre and La Rioja ... and I witnessed some drama among folks the first time they stopped for the night outside a "Brierley" stage. For example:
1. It was an unexpectedly hot and humid day in Navarre. A couple of us stopped earlier than I usually do. Another group we knew came up, and were surprised that we were stopping off stage. Two wanted to stop. Two wanted to keep to their guidebook's recommendations. It was an intense discussion, and I think there was genuine fear among the latter two about going off stage. In the end they stopped, and never bothered about "official" stages again.
2. It was a beautiful day in La Rioja. It was still mid-afternoon, and a buddy and I decided to walk a few more hours before dinner. This time the other pelegrinos were afraid for us. Will we find food? Will we find lodging? Will we be ok out there on our own away from the larger groups? We assured them we would be fine, but they were genuinely worried.
So what I wonder is, what was the breakthrough point for other pilgrims? Did you really just start walking without a plan, or was it something you learned on route?
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