Windmills and Wyoming

[Reed]

Hello everyone! I am a documentary filmmaker and I am making a film about an amazing human being who will be walking the Camino this coming month. His name is Charlie Hardy and the film is called Charlie vs Goliath...

http://www.charlievsgoliath.com/

I am hoping to film Charlie during 2-3 days of his journey, and I need to decide where exactly. I am looking for a part of the route where there are windmills and where the terrain looks like Wyoming (more desolate and mountainous, less green)...Looking for Don Quixote country! Reading the forums, it seems like the Alto de Perdon could be a good spot, but also the Meseta.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[mspath]

On or nearby the Camino Frances there are many contemporary wind turbines for example along the NA6056 at the Alto de Perdon. However I know of no old fashioned windmill as such on the CF.

Good luck finding your location and happy filming!

 

[simply B]

@Reed -

1. If you mean the old-fashioned "windmills", then you are out of luck as @mspath notes anywhere on the Camino.

2. Alto de Perdon could be a good stand-in for the area 20 - 30 miles west and NW of Cheyenne. It is about the closest you can come to having walker and windmills in reasonable proximity to each other. Go to Google maps or similar and get the street-eye view stationing yourself at the west side of Pamplona. That should give you a feel.

3. I would not say that the botany is identical between the regions but, from the time frame indicated for filming this would not be noticed by most. Sage and rabbitbrush with bits and bobs of euphorbs are in evidence in the fall and not much else.

4. The biggest problem you may have is trying to frame the walker (Charlie?) against the turbines. At the Alto itself you will have to work with the sculptures. Past the Alto, on the western descent you lose view of them. On the eastern approach is going to be your best bet.

5. Pamplona is logistically much easier to stage from for filming - lodging, resources, supplies are all plentiful.

6. The last point argues against the Meseta but an additional detriment is that at the points on the Meseta where you will find turbines, they are in the distance. Even if modern long lenses still provide the "compression effect" that I remember from the old days (40 years!), the variability of visibility would probably frustrate you, IMHO.

I hope that helps! And good luck with your film - - sounds like a worthy subject after I reviewed your site.

B

PS. Some may wish to point out the proximity of turbines to Montes de Oca. Yep - - they're near but the terrain looks nothing like anything within 200 km of Cheyenne and the fog has been pretty intense up there during both my Fall and Spring visits.

 

[jpflavin1]

Hello everyone! I am a documentary filmmaker and I am making a film about an amazing human being who will be walking the Camino this coming month. His name is Charlie Hardy and the film is called Charlie vs Goliath...

http://www.charlievsgoliath.com/

I am hoping to film Charlie during 2-3 days of his journey, and I need to decide where exactly. I am looking for a part of the route where there are windmills and where the terrain looks like Wyoming (more desolate and mountainous, less green)...Looking for Don Quixote country! Reading the forums, it seems like the Alto de Perdon could be a good spot, but also the Meseta.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

Reed:

Cruz de Ferro

Joe

 

[Americanperegrino]

So, what you're looking for is someplace along the Camino De Santiago to use in your political Ad/docudrama. Anywhere outside Cheyenne Wy is what your looking for. I'm sure things like this are done all the time, but, I've never heard of it being choreographed so openly.

 

[MichaelSG]

So, what you're looking for is someplace along the Camino De Santiago to use in your political Ad/docudrama. Anywhere outside Cheyenne Wy is what your looking for. I'm sure things like this are done all the time, but, I've never heard of it being choreographed so openly.

gentle, gentle, gentle....

 

[newfydog]

I ran into a film crew in the high Aubrac of the LePuy route, all done up for some western thing--horses, Mexicans in sombreros, rifles, etc.

Didn't look a bit like the American West though.

 

[mspath]

Another "western location" with red rock canyons but no windmills is at Contreras 60 k SE of Burgos on N234. Here Sergio Leone filmed The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

 

[Americanperegrino]

gentle, gentle, gentle....

I wasn't aware political messaging, hidden behind a 'documentary', was something this forum was about. This can easily get out of hand. The slippery slope isn't just on the downhill to Roncesvalles

 

[MTtoCamino]

I live close to Wyoming if you can't simply go there we have same terrain in Montana just go north you will find all the windmills you need. If you are attempting to use Spain as a Wyoming well I wouldn't recommend it as folks from this part of the world would question your motives.

 

[GettingThere]

Hello everyone! I am a documentary filmmaker and I am making a film about an amazing human being who will be walking the Camino this coming month. His name is Charlie Hardy and the film is called Charlie vs Goliath...

http://www.charlievsgoliath.com/

I am hoping to film Charlie during 2-3 days of his journey, and I need to decide where exactly. I am looking for a part of the route where there are windmills and where the terrain looks like Wyoming (more desolate and mountainous, less green)...Looking for Don Quixote country! Reading the forums, it seems like the Alto de Perdon could be a good spot, but also the Meseta.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

I don't understand. Why do you want Northern Spain to look like Wyoming? It looks like Northern Spain. If this man is planning on walking the Camino as you say, that will be a meaningful experience for him (and a great achievement) and he will be surrounded by beautiful Spanish countryside. If you are filming him walking part of his Camino, presumably that is what you will be presenting in that part of your film, rather than pretending he is back home or walking in a place that looks like home? I haven't been to Wyoming but the pictures I have seen really don't look like anything I saw along the Camino (I assume you're talking about the Camino Frances). It won't be quite as green in October/November as it would be in Summer due to deciduous trees losing their leaves, but "desolate" isn't a word I'd use for anything I saw on the Camino (apart from the odd urban sprawl), especially not 2-3 days-worth. Why not film it as it is?

Incidentally, if you and/or Charlie are really "looking for Don Quixote country" as you say in your post, you're in the wrong part of Spain. There is an actual "Don Quixote Route" (or routes) - I would suggest this site for some possible routes (including traditional windmills): http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/places/routes/don-quixote-route. Or on Spanish Wikipedia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruta_de_Don_Quijote. I believe that part of one of the the Don Quixote routes coincides with part of one of the Camino routes (the Camino de Levante), but only part of it. Like the Camino de Santiago routes, the Don Quixote route (Ruta de Don Quijote) is also designated a European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe. There have been numerous celebrations this year, as 2015 is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the 2nd volume of Don Quixote.

 

[MTtoCamino]

I re-read you post is your man from Wyoming? Are you trying to compare the regions? We have nothing in common concerning a pilgrimage. Some geography would match but you will have to walk the Camino yourself to understand what that is, but you would also have to live in this part of the U.S. To understand. Obviously both regions have folks who are proud. So we tend to be careful of marketing

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I'm confused. Windmills a la Quixote are to be found on the Caminos further south. Big sky on the Primitivo. Windmills in the distance on mountains in the Bierzo. But what are you looking for? Truly looking for? If it's the experience of a pilgrim on the CF, wait until your caracter has walked for a solid week to get a better sense of what it is like to walk long distance day after day.

 

[MichaelSG]

The Camino spirit is alive and well in this thread, for sure. Way to go. (I sure hope my sarcasm comes through in print). That said, I'll also note that some people did just answer the OP's question and others at least included some useful information with their judgement.

 

[peregrina2000]

Yikes, what's going on? I read the thread before I looked at the link and I have to say I'm a bit flummoxed by the harsh response. Maybe I'm missing something, but the OP told us he is doing a documentary about someone and wants our advice on where to shoot a few scenes. Maybe the OP is confused about Spain's geography or its windmills, or maybe we can't figure out his proposed tie-in between Wyoming politics and the Camino, but I think this was a pretty innocent question that we could answer.

Would people have responded better if he had just said -- do you know of places on the Camino that look like Wyoming? or Does the Camino pass by any Don Quijote-like terrain? Because in reality that is all he asked.

 

[MTtoCamino]

Simple clarity from a film maker as to why he wants to portray Spain as Wyoming or vise versa? He is claiming it is a documentary isn't that suppose to real? That's why I am questioning. Just not as gently as some would like.

 

[simply B]

Well… I am sure that the OP has felt the spirit of the Camino here!

And if he never posts again it would not surprise me in the least.

I am both saddened and embarrassed in equal measure as such a reception is totally out of synch with what I thought we all discovered on Camino.

Yes, we might be careful as peregrinos but did we pre-judge or ask for passing some type of litmus test before sharing first aid, bread and beverage?

Was suspicion or surety of mal-intent something we clasped to ourselves the whole Way through?

What IF the OP were actually to be some sort of sleazy political-type? (And that is so far from certain as to be laughable.)

That is EXACTLY the type of person that I WANT on the Camino…and the reasons are simply these…

- I WANT that type of person to see that, without any type of ‘managing’ by some central authority, people learn to take care of each other - - genuinely, patiently and with grace.

- I WANT that type of person to wonder about how that happens and what it means for the prospects for a better world...because that is up to us and not some guru/wonk/politician.

- I WANT the outcome of a lot of people figuring out that we do not need someone telling us what to do or how to do it - - we already know how and we have demonstrated that knowledge.

The Camino offers a conversion experience… a conversion to our true selves. I wish that on every person who considers me their worst enemy because they will then cease to be one - - as they will find no point to it because they think in false terms.

And I find no way in which the Camino, the Forum community or I is diminished by giving an experienced answer to such an enquiry.

BTW, all my questions are rhetorical. Other obligations keep me away from the Forum (though now I have a new reason!) and I only checked in to thank a helpful member on another thread.

Flame if you will, this thread is past history to me.

B

 

[MichaelSG]

I think if the OP had phrased his question exactly as he had but not included the link to the website, he would have received the usual great replies from everyone, probably including those who want to question his motives after seeing his subject's politics. Maybe I'm too sensitive about the issue but I really wonder how different the replies would have been if the link (and probably last name) was not included. There is a great divide in the US and, sadly, I use the term "great divide" as a euphemism for "hate" (and that goes for both sides). And THAT is not what this forum is about.

 

[roblsch]

Matthew 7:1 KJV

 

[CaptBuddy]

Perhaps I'm not as astute as some of you, but I don't really see anything wrong about wanting to help the poor, or feed the hungry or house the homeless.
Whether the man walks the Camino, or films a movie in Timbuktu doesn't much change the goals.

 

[MTtoCamino]

I think if the OP had phrased his question exactly as he had but not included the link to the website, he would have received the usual great replies from everyone, probably including those who want to question his motives after seeing his subject's politics. Maybe I'm too sensitive about the issue but I really wonder how different the replies would have been if the link (and probably last name) was not included. There is a great divide in the US and, sadly, I use the term "great divide" as a euphemism for "hate" (and that goes for both sides). And THAT is not what this forum is about.

I agree totally with your statement, but I did not open the link nor see the name. I am overly protective of my region, but my concern for miss information for either here U.S. or in Spain is important. There is no hatred from me just honesty. If you want to make this discussion on the " great divide" let's take this to PM & have that discussion. Once again hate is not the reason why I question the request. Nor is politics.

 

[GettingThere]

I think if the OP had phrased his question exactly as he had but not included the link to the website, he would have received the usual great replies from everyone, probably including those who want to question his motives after seeing his subject's politics. Maybe I'm too sensitive about the issue but I really wonder how different the replies would have been if the link (and probably last name) was not included. There is a great divide in the US and, sadly, I use the term "great divide" as a euphemism for "hate" (and that goes for both sides). And THAT is not what this forum is about.

Good heavens. No, not at all. No intention of discussing my own politics here (forum rules) except to say they would probably align more closely with Charlie Hardy's than many others. And I don't live in the US. He sounds an amazing man, not that I had ever heard of him before, and my response to the OP had nothing whatever to do with Charlie or his politics, nor the finer points of documentary film-making, of which I know nothing. My confusion and my reason for questioning the OP was that he asked what was (to me) unanswerable - he specifically wanted to know of somewhere on the Camino (Frances, as that is the area of the forum where he posted) "where the terrain looks like Wyoming (more desolate and mountainous, less green)...Looking for Don Quixote country". Having previously mentioned that Charlie is about to walk the Camino, and that he is making a documentary about him, I found this confusing and said so. The OP may well not realise that the Camino Frances does not run through Don Quixote country, nor that it hasn't desolate regions which could pass for Wyoming. So I said that (which is only my opinion, and open to others to disagree). I did also ask why he would want it to - which may have been overly nosy (for which I apologise) but hardly amounts to "hate". I also provided some links to information about the Ruta de Don Quijote, since it wasn't clear to me how much of a priority this aspect might be. Looking at the OP's website (AFTER posting) I see that Don Quixote appears to be symbolically important to Charlie or to his portrayal of Charlie, so it may be important to him to align his Camino with that route rather than simply following the Frances.

So if anyone has taken my post to reflect "hate" or to be in any way a political statement.... well. It wasn't. And nor, from what I can see, are most of the other posts on this thread, with a couple of exceptions. When a question doesn't appear (to some) to have a simple answer, it isn't a simple question, and comments or follow-up questions should be expected. That may be pedantic, it may be nosy, it may be nit-picky. But hate? No.

 

[roblsch]

Reed - As a recent member to this forum myself - I welcome you! and even though your post seemed to go off in a couple of different tangents, i hope there was also enough informative replies in this thread to answer your question. Cheers Mate.

 

[Americanperegrino]

This is not my website. However, based on my experience with this forum I have learned to value the posts and the honesty of the members. IMO the Camino lives in the passion of the members on this forum and I value it greatly. This forum is, by and large, abstinent on political view. I don't believe it was established to use as a political tool by anyone, or convey political philosophy-whether we agree or disagree with this candidates political stance is irrelevant. The original poster didn't 'just' seek advice on a shoot location, he injected the political content on this forum. So, I guess we have to ask the question; Do we want to start talking politics?, do we want to start attaching links to our candidates? I think you know where I stand.

 

[MTtoCamino]

This is not a true documentary, I think the story line is good but you need to come to the northwest of the U.S. To actually film in the location, meet the people of this region to see how we live. I apologize for being critical before I looked at your link. By doing your filming in Wyoming it will just make it more believable. I understand a budget flying into this area as the lack of large airports makes it very expensive to get here. Think of it as an adventure into a large landscape with more antelope & cows than humans. Last thing avoid December thru Febuary

 

[MichaelSG]

I apologise to those of you whose intent I misunderstood. When I saw the first person passing judgement rather than just answering a simple question, I guess I started seeing people questioning the OP's motive for the same reason.

 

[Kathar1na]

This is not my website.

Correct, it isn't.

he injected the political content on this forum

Maybe it's because I am not American and not a native English-speaker but I cannot detect anything political in the OP's post. He provided a link to his project but I understood this to be background info and not the core of his message. Like probably numerous other readers, I originally did not even click on the link.

I am glad to see that this is the slippery slope of a molehill at best that refuses to grow into anything bigger so far and that this thread with the OP's initial post and those answers that provided info related to his somewhat unusual question has not yet disappeared.

I remember that there was a row of windmills in view in the distance (after the Alto de Perdon and before Navarrete) but I don't recall the exact location. After all, not all the scenes of The Way were shot on the Camino Frances and even the great Sir David Attenborough is said to have staged some footage. Quote: "Come on, we were making movies."

 

[grayland]

As always, even the suggestion of politics can cause problems on the forum.
The answer to the OP's question was answered.
The OP has not returned to follow-up or participate.
Thus..the thread will be closed for now.