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I do the same with my wife.Aurigny's "flight plan" is a great idea!
During my first caminos my husband and I communicated when necessary by land-line telephone; since 2008 I have carried a smartphone which also serves as my camera and computer on which I write my blogs. Since we both are in our 70's whilst apart we text each other good morning, briefly cite our daily plans, and text again at day's end. Simple, swift and efficacious this helps keep each of us in the other's loop.
People now get assaulted and robbed on the long trails in North America, and a pilgrim was murdered on the CF not so long ago...........
WS - If you feel unsafe walking alone anywhere, then by all means you should not walk alone on the Camino, take someone with you.
This post doesn't really discuss a safety application but the app may be useful to ease your mind or your loved ones' minds while you are on your travels. There are other apps that do more, like allowing you to have others track you in real time but this one is simple and cheap.
I walked the Camino Francis Sept/Oct 2015. The day we started was the day Denise's murderer was arrested. I prayed for her my whole camino and left handmade rosaries for her family at the pilgrim resource center for her family. I also made a special stop at the cathedral in Astorga that she went to on Easter Sunday and prayed for her. I will always keep her in my prayers.I am not a risk-taker. But on Camino I like to push myself outside my comfort zone. It makes me grow. So, for me, a risk/benefit analysis works. The benefit of facing down my out-of-proportion fears? Huge.
Eighteen months ago I was walking the route from Astorga. With a friend, admittedly. We had been asked to look for suitable places to plant a tree in homage to Denise, the pilgrim who was murdered. We decided it would honour her and the Camino if we walked to Castrillo de la Polvazares, the detour she took. We stayed there the night. It did push us outside our comfort zones. Walking to the village and back to the main route the next morning, we were very conscious of the violence that had occurred. As far as we could tell we were the only people staying in the village overnight, and we did not see anyone walking the detour. The village is effectively a museum, and everyone leaves at the end of the day to go home to Astorga. We sat outside on the balcony. Absolute silence. A clear night sky. Stars so bright and numerous. Leaving the next morning in the early morning mist. Glistening dew drops on the vegetation. Sweet blossoms all around.
They talk about "thin places" and this definitely was. It was easy to think about Denise, to feel connected, and to know that she is at peace.
Definitely worthwhile.
"Ultreïa!" is said to have been the pilgrim greeting during medieval times. My favourite translation of the word is the phrase "Go beyond!" It sums up so much.
Hi WayfaringStranger. There's a lot of good, shared, sensible advice and anicdotes for you to read in this post, from people who have had their own special experiences. I've lived in cities and in the countryside in different countries. I'm from London where I was most deffinately far more careful than anywhere else in the world - in Los Angeles, before I left to go there, people were saying to me 'OMG! you'll be mugged, murdered, be careful.' Yet my experience was of the most friendly, kind, helpful people I have ever met in a big city. Yes - life is unpredictable. People are unpredictable. But there are a lot of good and special things to see and enjoy, and special people out there too. The Camino, no matter what route you take, is enormous, wonderful.Hello to all.........
I have a question re safety............This may be a fairly dumb question, but perhaps something to consider even so.............
From the guide books, the VDLP does seem to include some fairly empty, rural sections.....How concerned need one be about walking through such areas alone in an off season like November - December..? Although long distance walking is generally really safe, times do seem to be changing......People now get assaulted and robbed on the long trails in North America, and a pilgrim was murdered on the CF not so long ago...........
Thank you kindly for any advice and suggestions.....
Happy trails,
WS
That thread is at: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/alert-cops.36208/For an added feeling of safety --on whichever camino route--pilgrims mightlike to download the Spanish Ministry of the Interior Alertcops.app. (https://alertcops.ses.mir.es/mialertcops/). Ivar kindly explained how the app works here on the Forum in Sept 2015 (you can check that safety thread).
Did you find it cold and very wet during that time? We leave to walk the VDLP this month.I don't think walking on the VdlP or any other Camino is more dangerous than walking in any city here in the Netherlands or in any other country I know. On the contrary it is probably much safer. So I would not worry about that. The only way to avoid all risks is staying indoors behind closed doors and that clearly is not what you want. I walked the VdlP in March/April 2015 and liked it very much.
If you worried about every little thing you would not cross the road! but just be sensible and if you feel insecure, just ask a group of walkers if you can join themHello to all.........
I have a question re safety............This may be a fairly dumb question, but perhaps something to consider even so.............
From the guide books, the VDLP does seem to include some fairly empty, rural sections.....How concerned need one be about walking through such areas alone in an off season like November - December..? Although long distance walking is generally really safe, times do seem to be changing......People now get assaulted and robbed on the long trails in North America, and a pilgrim was murdered on the CF not so long ago...........
Thank you kindly for any advice and suggestions.....
Happy trails,
WS
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