WINTER - WANKERS AND WORKING ODD JOBS

Its been 5 weeks since I last posted anything on the Forums – so here is synopsis of interesting posts and discussions:

www.caminosantiago.com/way_of_saint_james/pilgrims_forum.htm

Is it possible to walk in January?

Well, of course you can – and in December or February – but the real question is, do you want to?

A similar question was asked on Santiagobis:

Reply: Walking in the winter is nice and quiet. If you are lucky the weather is reasably (sic) good. However, do not cross the Pyrenees in winter, because the fog will disorientate you. Do preferably not walk the Primitive Route (from Oviedo) alone, because no help will be available in case of an emergency. You phone might not work.

I walked alone from Burgos to SDC in January 2008 and the weather was good!

Reply: I walked alone from St. Jean Pied-du-Port to Santiago in January/February 2007 and loved it. Very quiet, not many people out there. Jack's right about the Pyrenees, I suppose, although the January day I did it was so nice I wore shorts. Sunny, and you could see for miles everywhere. Having said that, the weather changes quickly, and I think the day before and after had fog, and a couple people got lost. One woman on the day I crossed the Pyrenees got lost simply because it was so beautiful and she was looking at the scenery and missed the trail turn-off!

How many pilgrims walk in Winter?

796 pilgrims got a certificate in December 2007

306 pilgrims got a certificate in January 2008 (44 less than 2007):

240 walked the camino frances and of those,

56 started in Sarria

26 in O Cebreiro

25 in Ponferrada

20 in St Jean

18 in Roncesvalles, Leon and Astorga

12 in Burgos

Etc, etc, etc

703 pilgrims got a certificate in February

552 on the camino frances

146 in O Cebreiro

125 in Sarria

56 in Tui

50 in St Jean

37 Roncesvalles

28 in Leon

25 in Ponferrada

Etc, etc, etc

What does it take to walk in winter?

One reader posted: “ …..the weather is very different in different parts of the country and at different altitudes.

In addition, you need to consider the marker system. In some places the markers are on stone posts which are elevated about 3 feet or so above the ground. In other places they are above head height as are most signs. But in many places, the yellow arrows are painted on the rocks on the ground - obviously not useful when covered with snow - and some of those places are among the most remote of the journey.
Yes it is possible (although may not be advisable) to walk the camino in January, but please remember that people have died of exposure on the camino when they were unprepared for winter weather conditions. Research carefully, be prepared for the reality (clothes, footwear, directions, etc) and listen to the locals. They know when it's safe to cross the mountains although will no doubt think you're crazy for trying.
Buen camino.

Another post:

You will find information on winter pilgrimages at: [www.csj.org.uk]
[www.suekenney.ca] Sue walked the camino in Winter - she would love to tell you about it so you could contact her.The main difference, besides the weather, is that some of the refuges are closed, your pack will weigh more due to heavier clothing, if it does snow the yellow arrows are covered, you might be alone for many hours and kilometers on the trail.

Amsterdam to Santiago: Cor blimey!

Reply: Pelgrimspad

www.wandelnet.nl publisher Stichting Wandelplatform-LAW
[www.wandelnet.nl] - contact - slaw@wandelnet.nl- Pelgrimspad 1 Amsterdam - 's-Hertogenbosch
& route=166 - Pelgrimspad 2 's-Hertogenbosch - Maastricht (Visé - Belgium)
- 2008 reprint Pelgrimspad 2 with lists of (mail & phone) addresses of tourist offices (vvv), public transport, B&B, pensions, campings, (small) hotels, etcetera, etcetera. Beautiful detailed Dutch ordnance survey maps 1:25.000 and international white-and-red waymarking. A lot of pilgrim's information in Dutch. This is a really wonderful pilgrim's path connected at Visé to the Chemins de Saint-Jacques through Belgium and France; you'll be surprised!

Foot problems:

Reply: Many people get blisters. There are so many factors that you will have to do a bit of research on the Internet about it. A good source of info on problems incurred when hiking or running is at this site:
www.vonhof.typepad.com

Ryanair:

Domestic flights in Spain from November that will make getting back to a major airport easier for many.

Ryanair have announced 4 new routes within Spain from Madrid from 18th November. Twice daily each flight.
Madrid - Alicante Madrid - Palma Madrid - Santiago Madrid - Valencia

Arles Route:

We just got back from walking about 200 miles on the Arles Route. I've put together quite a bit of information for planning a walk on that route - I think the most info that is available on any English language site. Anyway, I thought some of the English first language pilgrims who are planning that route would find our new web page very helpful [www.backpack45.com] .
Ralph Alcorn

Santiagobis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Santiagobis/

Posts are still down:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2008 221 163 252 120 120 75 170 174 140 56

2007 64 361 399 406 319 316 212 306 173 183 148 75

Question? Is this a camino forum or a recipe exchange? No less than 6 recipes uploaded in 5 weeks:

Calamares.doc
Pechuga de Pollo a la Naranja.doc chicken with orange slices

Salmon filled chicory leaves.doc salmon filled chicory leaves

Sauteed garlic Mushrooms.doc garlic mushrooms

Tapa de queso y nueces.doc tapas of cheese and walnuts

Tortilla with chorizo and cheese.doc tortilla with chorizo and cheese

St James in Brittany:

To know more about the ways of Saint James in Brittany, visit the web site of the Breton Association of the friends of St-James of Compostela: http://www.saint-jacques-compostelle-bretagne.fr/santjakez-accueil-en.htm
http://www.lescheminsdumontsaintmichel.com/spip/index.php

More posts on Plastic Bags, Cell-Mobile phones, and the two most interesting topics were – toilet seats and wanking!!

14 posts on toilet seats!! An innocent question about why there are so many Johns with no seats set off all sorts of opinions – as well as a detour thread about not being allowed to use the Johns in the albergues when they are closed.

Dear Lynn – the Organiser - was quite indignant:

I think the reason for the dearth of toilet seats in the bars is obvious: they want to discourage those long visits! Bar owners want us to stop in for coffee, breakfast, lunch, a drink, etc. but not just for the conveniences. Can you blame them? Of course, the bathrooms are available to paying customers, as they should be.
What is unconscionable to me is when hospitaleros refuse to allow pilgrims to use the toilets in the albergues during the off hours. Their whole reason to exist is to serve pilgrims!

unconscionable, adj: shockingly unfair or unjust

A flushed response from Rebeka:

Maybe I´m cranky, but I hardly think that a hospitalero´s only reason to be is to "serve pilgrims." That´s way too close to the idea that servants exist only to serve their masters... or that pilgrims somehow are entitled to be "served" by the volunteers at the albergues.

Who would have thought that a sanitary subject could be so interesting!?

And the wanker?

Well, this peregrina warns everyone about the pervert lurking and jerking on the path – which naturally sets of a few anxious replies – only to be told off by a Sheila (Trudy from Australia) in no uncertain terms:

I'm a little wary of people who join a group just to post a warning message. It seems you've joined two Camino forums solely for this purpose. The same message was also posted on Lonely Planet's travel forum. In fact, only your 2nd message to that forum the first being posted earlier in the year, before your pilgrimage, asking very pointedly about safety on the camino for women walking alone.

So?? What’s your point Sheila?? Jealous??

Anyway, the Patsy from Miami came to her defense:

I think it is beautiful when pilgrims write NOT only asking for suggestions, advice...but when this pilgrim takes the time to write his thoughts...from smoky internet bars...with other pilgrims breathing behind their necks waiting for the computer.....and .when he shares his memories with all of us back home and in this particular instance when he/she warns about being a bit careful.....pay it forward sort of thing. Patricia de Miami.

Others have also reported being flashed by this jerk off.

"Just as I walked out of Melide I got my laugh. And I laughed for a loooong time. I start to understand the concern some women have of walking alone. I was greeted by a man who had his trousers down at his ankels... he was holding his ...Biiiiiiip in his hand... and he asked me if I was interested in him helping me getting a Buen Camino...!! - But this man is harmless... I was told later by other pilgrims when a man passes he pretends to pee and when a woman passes she gets the same offer I got."

http://www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com

The most interesting post (besides the ‘how to get to…) was this one by Rebeka Scot for an online hospitalero course. Be interesting to see if she can pull it off.

Being Hospitaleros: a Proposal

Bed bugs continued to raise their nitty little heads and now has no less than FIVE topic headings on this forum. Surely the moderators can condense them all into one?

"Xunta de Galicia chooses to Fumiage their albergues"

BED BUGS-How Not to Get Them!

Bed bugs on the Camino

Bed bugs alert

bed bugs

Weather:

It is getting cold on the Camino...

Stats: Not official yet but there was this post:

There has been a small increase in the number of pilgrims receiving the Compostela in August. In 2007 there were 27140 and this year the number is 29723.

New Guide to Camino Portugués - volunteers needed!

Johnny Walker has been enlisting the help of forum members to log and comment on short Camino routes like the Ingles, and Portugues.

Camino de Invierno to be official route

The Diario de Leon reports that official waymarking with granite plinths of the Leon/Bierzo section, from Ponferrada to the border with Galicia, is starting today.

Re: Today is a great day for the Camino Frances!!

Javier Martin reported that 1000’s of people have walked from Monte de Gozo to Santiago against the Polygon development in and around O’Pino and Lavacolla.

Working odd jobs: Can you or can't you?

I am wondering how easy it might be to find some work and odd jobs along the way at the small towns? Also, is it possible to do work for stay/food arrangements at the albergues/refugios and restaurants? FYI, I am a citizen of the UK (and the US) and therefore, believe I have the right to work in Spain. So an EU citizen, do I still need to go about getting an NIE or would my citizenship suffice?

11 replies:

Yes you can

No you can't

Yes you can but a N.I.E number is required (Numero de Identidad de Extranjeros)

In Villafranca del Bierzo I met several people who were picking grapes for a bit and Jato let them stay in his albergue for free, inlcuding food. All were foreigners. Grape picking season would be in September.

I can reply with an unqualified YES to this excellent question.
We live on the Camino Frances, and we´ve employed several pilgrims (some may call them "drifters") for up to two weeks at a time, doing carpentry, painting, and other big projects we couldn´t handle on our own. Perhaps because it is "under the table" and unskilled work the going wage is rather low: about 5€ an hour plus room and board, but we´ve never had anyone turn it down who needed some money to keep going. There is an entire "underground economy" like this along the caminos, and we see a couple of these workers returning now and then when they need a spot of work. Up to now, they´re really good, hard workers, too, long as we don´t give them beer to drink early in the day.

EU citizen allows you to work in Spain. However, no employee... may or can hire you for a paid job as the NIE are for tax reasons... Unless you take a job like the one Rebekah mentions or if you choose to help out on voluntary jobs... then no... then you do not need it.

To get a Spanish NIE you first need to have a Spanish address. You can use your friend´s apartment or whatever, but it´s got to be a Spanish address they can send documents to.

Take your pick!!

Pilgrim deaths:

1. A pilgrim from Saragossa dies near Sangüesa
2. A man has a heart attack and dies in the albergue at Sahagun
3. A man collapses on the hill after Castrojeriz and dies
4. A man dies in Foncebadon.

RIP

PURGATORY - PERMETHRIN - AND PLASTIC PACKETS

Throughout August, the biggest moan on the camino Frances was about overcrowding. Sleeping on the floor in crowded gyms, no room at the inn, early morning dash for albergues and bed bugs .... lots of bed bugs. Sounds like penitential, peregrino purgatory!
http://www.caminosantiago.com/way_of_saint_james/pilgrims_forum.htm

Javier (from Pamplona) posted info on development of rooms and restaurant in San Juan de Ortega. The price of popularity.

Many posts were requests for transport advice. Why oh why don’t they do a search or check on Grant Spangler’s website ?

Madrid to Pamplona – Madrid to Sarria – Pamplona to St Jean ad infinitum.

Wednesday 20^th August:

Spanair MD 82 Flight 5022 skidded off the runway in Madrid, burst into flames killing 159 people. The flight was on its way to the Canaries. RIP

Misc: Backpack weight: costs on the camino: bed bugs: sandals: credentials… nothing really new.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saintjames/messages?o=1

24 messages in August and 11 so far in September.

How many are new messages and how many were replies to these posts?

Rosina Wachtel has posted 7 X 2007 stats on the forum – WHY?? - perhaps because it has been so quiet lately. (No replies as yet)

The good Rosina did post the latest 2008 June/July stats (which can be found on the www.Archicompostela.org website.)

86 year old Robert Spenger announced that he is off on trip # 5.

There were 8 replies – most wishing old Bob a buen camino.

You can see a video of “Uncle Bob’ on the Indoor Rowing website –

http://indoor-rowing.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html

Sue Kenney, the Canadian ex-rower who has built a business out of ‘paddling her own canoe’ on the camino, announced that she was doing a one-woman theatrical show on the camino . (See her website at http://www.suekenney.ca/order.html - there was a time you could watch an extract of her DVD video Las Peregrinas...the women who walk, but it seems that this is no longer possible.

No replies.

Sue reminds me of this 1851 poem:

Nothing great is lightly won,
Nothing won is lost,
Every good deed, nobly done,
Will repay the cost.
Leave to Heaven, in humble trust,
All you will to do:
But if succeed, you must
Paddle your own canoe.

Paddle Your Own Canoe - Sarah Bolton, 1851

Silvia - the member with MPD - aka Sil - aka Sillydoll - aka Camino Pilgrim- announced that a pilgrim was doing a north-south VDLP to raise money for an illness suffered by his deceased mother. (Everyman has his or own reason for walking el camino).
No replies.

The girl with MPD has a not so bad blog at http://www.amawalker.blogspot.com/

The latest post is on Costs. She forgot to mention, however, that a bottle of Bell's Whiskey costs between €13.50 and €18.50 depending on city, town or village. ($19 - $26)

Bugs reared their ugly little heads again on the forums. 6 replies.

Recommendations ranged from:

Sawyer Clothing repellent - developed in cooperation with the U.S. Military, government agencies:

Lavender oil

Diatomaceous earth is very effective against them; it punctures their exoskeleton and they simply dehydrate. Normal bug repellents seem to have no effect, so you can't protect yourself while sleeping.

… and - "They are attracted to Carbon Dioxide, so if you just stop exhaling they might leave you alone." Yeah, right!!

One reply was that the bugs started in Hornillos but Grant Spangler replied that "a couple of years ago the Navarese government declared the health hazard originated in France and entered Spain at Roncesvalles. A good number of the municipal albergues turn off the heat lock their doors for the winter. This kills off any live vermin, but the eggs hatch and take up next season where their parents left off. "


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Santiagobis/

174 messages in August (306 in 2007) 70 in September to date.

Bed bugs, snoring, plastic bags, kindness ......

Jesus Jato's albergue: A lively discussion on Jesus Jato's albergue in Villafranca del Bierzo. One peregrina complained about noisy peregrinos keeping her up night and early morning. Most replies were in defense of Ave Fenix and its policy not to open the gates until 7am.

Costs in France was another lively post. Seems that it can cost between 1 1/2 and 2 times as much in France as walking in Spain. Viva Espana!

Plastic Bags to be outlawed in Spain? According to Lillian Alicia: Well, starting January 1st 2010, plastic bags will be outlawed in Spain. That's music to the ears!

Well, disposable plastic bags - those dished out at supermarkets - have been phased out in many countries but I can't see general plastic bags being outlawed.

And, according to Wiki:

In Spain, supermarkets give free plastic bags except some as Día which charge between 5 and 20c per bag. Recently, Spanish Government wants to adopt the National Plan of Integrated Waste which has among its objectives in 2010 to ban plastic bags single-use non-biodegradable.

Spain is the leading producer of plastic bags for a single use and the third consumer in Europe. Each year are distributed 10,500 million plastic bags in Spain, equivalent to 96,000 tons. 62% of plastic bags are reused as garbage bags and 10% are recycled through the yellow containers. But most of them finish their lives in landfills or worse still at sea.

http://www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com/

194 posts in one month. Some, like those on bed bugs, have had over 1 500 replies and 34 had ZERO replies. (I'm sure a statistician or social anthropologist could make some sense of this little bit of trivia.)
Ok, most posts were the usual directions/boots, feet. socks, albergues, weather etc etc. Here is a list of some of the posts that did not attract any replies:

Litter on the Camino - 80 views
Albergue Closures in Extremadura - 128 views
Castles in Spain - 84 views
Pilgrims & Pilgrimage CD Rom - 79 views
Buy shares in a Camino Movie for 30 euro - 92 views
Dormitory rooms in Madrid - 95 views
New 3-in-one Camino Cycling guide - 63 views
1230 Anniversary of the Battle of Roncesvalles - 73 views
200,000 to attend mass in Lourdes on 14 September - 74 views
New Swedish site - 90 views
List of cycle ways around the world - 90 views
Looking for Bernie from Canada - 102 views
North to South 800 miles - 139 views
Pilgrims office busy - 120 views
Georgiana's Gems - 139 views
Festival dos Abrazos in Santiago - 70 views
Georgiana's Gems 2 - 126 views
Filipino Catholics home pilgrimage - 68 views
Pilgrimage to Heresy - 103 views
A day in a refuge - 107 views
Less pilgrims July 2008 than 2007 - 101 views
Live blog from St Jean - 161 views
Zoom and other airlines - 69 views
Blog Le Puy to Santiago - 70 views
Lost pilgrims - 72 views
Camino Wiki reborn - 88 views
Detour from Leon Sept 27th - 79 views
June and July stats - 64 views
Strong winds and rain - 52 views
Camino still busy - 130 views
Georgiana's Gems 6 - 50 views


The most replies to a post (besides the Class of 2008 which has has had 10,700 views and 509 replies) is Bahai Graffiti with 1949 views and 23 replies
BED BUGS is a close second with 1550 views and 21 replies: Add to this Insect Alerts - 1173 views and 23 replies, and it says to me that most peregrinos are concerned with Graffiti and Bed Bugs:

Down in the country where I was born,
We'd go to church ev'ry Sunday mornin',
Then in the evening the lights would fade,
These are the words that my mama said:

"Children I hope you sleep tight,
And don't let the bedbugs bite,
If you should die before you wake,
Pray good God your soul will take."

Don't let the bedbugs bite ya,
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya,
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya.

Ivar announced that he has resurrected the Camino Wiki - so I took a little gander at it. In the past, a too informative FAQ's list could kill off an interactive forum (like Grant Spangler's forum) but I don't think the Forum is in any danger from this weak little wiki just yet. Grant Spangler's site has much more info (almost too much for the average peregrin to search through) but, perhaps a link to his website wouldn't hurt Ivar's Wiki.
The Feedburner on the Forum is quite useful if you want to save and share a topic on your Facebook.

So, to recap this month: Main topics - Bed Bugs, Overcrowding,

9TH AUGUST: Bed bugs, flechas blancas and a baby jumping festival

Saint James at Yahoo and GoCamino

I have joined these two because it seems that whenever a member posts on either one, they copy the other as well.

The Saint James at Yahoo Group was started on Sat Feb 20, 1999 at 4:52 am.
Since then there have been 5085 posts.

Grant Spangler posted a link to an interesting article about el camino wherein a farmer who converted his cowshed into an albergue was interviewed. He used to have 30 cows but he could now sleep 45 pilgrims in the converted stable, "It's more profitable and more satisfying to engage in this work than in the dairy sector," said Angelo, the owner. Peregrino cattle? asked a member.

In the same article, someone said, The Camino is a bomb that's going to explode". Maybe, maybe not.

Acacio Paz – a former long-haired, beaded, beatnik and now proud albergue owner - responded to a query about whether a donation from Brasil had been used to improve the buildings at Manjarin.

“I inform of that Coelho helped Takes by Manjarin with 8.000 kg of firewood so that all only travelling and Takes could pass the 2007 winter. This year we go to speak with Coelho so that it the same repeats gesture of affection and all to peregrinos of winter.” Cool Coelho keeps camino catholics warm!!

Seems Paz was the subject of a hacker who used his email to advertise a commercial website on the St James Group.
Acacio – Spamerifico was the subject of the post and the man sent an apology.

Sorry my friends. This is my big problem actual. I have outlook but same times another use my e.mail. file. Sorry, please delete when see this mensages. Thanks so lot to pelerin Acacio

Grant also posted a link to a YouTube video of the St James Day fireworks in Santiago:
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=iCb6lH1uFm8

But, Rosina Lila advised that the 2008 fireworks might be the last:

I can only tell you that the "burning of the Cathedral" is grand..... and then some. I don't know the origins of this extraordinary feat.... or its purpose. Yet, in a way, I'm glad, and fortunate, that it appears that this year, 2008, will be the last one with such extravagantly lavish display of fireworks, rockets, flares, lasers, colored shooting-up electrical fountains, real flames and such, that go on for an incredible sixty minutes..... From eleven o'clock p.m. on the 24th of July to midnight. It appears that concerned archeological and cultural-historical heads have managed to prevail over public oooohs and aaaaahs to convince the powers that be of the inevitability of consequential damage to the structural essence of the Santiago Cathedral and its treasures.

Oh well … that’s a sight many peregrinos won’t get to see.

www.caminosantiago.com forum - 26 new posts in 3 weeks.

The one with the most views (284) was entitled "I am wondering". Enigmatic, what?
Now I'm sure it was because everybody was 'wondering" wtf is this post all about but it received not only the aforementioned 284 views, but 3 replies. Want to know what it was about? Go to: http://www.caminosantiago.com/way_of_saint_james/pilgrims_forum.htm

and the one with the most replies was - well it was a tie - "Trekking Poles" and "Crowds on the Camino" each drew 8 replies.

..... and my favorite for ambiguity "We are not now that strength which in olden days moved earth and heaven..."
This from a dude who has a ticket to Biarritz but .."..my 'plan B' is to make a note of points along the Camino where I could get transport to Santiago and rest up there for a few days. I'd then get the bus out to Sarria and walk back to Santiago from there. Can anyone suggest a few places along the Camino where transport to Santiago is easily available?"
Gees - what was Plan A?? Why not get a ticket to Santiago and rest up, full stop?

I've discovered that we have a Javier from Pamplona and a Javier from Madrid.
Javier from Pamplona is the one who posts photographs on the Forums.
Javier from Madrid posts information and advice.
Javier from Pamplona posted this photograph of the solstice sun shining on the Apse of the church in St Juan de Ortega.
On March 21 and September 21 at 17:07 (solar time) a ray of light enters through a small window and goes all illuminating scenes of Christmas for 10 minutes ending the solar beam at the centre of the apse the church".

Arturo Murias from the Godesalco.com website posted a message about GPS tracking on his website.

If you need so, Google Earth files can be easily converted into GPS files (choose GPX format as a first option, which is the most comprehensive at reflecting the GE files data) with a software called "GPS Babel". You might need to extract an xml file from the GE file if this is a kmz and not a kml. And to do this you might have to change the ".kmz" extension to ".zip". And to do this you might need to make the "known extensions" visible in your Windows... But it's really straightforward.
Be aware that a GE file, as it's the case of those generated in my website, might contain more (or many more) of the 10,000 trackpoints allowed by many GPS receivers. My personal opinion is that you don't really need any GPS to follow the Routes to Santiago that I know (Francés, Plata, Podiensis, Tolosana) as they are really well waymarked. I would just select the sections that you might hear that pose a problem for walkers due to aged or poor waymarking."

So - there you have it - really straightforward.
All you have to do to convert a GPS to a GPX is extract an xml from a GE if it is kmz and not a kml and change it to zip.

A load of GPS Babel to me senor Murias.


SANTIAGOBIS

What is going on with Santiagobis? 30 new posts in August.
I'm sure a statistician would make interesting assumptions from the message history:

Message History

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2008	221	163	252	120	120	75	170	30
2007	264	361	399	406	319	316	212	306	173	183	148	75
2006	363	262	320	268	410	280	268	281	204	149	257	145
2005	258	206	242	223	213	183	228	205	202	156	167	218
2004	211	390	351	223	246	425	232	263	206	264	188	235
2003	417	740	676	438	349	376	233	132	125	189	359	175
2002	229	173	216	196	275	171	114	125	177	177	249	104
2001	427	328	196	372	292	190	319	301	264	230	278	130
2000										120	178	116

This year:
January 221 - lowest number in January since 204 (a Holy Year):
February 163 - lowest number ever in February
March 252 - Lowest in March since 2005:
April120 - 3rd lowest for all months since 2001:
May 120 - same low number:
June 75 - the lowest number posted ever - since the inception of the group:
July170 - second lowest July posts since 2002:

All of this makes one think that perhaps pilgrims are learning to search through the files for the information they need - or, that they have moved on to another forum.

The post with the most responses was one on the merits of ultralight backpacks - some were for, some were against - the usual to-ing and fro-ing - which must have left the original poster none the wiser about what to purchase!
A post about a pilgrim who put on weight after her pilgrimage elicited a number of replies about metabolism and water retention - riveting stuff!


The Forum that wins the Bouquet for the most posts- and the most interesting posts- once again is the Pilgrimage-to Santiago Forum.

A bit more constructive camino posting on this forum with important things like bed bugs, snoring, no-room-at-the-inn, and vegetarian food - interspersed with the odd oddity like – using a sun compass, a Baby Jumping Festival near Burgos and a 2,100 word dissertation (I’m not kidding!) entitled King's companions -1- George Edmund Street: WTF???

Bed bugs had 806 views and 18 responses:

Snoring 627 views and 18 replies:

Crowding 698 views and 12 replies:

Vegetarian food – 557 views and 13 posts:

King's companions -1- George Edmund Street ? 128 views, 0 replies.
What can one say – its all been said!

OK – bed bugs: They have been leeching their way through luckless peregrinos blood from Hontanas, El Burgo Ranero , Tardajos and Hornillos, Fromista and Finisterre.

Solutions? Rosemary, operation deep freeze, tumble dry or nuke them in a microwave. With or without the pilgrim? Not sure.

Snoring: The cacophony of sonorous serenades plagues every albergue more than the little beddy-bug critters do.

Solutions: Whistling, clapping your hands, drinking lots of vino tinto with your meal or stoning.
One (ex-hospitalero) commented: “Short of stoning the snorers, Earplugs are the only practical answer…”
Take that you snoring sod!!

Picture the scene: A group of nose-strapped, vino tintoed pilgrims with silicone ear plugs, whistling and clapping, throwing stones in the dark from their top bunks! Yeee-Haaa!!

And then…..(drum roll)….. Breathe-Rite Strips - available in large farmacias in Spain!!

A testimony from a user: “… they consist of an adhesive strip that you fix crosswise to your nose. The object is to open up the airways and therefore reduce snoring. According to my wife - who has spent many nights listening to my snoring, this product is quite effective and reduced my normal nocturnal roar to a soft purr (even after a few glasses of Rioja).”

(No wonder he was purring… he was lying next to his wife. Most of us have to sleep check by jowl with a stinking, snoring, bedbug infested, vegetarian sumai wrestler from the former USSR.)

There have been a number of posts on overcrowding including one from a blog where a pilgrim wrote, “The Camino is no longer a game. Suddenly the road is glutted with people who have just begun, and albergues fill up by 10am. Those left over are left to fend for themselves like dogs fighting for a scrap of meat in a cage. I’ve been warned not to let the final stages of my Camino disintegrate into a mad, pre-dawn dash for beds, but it’s a nerve-wracking thing now, wondering how far you can make it before it’s too late to get a bed.” She wrote in a later post that she slept on the floor in overflow accommodation for three nights near the end of her walk, in a person’s garage in Triacastela because ALL the albergues, hotels, fondas etc were full: with 200 other pilgrims in a gymnasium in Melide and a sports hall in Pedrouzo.

The moral of this story?

DO NOT WALK IN AUGUST.

The whole of frigging Europe is on holiday in August and half of them walk the camino - especially the Germans. Schools, colleges and universities are closed in August. Students looking for a cheap holiday hit the camino. So, if anyone reading this is planning to walk the camino at any time in August, don’t! If you have to, either book all your rooms ahead or be prepared to sleep on concrete and tiles.

Ho-hum...... another new book has been published, by a Canadian writer. OMG - I can just imagine the gist of it now:

“I started at St Jean, climbed over a difficult mountain, walked 800km in sun, mist and rain, got blisters, shin splints and sunburn: slept in dormitories crammed with snoring pilgrims: ate bocadillos and drank cheap wine: I didn’t look at any churches or attend mass because I am not a religious person but I loved all the old buildings; met Carlos from Brazil, Tom from the US, Ching-chang from China and we will be lifelong email buddies for ever after. I am now a different, born again, deeply spiritual person. The end.
PS: If you want to know anything about walking the camino, just ask me because I am now a camino guru. YECH!!

Via Francigena: 26 messages in July and about 17 in August - so far.
Not much on bugs, beds or boots on this forum yet. Most posts are about guides, maps and routes.
Alfred L. C. van Amelsvoort - aka Fred - is back on the Via after a an interruption in Switzerland.

Dr. Franz-Xaver Brock (smart names these VF pilgrims) mentioned maps he used to get to Rome.
The map: La Via Francigena - Cartografia e Gps issued by Monica D'Atti and Franco Cinti was a great help.
And one not to use - The OUTDOOR booklet "Via Francigena" from Birgit Götzmann (in German) could be helpful, but she often mixes up right and left and east and west so I sometimes went wrong following her instructions.
I'm not bloody surprised Dr Brock!

He also said: I met some persons who were just marking the way by painting arrows. As the VF can be used in both directions: for going to Rome as well as for going to Santiago they painted the direction to Rome in white and the other direction in yellow.
Interesting! flechas blancas a Roma - flechas amarilla a Santiago

On the other hand, it might be a ruse to get all of those crowd weary camino pilgrims who are crossing over to follow the yellow arrows again and leave the Via to Rome uncrowded!

The CPR (nah...nothing to do with mouth to mouth) are now "Friends of the AEVF".

"Sounds Good!" says Ed "But what exactly does it mean?"

"I do not know!" replies honest William, "But in the spirit of cooperation between pilgrim groups
it seemed like the right thing to do."

Other news:

Hiking in Switzerland, the main Swiss walking site, has recently been completely revamped, and the VF is now included both as one of the 2 international routes (the other is the ViaJacobi) and as no 70 of the regional routes
http://www.wanderland.ch/en/routen_detail.cfm?id=284505
Includes an overview of each section, height profiles, and links to the detailed Swisstopo mapping. The official length is 215km from Ste-Croix to the GSB.

Fidenza-Lucca - There is a detailed guide, what they call 'un road-book' split into 10 leaflets which you can download for free, with maps and detailed description (in Italian).
http://turismo.parma.it/page.asp?IDCategoria=265&IDSezione=1109&ID=144876

Gruppo dei Dodici are working on a guide to the route they've developed from Formia to Rome, based on the Via Appia Antica and dubbed the Via Appia Pedemontana.
http://www.romaefrancigena.eu/
And while on the GdD - they sent out an invitation to Walk to Rome - May 2009 - a yearly walk from Formia organised by Alberto Alberti and the Gruppo dei Dodici.

CamminaFrancigena - They're now setting up detailed maps/guides for Pavia-Rome with their GPS route overlaid on Google Maps. Includes downloadable pdf guides with description, height profile and detailed mapping, plus downloads of route in gpx and Google Earth formats. Only some sections are available at present, but as they only completed their walk last week that's not really surprising ;-)
http://www.itineraria.eu/wp-content/gpx-viewer.php?gpxfile=http://www.itineraria\
.eu/wp-content/uploads/francigena/gpx/Francige_index0.xml
or you can zoom to the 3 sections by substituting 1 2 or 3 for the 0 in that url. There's also blogs and photos on their site http://www.itineraria.eu/

Aftermath of WYD:

About 20 Catholic pilgrims, in Australia since the July visit of Pope Benedict XVI, have applied for asylum, a refugee support group said.

Experts say more visitors are expected to seek asylum as their visas, many of them valid for three months, expire. Applicants were mainly from African countries, including Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Burundi, Kenya as well as from Pakistan

More than 100,000 pilgrims attended World Youth Day led by the Pope.

"At this stage we've had about 20 people present to us as identified pilgrims indicating they're needing to seek protection in Australia," Ms Domicelj told reporters. "It might well be that at the end of those three months we see a spike in applications for protection," Ms Domicelj said "We are seeing utter destitution, we see malnutrition, we are seeing depression, we see homelessness. People are coming to us from a place of crisis."

Perilous Pilgrimages:

Hundreds of pilgrims around the world have died in various accidents so far this month.

India - Nearly 150 pilgrims, many of them children, were trampled to death at a Hindu temple in northern India on Sunday, after rumors of a landslide set off a stampede, local officials said.

Kota (Rajasthan - Fourteen people were rescued from the Gaiparnath Mahadev temple where 135 pilgrims were trapped when the ladder leading to the ancient shrine collapsed. The cantilever type of ladder, supported from one end, collapsed yesterday due to heavy rush of pilgrims, official sources said today.

Nepal - 36 Hindu pilgrims from Nepal were killed today when their bus plunged into a river in the mountainous northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said.

Texas USA - At least 14 people died and 40 people were injured when a charter bus carrying a Vietnamese Catholic group to an annual pilgrimage slammed onto its side and then skidded off a freeway overpass in Texas early on Friday.

Baghdad - three women blew themselves up in quick succession as Shia pilgrims entered the capital for a major religious event, killing at least 32 people and wounding more than 100.

MADINA: Number of Pakistan Hajj pilgrims who died in Saudi Arabia this year reached 198 when a lady was killed in a bus accident.

Sri Lanka - At least 18 persons, mostly women, were killed and 51 were injured today, when a powerful explosion triggered by suspected LTTE rebels ripped through a bus packed with Buddhist pilgrims in a central Sri Lankan town.

RIP.