A cheaper, faster and easier way to do the Portuguese

[John Gilliland]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this day trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (poor translation and all):

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

 

[alexwalker]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this (poor translation and all) :

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

Why such a rush? Why not walk?

A Danish poet once wrote this, standing on a newly filled grave: "So this was where you were going, you hasty one?"

Enjoy the walk more than the destination. Just MHO

 

[Tassie Kaz]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this (poor translation and all) :

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

Oh dear...isn't the whole point of a Camino that it's a slow journey? Imagine all they would miss! Do you want a mere glimpse or do you really want to BE there? Walking is the only way IMHO; worth all the time, expense & any hardship endured...you receive far more in return than you ever outlay.
Strap on the ol' backpack..these legs & feet were made for walking!

 

[pilgrimjonas]

„Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival“ Made my day. Thanks, John!

 

[Hurry Krishna]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this (poor translation and all) :

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

If you want to get somewhere fast, don’t walk.

 

[David Tallan]

Oh dear...isn't the whole point of a Camino that it's a slow journey? Imagine all they would miss! Do you want a mere glimpse or do you really want to BE there? Walking is the only way IMHO; worth all the time, expense & any hardship endured...you receive far more in return than you ever outlay.
Strap on the ol' backpack..these legs & feet were made for walking!

For us, the whole point of a Camino is the slow journey rather than the destination. That isn't and hasn't been true for most pilgrims. For most pilgrimages, the whole point is getting yourself to the location of the physical remains of a holy saint (or, in the case of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the locations of the events in Jesus' life and passion). Every year, 6-8 million pilgrims make their way to Fatima. What percentage do you think walk there?

For many religious pilgrims, the point of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is to be in the presence of the relics of St. James, one of the disciples closest to Jesus. If they come as a religious pilgrim, they will feel the emotions of a pilgrim arrival when they are in the presence of those relics. They may not get a Compostela, but the walking (or bicycling, etc.) requirements for a Compostela are relatively recent in the long history of the pilgrimage.

Not to knock a walking Camino. It is certainly my preferred choice. Just to recognize that we walking pilgrims are definitely in the minority in terms of pilgrimages.

 

[pilgrimjonas]

Excellent point, David! Although I assume this ad alludes to nowadays walking (or cycling) pilgrims who reach the cathedral and are in many cases overwhelmed and many times show a strong emotional reaction. After all, this is an ad for a modern tourist activity in our modern times when most pilgrims come to Santiago by foot. But still, I agree, David!

 

[David Tallan]

Excellent point, David! Although I assume this ad alludes to nowadays walking (or cycling) pilgrims who reach the cathedral and are in many cases overwhelmed and many times show a strong emotional reaction. After all, this is an ad for a modern tourist activity in our modern times when most pilgrims come to Santiago by foot. But still, I agree, David!

Actually, I think it would be interesting to find out what percentage of pilgrims who visit the cathedral qualify for the Compostela. Even with the 300,000+ we are now seeing, I bet you it is less than half. But I could be wrong.

 

[pilgrimjonas]

Actually, I think it would be interesting to find out what percentage of pilgrims who visit the cathedral qualify for the Compostela. Even with the 300,000+ we are now seeing, I bet you it is less than half. But I could be wrong.

When you say “pilgrim”, do you take into count everybody visiting the cathedral for more religious reasons or do you talk about the walking pilgrims and question their integrity when it comes to “cheating” on trail or in the pilgrims office?

 

[David Tallan]

When you say “pilgrim”, do you take into count everybody visiting the cathedral for more religious reasons or do you talk about the walking pilgrims and question their integrity when it comes to “cheating” on trail or in the pilgrims office?

When I say "pilgrim", I mean anyone who considers themselves a pilgrim, however they got to Santiago (or Lourdes, or Fatima, or Jerusalem, or wherever they are doing a pilgrimage to). I may also include people who walked to Santiago who don't consider themselves pilgrims, even though I recognize I probably shouldn't. I don't always do as I should, unfortunately.

 

[pilgrimjonas]

I think I understand.. In the case of Santiago you are thinking about those who don’t necessarily arrive for religious reasons but state so in the office, right? I mean, in order to receive the Compostela. Because in this case I’d question the statistics too. However, the Holy Years tell a different story. There must certainly still be heaps of people venturing out for religious belief. Otherwise I wouldn’t understand the spikes in pilgrim numbers in those years But who am I to judge?

 

[Delphinoula]

Hi John,
I am often acussed not to get a joke? But I guess you are, are you not? This advertisement sounded like get it fast and cheep, but please tell me did you ever get something fast and cheep that was worth having it? O I guess I am ruining your joke.

 

[Vacajoe]

Perhaps you can get "War and Peace" on tape, listening to it on fast-forward while partaking of this "camino"! Throw some pulpo into the car's radiator while you drive and really pack in some authentic experiences...

 

[David Tallan]

I think I understand.. In the case of Santiago you are thinking about those who don’t necessarily arrive for religious reasons but state so in the office, right? I mean, in order to receive the Compostela. Because in this case I’d question the statistics too. However, the Holy Years tell a different story. There must certainly still be heaps of people venturing out for religious belief. Otherwise I wouldn’t understand the spikes in pilgrim numbers in those years But who am I to judge?

That wasn't what I was getting at. I was responding to a post that said that most pilgrims to Santiago walk there. I was saying that I think that many people who go to Santiago to be in the presence of the relics of St. James may get there by bus, train or plane and never bother to walk there or bike there or ask for a Compostela. For them, it isn't about getting a certificate, it is about being in Santiago near the holy relics. Just as for most of the millions who go to Fatima as pilgrims, it is about being in the presence of holy relics. We know how many walk/ride. What I don't know is how many drive/bus/take a train/fly to get an idea of the relative proportions.

I was also saying that I probably shouldn't consider people as pilgrims who don't consider themselves as pilgrims. That isn't about me looking down at non-religious people or saying that they are "cheating" in their Compostela requests. It is about me respecting how they choose to identify themselves. If they want to say that they aren't pilgrims, I should respect that and not disagree, just as I don't disagree with anyone who chooses to call themselves a pilgrim. But if someone has walked hundreds of kilometres to Santiago, I find it hard not to see them as a pilgrim, whatever they say. My bad.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

That wasn't what I was getting at. I was responding to a post that said that most pilgrims to Santiago walk there. I was saying that I think that many people who go to Santiago to be in the presence of the relics of St. James may get there by bus, train or plane and never bother to walk there or bike there or ask for a Compostela. For them, it isn't about getting a certificate, it is about being in Santiago near the holy relics. Just as for most of the millions who go to Fatima as pilgrims, it is about being in the presence of holy relics. We know how many walk/ride. What I don't know is how many drive/bus/take a train/fly to get an idea of the relative proportions.

I was also saying that I probably shouldn't consider people as pilgrims who don't consider themselves as pilgrims. That isn't about me looking down at non-religious people or saying that they are "cheating" in their Compostela requests. It is about me respecting how they choose to identify themselves. If they want to say that they aren't pilgrims, I should respect that and not disagree, just as I don't disagree with anyone who chooses to call themselves a pilgrim. But if someone has walked hundreds of kilometres to Santiago, I find it hard not to see them as a pilgrim, whatever they say. My bad.

Of interest to me is how some pilgrimages are deemed more 'worthy' depending on how you got to the focal point (ie amount of effort required) & others its about the focal point itself. Using the Way of 88 Temples (Shikoku, Japan) as an example; all methods of reaching the temples (walk, cycle, car, public transport, tour group) are of equal merit despite the vastly different levels of effort. Although walkers are revered in general, from the religious perspective we are viewed as being maybe 'less serious' because we focus more of our energies on actually getting from temple to temple (the journey) rather than the temple itself. I was on the receiving end of a long & heated rant by a monk at Temple 58 about this...mercifully the language barrier spared me the full brunt!

Regardless of motivation, often the way we undertake a journey is mitigated by other issues such as time, expense & capability. The beauty is we have choice...& accessibility to somewhere deemed significant or of value is important for everyone, not just for those (like me) who have the good fortune to be able to walk.

 

[David Tallan]

Although you originally responded to my post David, I'm assuming you were just replying in general? (or to PilgrimJonas) because I didn't say most pilgrims walk to Santiago. I said that walking was the way to go in my opinion...& I meant to reach the destination (as opposed to other methods) & for the experience gathered along the way.

When I said "I was responding..." in post #14, I was referring to post #8, a response to post #7 where pilgrimjonas said "in our modern times when most pilgrims come to Santiago by foot."

The "I was also saying" in post #14 was referring to post #10.

Overall, my post #14 was a reply to post #11.

And overall my comments in this thread have been a response to an idea often expressed in these forums that a pilgrimage is defined by the effort of the journey rather than the destination. While I do think that there is a tremendous value in walking a camino (if I didn't, I don't think I would frequent these forums), I don't think that is a common attitude outside the community of Camino walkers to pilgrimages.

 

[Hurry Krishna]

Actually, I think it would be interesting to find out what percentage of pilgrims who visit the cathedral qualify for the Compostela. Even with the 300,000+ we are now seeing, I bet you it is less than half. But I could be wrong.

https://vivecamino.com/en/new-recor...ers-in-santiago-de-compostela-in-2017-no-477/ Some interesting figures in this article - over 2 million visitors to Santiago in 2017. Only about 300,000 walkers.

 

[Genny]

Why such a rush? Why not walk?

A Danish poet once wrote this, standing on a newly filled grave: "So this was where you were going, you hasty one?"

Enjoy the walk more than the destination. Just MHO

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this day trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (poor translation and all):

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

You would be cheating yourself of an amazing experience.

The camino is not only about the places and cities, it's also about the people you meet along the way, the conversations you have with the pilgrims and the locals. And above all, what you take away from the experience (the inner peace, your inner strength etc...) which will surprise you.

Wouldn't you want to experience part of history for yourself and feel the euphoria of finally arriving in Santiago after such a long journey?

 

[firstshirt]

For us, the whole point of a Camino is the slow journey rather than the destination. That isn't and hasn't been true for most pilgrims. For most pilgrimages, the whole point is getting yourself to the location of the physical remains of a holy saint (or, in the case of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the locations of the events in Jesus' life and passion). Every year, 6-8 million pilgrims make their way to Fatima. What percentage do you think walk there?

For many religious pilgrims, the point of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is to be in the presence of the relics of St. James, one of the disciples closest to Jesus. If they come as a religious pilgrim, they will feel the emotions of a pilgrim arrival when they are in the presence of those relics. They may not get a Compostela, but the walking (or bicycling, etc.) requirements for a Compostela are relatively recent in the long history of the pilgrimage.

Not to knock a walking Camino. It is certainly my preferred choice. Just to recognize that we walking pilgrims are definitely in the minority in terms of pilgrimages.

Plus One from me.

 

[bokormen91]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this day trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (poor translation and all):
(....)

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available (...)

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

This made me chuckle - actually it made me laugh out loud. There have been times - by myself, with my mum, with my best friend, with Camino Family - where we have looked at eachother and said; we’re actually paying for this! Why!?

Then we keep walking - the whole quote reminds me of myself having a toddler moment
Not proud of it, but I have them...

Thanks for making me laugh, intended or not.

 

[Kathie Morton]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this day trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (poor translation and all):

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

Omg...this is "different" for sure. I'm kinda thinking you are in the wrong forum maybe? My son and I walked with packs from SJPP to Santiago and when we took a bus to Finisterre and saw fellow pilgrims walking on the side of the road, we knew we had done wrong...we also knew we would be back to walk those last miles to the ocean. This year my son and grandsons will be walking from Porto to Santiago and then walking to Finisterre, with packs. I am 65, my youngest grandson will be 15. The walk is what the Camino is all about. I can't even imagine doing it any other way. And as for cost...our air fair was twice what we spent on albergues and food. Buen Camino

 

[John Gilliland]

This made me chuckle - actually it made me laugh out loud. There have been times - by myself, with my mum, with my best friend, with Camino Family - where we have looked at eachother and said; we’re actually paying for this! Why!?

Then we keep walking - the whole quote reminds me of myself having a toddler moment
Not proud of it, but I have them...

Thanks for making me laugh, intended or not.

Definitely intended. My wife and I are looking forward to the walk.

 

[cdnwine]

"There are things you will never see unless you walk to them" a beautiful quote I saw on a plaque just before crossing a foot bridge on the east coast trail in Newfoundland, Canada. Can't remember the author but it is so true.
Yes, you can do this short day trip and see some amazing things or walk and see some other amazing things.

 

[bokormen91]

Hmmmm - this might be when a thread should be closed.... As English is not a common language for all (Atleast not t o the extent where people can judge sarcasm and irony.... English is my 2nd Language, and I could see sarcasm, and some irony dripping in OP's post - others cannot see it. It is unfair to expect people that have "English as 2nd, 3rd or 4th language" to get the intricacies). Personally I would revel in replies - and thereby getting my command of English challenged, but - a language forum might be a better place for that?!?!

This is probably more a forum for support when it comes to walking, walking and faith, doubts about faith... ?

Much love and kind regards, mt

- and much love to OP that made me think about my own brattish moments. Yup - gotta keep learning!

 

[Thomas Yingst]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this day trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (poor translation and all):

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

Get a backpack and walk

 

[Former member 84589]

So I was looking at options in Expedia and saw this day trip from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (poor translation and all):

Duration 10h 30m 119.8 mi from your hotel Free cancellation available No booking or credit card A spiritual Tour, visiting one of the must historical place on Iberian Peninsula. Visit the oldest cathedral of Spain. Feel the emotion of a pilgrim arrival. Get a free time to your personal religious activities. Returning to Porto/Portugal, will stop on Viana do Castelo. A typical historical Portuguese town with a beautiful commercial street and square, with lot of handicraft. Follow the history, and get the end of the World place, the famous 'Caminho de Santiago'

This could save me 2 weeks, a thousand dollars and I wouldn't need to carry a thing!

Lol