Davie Blisters
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- Time of past OR future Camino
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It's a mystery, but he appears to me each morning in the bathroom mirror....I'm surprised that you found one of them. Where, when?
The monastery at Rabanal, or the unafiliated albergue that joins it?The monastery at Rabanal refused pilgrims who didn't carry their packs. Only one I found that did that on recent Camino.
I think the situation would have been considerably different if there had been 20 or 30 pilgrims waiting to get in when you arrived.Hmm, I distinctly remember on Oct 23, 2013, I took a taxi from Astorga to Rabanal - not knowing anything about that policy - and was allowed to stay at Gaucelmo. I WAS asked if I had walked, and I said I hadn't. The hositalero said he thought he had heard a car door close... I said, yes, that was probably me. He mentioned their policy, but I was allowed to stay the night at Gaucelmo. There were four of us pilgrims that night in addition to the two hospis. Gratitudes...
As early as 1994, I have personally suggested to people on the Camino with such health issues to use the JacoTrans.
I think that if you can carry your pack that it's better to do so, and I'm particularly not keen on people transporting entire suitcases along the Francès, but the main reason for it is that if you transport your luggage, then you are programming your route in advance, which will kill versatility and spontaneity ; plus it can leave you in the lurch if you have a sudden emergency, and everything you need for the emergency may be elsewhere and out of reach.
To answer the original question.
I am pretty confident that I saw a sign on the Xunta albergue in Ocebreiro that ranked pilgrims in the order they would get a bed if it was busy. This was on Easter Sunday this year.
1. Walkers from SJPP
2. walkers from Burgos
3. Walkers from Leon.
4 Cyclists from the above
5. People with vehicle support.
This might not be totally accurate as I stopped worrying after item 1.
I had shoulder surgery last year and my backpack hurts with any weight past 7 lbs. I plan on bringing a wheeled luggage bag to transport forward every day as I walk from SJPP to Santiago. My reasoning is if my bag is dropped in another spot and I need to carry it even a block or two, it might do some damage.
Hi Jeanne,
a wheeled luggage back is only one possibilty which may not be very comfortable to use on some tracks.
Another possiblity is to reduce the content and weight of your backpack as much as possible (easier in summer). I know people who manage to walk with less than 3 kg.
If this is still out of reach for you, it may be possible to combine a small back-pack and a hip-pack, like the "Osprey Talon 6".
I even know a german pilgrim, who only walks with an hip-pack, "bergans langevann 11". He did various Caminos with that, even Caminos where no backpack-transport was available.
Here is a link to his packing-list: hcbukowski and here to his Video on YouTube: packing the hip-pack
So you see that there may be different solutions for your problem.
BC
Alexandra
Please do. It gives you the opportunity to carry mine.Sooo after reading all this thread i guess its ok to get youre bag transported??
The St. James Albergue in Rabanal will refuse you if you didn't carry your backpack.Hi Anna,
I never saw a pilgrim turned away for not having a pack...the key to entrance being your pilgrim passport. A municipal albergue may require a sello from the previous night's stay to gain entrance though private albergues (Red Albergue members come to mind) seem to want a full house regardless of how you arrive.
Buen "walking with my pack" Camino
Arn
There was one albergue who could not receive the bags for the same reason as you so they were dropped off at a nearby restaurant.I help to run a donativo albergue in Grado, Asturias, on the Camino Primitivo. We do not accept bags sent ahead. No, It's not because we discriminate against the ill, infirm, aged, or disabled. It's because our volunteers are not always there to receive the bags when the driver shows up. Our volunteers can't be responsible for unattended bags, esp. for people who don't intend to stay with us. And if a hiker can afford to send his bags ahead, he can probably afford to pay for a bed in one of the non-donativo albergues in town.
There was one albergue who could not receive the bags for the same reason as you so they were dropped off at a nearby restaurant.
I help to run a donativo albergue in Grado, Asturias, on the Camino Primitivo. We do not accept bags sent ahead. No, It's not because we discriminate against the ill, infirm, aged, or disabled. It's because our volunteers are not always there to receive the bags when the driver shows up. Our volunteers can't be responsible for unattended bags, esp. for people who don't intend to stay with us. And if a hiker can afford to send his bags ahead, he can probably afford to pay for a bed in one of the non-donativo albergues in town.
There was one albergue who could not receive the bags for the same reason as you so they were dropped off at a nearby restaurant.
If people want to game the system, that's on them.
@David Tallan , I don't think this is a legitimate conclusion. It certainly doesn't seem to me to the original statement by @Rebekah Scott that pilgrims who sent their bags forward would have other options suggests anything like these pilgrims should not use donotivo albergues. I think it is a legitimate to suggest that the statement be read on its face value, and that, in the case of the albergue she is discussing, there were other options for pilgrims who sent their bags by pack taxi.that implies that donativo albergues should be reserved for those who cannot afford to sleep anywhere else.
Like I implied earlier this is pure argument for argument sake to try to impose a personal interpretation of the rules. Rules which are at best nebulous. I say again do I get a better deal out of my daily choice of Albergue if I turn up with a heavier pack than anyone else. Should non religious walkers get benefits afforded that should only be afforded those of whatever religion. What if a walker is just, heaven forbid, out for a cheap walking holiday with no intention of seeking a Compostela, ergo not covered by any rules. Where do they stand on your hierarchy of privilege? What about those who see the walk as a rite of passage to prove themselves capable of flying across the world and spending 30 days in the comparitive lap of luxury in the walking world, or those whose aim, (plenty to be seen on YT), is to deplete Northern Spain of its wine by hook or by crook.@David Tallan , I don't think this is a legitimate conclusion. It certainly doesn't seem to me to the original statement by @Rebekah Scott that pilgrims who sent their bags forward would have other options suggests anything like these pilgrims should not use donotivo albergues. I think it is a legitimate to suggest that the statement be read on its face value, and that, in the case of the albergue is discussing, there were other options for pilgrims who sent their bags by pack taxi.
That said, my earlier analysis of this matter stands, where I concluded that those who do use pack-taxis are effectively being supported by a vehicle, and these pilgrims should be complying with the conditions on the credencial to seek other accommodation. This is not a matter of whether or not the albergue is donotivo, it is a matter for all 'public' albergues.
Albergues can set their own rules on these matters, and I noted that the Spanish Federation of Friends of the Camino de Santiago Associations has made a statement on how this might be applied in a flexible manner that essentially favours those who carry their own pack during busy times on the Camino, but doesn't deny access to those using pack-taxis completely across the year.
Personally, I have no difficulty with this general approach. What I think it does do, though, is put a great deal of responsibility on the hospitalero who has to make the call on the ground when faced with refusing entry to those not carrying their packs. Gaming the system by having a pack delivered to another location, and then walking a relatively short distance to an albergue that doesn't accept pack delivery, only makes this even more difficult, and I personally think that is a noxious practice. It destroys the legitimate expectation of pilgrims who have walked with their own packs that they should not have to compete for accommodation with pilgrims supported by a vehicle.
Should non religious walkers get benefits afforded that should only be afforded those of whatever religion. What if a walker is just, heaven forbid, out for a cheap walking holiday with no intention of seeking a Compostela, ergo not covered by any rules.
Really. The credencial text is far from nebulous - written in plain sight and if you cannot read Spanish or French, there are translations on the Cathedral web page or use one of the may on-line translators. Then tell me that this is a personal interpretation. It clearly isn't.Like I implied earlier this is pure argument for argument sake to try to impose a personal interpretation of the rules. Rules which are at best nebulous.
I would not recommend using a canoe on the Meseta, at least. Will be tough days. There are also a few climbs along the Camino where a canoe is very impractical, IMHO.I would like to travel light (this is not my first canoe trip) and not overpack the backpack, carry our own backpacks and just stay in the albergues.
Someone walked the Frances with a surfboard recently. The Norte might have been a better choice....I would not recommend using a canoe on the Meseta, at least. Will be tough days. There are also a few climbs along the Camino where a canoe is impractical.
Personal interpretation is at best, an innocent interpretation, at worst a deliberate judgemental attitude.
Bradypus has written much more clearly my belief on the matter. I agree with him, it is the misuse of the credencial and not the porterage of luggage which is the problem.
I tend to agree with most of what you say. Except for the fact that accusing me of laziness is in fact insulting, and certainly does not move anything forward.Please do not assume that I am happy with the current situation regarding luggage transport. I do not have a window into the hearts and minds of others and try to avoid jumping to ill-informed conclusions about their motives and their practice. But I often fail in that attempt. I am in many respects a grumpy old pedestrian fundamentalist and very ill at ease with many aspects of the modern Camino. Not the least of which is the frequent insistence that we must not be judgemental. We are Homo sapiens: we are meant to be thinking creatures who consider a situation and then reach conclusions. That is the primary meaning of "judgment". I do not decide the "rules" of the Camino but I reserve my right to express my personal opinion on what they should be. Those who have considered their decisions and reached other conclusions are just as free to defend them too. Closing down genuine difference of opinion with a pejorative "judgemental" label does not get us any further forward.
Doug, I didn't read Rebecca's original statement that way either. I read her original statement as saying that the reason backpacks were not accepted was that they volunteers couldn't guarantee being there to receive them and didn't want to look after them in the owners absence and nothing more. It was her later comment that people who had backpacks sent to nearby restaurants and then brought them to the albegues were "gaming the system" that made me look deeper. If it was just the surface reading of her original post, what system were they gaming? The ruleset that you offer, that people who use automobiles to assist by carrying backpacks are breaking the terms of their credencial is even less evident in her post that the interpretation I offered, although it may be what was behind her second response. I'm not a mind reader, however, so I looked to her words for an explanation.@David Tallan , I don't think this is a legitimate conclusion. It certainly doesn't seem to me to the original statement by @Rebekah Scott that pilgrims who sent their bags forward would have other options suggests anything like these pilgrims should not use donotivo albergues. I think it is a legitimate to suggest that the statement be read on its face value, and that, in the case of the albergue is discussing, there were other options for pilgrims who sent their bags by pack taxi.
That said, my earlier analysis of this matter stands, where I concluded that those who do use pack-taxis are effectively being supported by a vehicle, and these pilgrims should be complying with the conditions on the credencial to seek other accommodation. This is not a matter of whether or not the albergue is donotivo, it is a matter for all 'public' albergues.
Albergues can set their own rules on these matters, and I noted that the Spanish Federation of Friends of the Camino de Santiago Associations has made a statement on how this might be applied in a flexible manner that essentially favours those who carry their own pack during busy times on the Camino, but doesn't deny access to those using pack-taxis completely across the year.
Personally, I have no difficulty with this general approach. What I think it does do, though, is put a great deal of responsibility on the hospitalero who has to make the call on the ground when faced with refusing entry to those not carrying their packs. Gaming the system by having a pack delivered to another location, and then walking a relatively short distance to an albergue that doesn't accept pack delivery, only makes this even more difficult, and I personally think that is a noxious practice. It destroys the legitimate expectation of pilgrims who have walked with their own packs that they should not have to compete for accommodation with pilgrims supported by a vehicle.
Sure, but think how much time he'll save on the Canal de Castilla!I would not recommend using a canoe on the Meseta, at least. Will be tough days. There are also a few climbs along the Camino where a canoe is very impractical, IMHO.
There have always been rules from the church and from the lodgings.Whatever happened to doing it your way?
The rules from the church and the rules from the lodgings are not the same.There have always been rules from the church and from the lodgings.
@David Tallan I see where you are coming from now. I still think you might be extending this idea well beyond the mere words and the context would suggest to me would be warranted.It was her later comment that people who had backpacks sent to nearby restaurants and then brought them to the albegues were "gaming the system" that made me look deeper.
There is evidence that a form of baggage transfer was offered by Jesus Jato from Villafrance del Bierzo to O Cebriero as early as 1990. See http://www.verscompostelle.be/transport-de-sacs-a-dos.htm for an article on this matter from Pierre Swalus in Pactem, the Review of the Belgium Association of Friends of the Camino.It might help if newer forum members knew that baggage transfer is a relatively new thing on the Camino. When I first walked in 2001 there were no organised or commercial baggage transfers.
That's OK - it's all downhill after O Cebreiro after allYes, I remember that @dougfitz - we were very excited about the thought of getting our packs carried from Villafranca up to O Cebreiro. But it was only for that leg.
I am not sure what is meant by "gaming the system" but if it means "cheating the system" that is not what I meant. I meant that one albergue has an arrangement with the delivery man who delivers the bags to a restaurant and when the hospitalera arrives, she picks them up by car and takes them to the albergue.If people want to game the system, that's on them.
A little while ago @Kathar1na posted some statistics from 1987 which showed the difference in startling terms: mostly far younger, mainly students, almost all self-professed Roman Catholics walking for overtly religious reasons, and with half of all Compostelas being received by those who had walked nearly 800km from SJPDP. A very different business indeed. Personally I am glad to still find the occasional surviving remnant of that earlier more independent and less self-entitled spirit.Back in the 80s, when this whole business sprang up, pilgrims stayed in a ragtag network of donativo or free places, many of them unheated, unfurnished, unattended, semi-abandoned schoolhouses and garages. The pilgrims who walked were assumed to be strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take whatever the road threw at them. They were often quite dirty, hungry, and hurt. When they found a clear space on the floor under a good roof, they were grateful.
Thank you. I think the true spirit of the Camino is to do one’s own path and respect the right of others to foHaving confessed in an earlier post that I took a bus twice, I will also add that if an albergue turns me away because of that, I would accept this and find another place to stay.
I don’t walk the Camino to impress anybody and I don’t measure my own experience by the number of km I walked or the number of blisters I had to nurse, as compared to others. I don’t regard the way I walk the Camino as “picking and choosing.” I am walking it the way I walk it.
Surely this particular question of Anna's is not the place to discuss philosophical differences on the manner in which we choose to go on pilgrimage.
All best, Anna, with your walk. Buen Camino.
Peace.
I absolutely love this statement.Handling my own life has usually been enough for me, without trying to decide how others must do theirs.
Thanks, especially for the final paragraph.The Camino is a metaphor for life, it's not perfect but we're all trying to become better versions of ourselves and some of us need to carry more or less and walk, bike, bus wherever we need to, however we please, to get to wherever we end up. Judge away if it serves you and read with caution if your adverse to Pilgrims who carry the weight on their shoulders. I do it because:
I'm on a pilgrimage and expect there to be a degree of physical discomfort until body adapts, you build core strength and you realise that anything is possible.
After weeks carrying my pack I feel stronger, the pack and it's contents conform to my body shape and I become connected with it, I even name it Terry and develop an attachment in some ways like my trusty Merrell shoes and Tilley hat
When walking with others who are carrying their bags there's a sense of comradeship and it's interesting to observe the different pack sizes and memrobilia and patches that adorn the exterior including the curious object's that hang from it.
Carrying a pack permits the opportunity to dry out clothes attached to the exterior
Carrying a pack can be used as a prop to sit on or rest head against when stopping for rest.
Carrying all your possessions gives you a sense of achievement, independence and self sufficiency.
I save on the cost of paying for the service which means more cafe con leche and pay it forward.
If I meet someone else or get a warm fuzzy feeling about a place I stop at en-route I can park up for the night and be in the moment.
If I'm exhausted or pick up a potential injury en-route I listen to my body and rest up until confident to continue walk.
I don't have to worry about my bag getting lost or damaged in transit.
I walked with others who forward their bags only to find at the end of a long days hike the bag wasn't left off were it was expected creating unnecessary stress, anxiety and labour intensive search around all Albergue, bars, and possible buildings that was left at. Not to mention phonecalls and emails as a result.
Carrying all you need with you means you can adapt your layer's or clothing to changing environments.
Carrying all you need means that if there is occasion that Albergue is overbooked and it's late in the day it's easier to improvise and prepare to sleep under the stars or in alternative shelters.
Carrying all you need means there is opportunity to give away item's to others more in need.
Carrying all you need means that should the opportunity to pickup something along the way there's room in the pack to accommodate for provisions etc.
I'm open to the lesson that you carry or end up carrying what you need not want you want.
I can achieve a state of flow when my body, mind, feet, back, pack, shoes and the trail and connection with nature become one, my basic needs are taken care of and my thoughts can focus on nothing but being in the moment and feeling free.
The only pack I leave behind every morning is the emotional pack I take with me and no one would want to carry that and I couldn't afford to pay for it.
I understand that others do it there way and I respect that but just some alternative reason's why I personally do it my way and when I can't I'll transfer my bag, walk as far as I can, bus or taxi to my Albergue and rest easy wherever I end up in the knowledge I did it my Way
We love you, too, RemysMimi.I just love all you non-judgmental christians.
They are the best type to loveI just love all you non-judgmental christians.
Thank you so much for saying this. I think it has already done so.I fear this thread might descend into a discussion or judgment about religion. Please do not do so. See Forum Rule 2.
Were it so.They are the best type to love
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