- Time of past OR future Camino
- Except the Francés
I'm a bit of a luddite and manage most of my life without being umbilically attached to my cell 'phone or laptop. And I quite understand that for some people, the camino is a rare chance to get away from all that.
But for me, modest use (and even more modest understanding of) smart 'phones has genuinely improved my experience of the camino. In 2010, I carried two heavyweight (in every sense) books that I hoped would last me much of the journey, Moby Dick and the longest Anthony Trollope. Because of my liking of the less traveled ways in the less traveled seasons, I'd finished both within days.
Now, thanks to the miracle of kindle, I can carry everything Trollope and Melville ever wrote multiplied by 100 and throw in Cervantes and Dickens as well. I can also skype or text with my family, and it doesn't stop me chatting with any rare fellow pilgrims I encounter, or any locals happy to put up with my execrable accent and grammar. And wonderful wikiloc's maps and routes make me far less likely to get lost, or at least help me back to the path if I am.
I quite understand that it may be sad to see people only interacting with their technology when they have the opportunity to enjoy immediate human company, but it really can be a great crutch for those of us with 4-5 hours alone most days in our albergues. Eliot and Thackeray this autumn, I think.
But for me, modest use (and even more modest understanding of) smart 'phones has genuinely improved my experience of the camino. In 2010, I carried two heavyweight (in every sense) books that I hoped would last me much of the journey, Moby Dick and the longest Anthony Trollope. Because of my liking of the less traveled ways in the less traveled seasons, I'd finished both within days.
Now, thanks to the miracle of kindle, I can carry everything Trollope and Melville ever wrote multiplied by 100 and throw in Cervantes and Dickens as well. I can also skype or text with my family, and it doesn't stop me chatting with any rare fellow pilgrims I encounter, or any locals happy to put up with my execrable accent and grammar. And wonderful wikiloc's maps and routes make me far less likely to get lost, or at least help me back to the path if I am.
I quite understand that it may be sad to see people only interacting with their technology when they have the opportunity to enjoy immediate human company, but it really can be a great crutch for those of us with 4-5 hours alone most days in our albergues. Eliot and Thackeray this autumn, I think.