Is it just me? (Enjoying urban stages)

[Walkingboy]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

 

[henrythedog]

I love them. The scruffier the industrial estate, the happier I am. It’s real life happening all around you.

 

[wayfarer]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

Not just you, I enjoyed it all, as Henry's dad said, its real life, not to be missed.

 

[SabsP]

Love it.
Out of Ferrol. On the Ingles for instance. Supermarkets, factories and industrial parts. Perfect spot also to find a decent café that serves honest food for the local workers.

 

[Bradypus]

I start at the beginning and walk to the end. If somewhere is along the way then I walk through it. There's usually something that catches my eye even in the plainest of suburbs. And if I am finding my surroundings very dreary my mind will sometimes wander off in odd directions while my feet walk the path

 

[Anamiri]

The part that I dont like is the long walk in on really hard pavement. Its not so much the view, but the reaction from the feet Im not keen on.

 

[C clearly]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this.

I would say there are many (maybe even most) people on the forum who say they are an important part of the Camino, that they reveal an important view of Spain and life, and that shouldn't be avoided.

I agree, BUT let's be real...

If one is walking a continuous long Camino, there are more than enough urban/industrial sections to provide that variety and full experience of real life. I would not generally seek out an industrial or highway route on the basis that I prefer it over an alternative natural path. The Camino is not a penance for me. For example, I wouldn't walk the industrial route into Burgos out of love for the concrete; I would choose the river walk. Well maybe sometime when I have walked the river route a few times, and feel like a change, I would say "I'm walking the industrial route today because I haven't done it and want to see it."

So, yes, I often choose to avoid the concrete/industrial routes if there is an alternative. But if the industrial/urban route is the path I find myself on, I really still appreciate what it has to offer.

 

[simply B]

Agreed! Here in the states, even for those of who grew up in cities, we really have not had the experience of walking through them.

Back in 2014, my late Camigo was fussing about the walk through Burgos and I noted this fact. As in, "maybe you will get a clue as to how cities evolve their spaces over time". And, unlike our hometowns, this was a safe environment for study.

But, yeah, I am with @C clearly . Given an option in future times, I will opt for greener spaces.

B

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have never skipped an industrial/ugly portion of an urban city while walking the Camino, but I must admit they are my least favorite parts and I'm always happy to arrive in the city center going in, and back into the countryside after leaving.

 

[Tincatinker]

I’m with @SabineP. The bars will sell good coffee, great food and drinkable wine. Otherwise they wouldn’t be there (for long)

 

[C clearly]

I have never skipped an industrial/ugly portion of an urban city while walking the Camino

There are several places where you have a clear choice between highway/industrial, and a more natural path. Haven't you ever chosen the natural one over the highway/industrial path? Isn't that avoiding, even if not "skipping"? (Just keeping things real here!)

 

[Former member 99290]

I’ve certainly chosen the more natural path - not always but from time to time - irrespective of which path is purported to be thé original camino. Heat is often a factor … to avoid hot pavements and to find some shade. The walk into Vigo comes to mind … we chose the ‘green way’ by the river and the searing temperature dropped immediately

 

[Camino Chrissy]

There are several places where you have a clear choice between highway/industrial, and a more natural path. Haven't you ever chosen the natural one over the highway/industrial path? Isn't that avoiding, even if not "skipping"? (Just keeping things real here!)

Of course I prefer, and have taken, the natural paths when they have been an option, but I can recall plenty of times when there has been no avoiding them.
My main point is that I have never intentionally taken a bus to avoid an industrial section.

 

[trecile]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

I completely agree. And often I'll be walking with someone and having good conversation and barely notice the scenery through those areas.

There are several places where you have a clear choice between highway/industrial, and a more natural path. Haven't you ever chosen the natural one over the highway/industrial path? Isn't that avoiding, even if not "skipping"? (Just keeping things real here!)

Of course I prefer, and have taken, the natural paths when they have been an option, but I can recall plenty of times when there has been no avoiding them.
My main point is that I have never intentionally taken a bus to avoid an industrial section.

I'm with @Camino Chrissy I'll take alternate paths that are more scenic, but not a bus.

 

[C clearly]

I'm with @Camino Chrissy I'll take alternate paths that are more scenic, but not a bus.

Me too.

 

[Former member 99290]

Ahh, for many years I was a purist and you couldn’t drag me on to a bus or train ‘en Camino’. But I’ve done it a few times on medical grounds like this - When walking in Portugal I suffered terribly from shin splints, so we stayed a few days longer in Porto (no hardship). It included a lovely boat ride on the Douro where I was able to elevate my legs for hours and enjoy the view.

Time was marching on to get to SdeC. When I thought I was pretty much ready to start again, I wasn’t going to risk it by having my first day walking on hard pavements out of Porto. So we took the metro out of town.

I used to agonise about those sorts of decisions but I came to realise it was just my pride. I still like to ‘walk every step’ but if something pushes me not to, I don’t beat myself up like I used to.

 

[C clearly]

I came to realise it was just my pride.

So true. But a bit of pride is a good thing. I have taken some bits of transport assistance for good reasons - but those good reasons haven't (yet) included the fact that an area might be industrial, boring, ugly or otherwise just not appealing.

 

[Former member 99290]

I agree. I would/have taken transport assistance for good reasons - but those good reasons don't include being industrial, boring or ugly.

I agree. It’s all part of it.

It’s funny walking with Domi - he loves photographing all those bits! He explained to my mother once when she said that every turn looks like a postcard - ‘Jenny takes the beautiful pictures and I take all the other ones’

 

[VNwalking]

Maybe it's just me

Obviously not.
I appreciate these stretches, too. The 2nd and 3rd days of the Vasco had a fair amount of 'real life,' much of it a little worse for wear. But it was fascinating, some even eye-catching:

even for those of who grew up in cities, we really have not had the experience of walking through them.

Exactly. At home we probably drive or take public transit in and out of cities, and so don't get the embodied feel of what it is to live through them, at a human speed.

Haven't you ever chosen the natural one over the highway/industrial path?

Me too. Into Burgos along the river and the alternate way to Hospital de Orbigo are the places that come to mind. But when I think of it, I'm more likely to want an alternative to a shoulderless rural road than to the exit from a city.

 

[David]

As you can see from previous posts - it is not just you! I love the human built environment, from vast mall architecture (so like a cathedral, but dedicated to a different god) to cement factories and car scrap yards - life warts an' all.

It is not just the rough built landscapes that surround cities that we hear complaints about, we also hear of pilgrims taking a bus to 'miss' the Meseta as they have been told it is 'boring' - but the Meseta is utterly wonderful - on Camino, as in life, we should take reality as it manifests - Will Shakespeare had it in Hamlet "there is neither good nor bad until the mind make it so".

Entering a city landscape is often at the end of a full day when tired - the trick is to stop outside, pack off, footwear and socks off, drink water, finish off snacks, take a bandanna or napkin and soak head and neck, cool down, freshen up - and only then stand up and walk in - it improves the experience.

.

 

[Former member 99290]

we also hear of pilgrims taking a bus to 'miss' the Meseta as they have been told it is 'boring

I’m all for ‘to each his own’ but whenever I hear or read that ‘advice’ I feel a little sad.

 

[Alan]

Love it.
Out of Ferrol. On the Ingles for instance. Supermarkets, factories and industrial parts. Perfect spot also to find a decent café that serves honest food for the local workers.

I agree about the good food, coffee, and cheap wine in these areas. Well worth the hike through! A touch of quotidian secular life when on the Camino...

 

[Wildcamper57]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

I grew up in a dirty industrial city, I don't want to walk through them, I like nature

 

[GraemeHall]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

You'll love the walk out of Lisbon. Range of streetscapes, architecture, industrial/residential, tiles. Did I mention tiles??

 

[Camino Chrissy]

A favorite picture of the beautiful vineyards along the Douro river in Portugal, made from many assembled tiles.

P.S. If I remember correctly there was a series of about five different tile "pictures" next to each other depicting scenes from the area; each one about 20x30".

 

[Former member 91017]

Love it.
Out of Ferrol. On the Ingles for instance. Supermarkets, factories and industrial parts. Perfect spot also to find a decent café that serves honest food for the local workers.

So true! Every industrial approach I have made delivered a cafe that served the truckers… and while I still had the option to sit at a little table outside, I also *invariably* received — included with the coffee — a particularly delightful pastry or cake. Outside Leon the pastry was a custardy small apple cake with a brûlée top and apple slices on it. Outside Albergaria I received a half sausage in a flakey pastry (what we here call a pig in a blanket)…. I have received a small wedge of tarte-tatin….
Yes, yes… follow the long-haul truckers! They know where the good snacks are!

 

[MesaWalker]

Agreed! Here in the states, even for those of who grew up in cities, we really have not had the experience of walking through them.

Back in 2014, my late Camigo was fussing about the walk through Burgos and I noted this fact. As in, "maybe you will get a clue as to how cities evolve their spaces over time". And, unlike our hometowns, this was a safe environment for study.

But, yeah, I am with @C clearly . Given an option in future times, I will opt for greener spaces.

B

The tire factory on the walk into Burgos is fascinating. Enormous (maybe a 1/2 mile long) with gorgeous landscaping. You can find beauty in anything if you try hard enough . . . .

 

[IngridF]

Love it.
Out of Ferrol. On the Ingles for instance. Supermarkets, factories and industrial parts. Perfect spot also to find a decent café that serves honest food for the local workers.

Lol and don't forget the McDonald's as you go around the bay...couldn't believe my eyes.

 

[Former member 91017]

I’m all for ‘to each his own’ but whenever I hear or read that ‘advice’ I feel a little sad.

So true! I *loathe* the meseta in many ways (it was the most physically painful stretch on my first go and so seemed interminable).... But met my spouse half way through on my second, and saw it anew... I'm not in love with it now, but we are actually walking on our treadmills under a partial lockdown, and following BK Lee step for step... about to reach Burgos, and we find ourselves laughing *a lot* about things that are peculiar to the meseta -- including the tedium... and the long stretches we have both wiped from memory.

For example... I swear that the approach to Burgos goes: Atapuerca, the descent by the mines, a short trot to the hotel at the intersection by the airport, a loop by and into the suburb before the main industrial road into town.

Nope! There's at least one or 2 villages before you get to the hotel by the airport, and it's some hours between the mines and the tire plant!

*Obliterated* from my memory, but there in full view on BK Lee's Youtube...

 

[t2andreo]

Different strokes for different folks. I prefer to walk in nature to the maximum extent possible and try to avoid urban or industrial areas when possible.

On the Portuguese, coming out of Lisbon, my major issue was less with gritty industrial areas than with being compelled to walk, against traffic, on national roads with nil shoulders / verges. In some cases, I had less than a meter between me and the oncoming cement truck, trailer truck or bus.

I also observed that the reason for being routed off the national roads and through a village or town seemed to have less to do with the historical or traditional significance of the location than it did with getting you off a section of road with virtually no safe distance between you and oncoming traffic - especially on blind curves.

Once you get near to Tomar and Coimbra the situation improves. But south of Tomar, I did not like the road walking.

Again, this is my personal preference. Each pilgrim has their preferences. In the end, all pilgrims walk their own Camino. I support you in your decisions.

Hope this helps the discussion.

Tom

 

[SabsP]

Lol and don't forget the McDonald's as you go around the bay...couldn't believe my eyes.

Or when you come out of the " enchanted forest " on the last etapa from Sigueiro ( also on the Ingles ) to Santiago and bam out of the forest track you walk into the enormous gasstation/barstop. Poligono do Tambre.
Ir makes me even more aware how priviliged I am to be able to take time off from work and walk in that gorgeous country.

Sigüeiro - Santiago de Compostela | Camino Inglés | Gronze.com

La etapa es corta, un último trámite que, si salimos temprano, nos permitirá estar en Santiago hacia el mediodía. Los dos primeros tercios del trayecto discurren por zonas de campiña y bosque, a lo largo de pistas o caminos muy agradables y siempre cerca de la nacional N-550; luego, durante el...

www.gronze.com

 

[Camino Lily]

Prefer wandering in nature but try to enjoy every on the Camino. We missed the river path into Burgos & the industrial route was harsh on the feet.

 

[Sherpa47]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

I agree with you fully I enjoy both the urban and country.

 

[Former member 91017]

Prefer wandering in nature but try to enjoy every on the Camino. We missed the river path into Burgos & the industrial route was harsh on the feet.

I like being in fresh air, and really did not enjoy that stretch walking... but because it was such a long slog, it really drove home the point that I was there, generally enjoying myself in Spain and its regions (Basque, Galician etc) precisely *because* the ugly parts existed, getting the "dirty work" done so that I could eat lovely food, stay in well-serviced albergues, and even have a road under my feet to travel. The gravel pathways do not maintain themselves... the trees planted for our benefit... the electricity corridors...
So while I was sort of miserable in boots thick with mud from the stretch between the mines and the airport, my body soaked from torrential rain that was the only respite from the incredible heat... I had a very long lesson in being *grateful* for the presence of the pragmatic, dirty roads...
"Nature" (trees, grassy plains, streams, rocks... the formations change and I sometimes gaze upon them with wonder, but day after day of a "green tunnel" gets old faster for me than marvelling at the footprints and imprints across the planet (for better and for worse).

 

[Former member 91017]

Or when you come out of the " enchanted forest " on the last etapa from Sigueiro ( also on the Ingles ) to Santiago and bam out of the forest track you walk into the enormous gasstation/barstop. Poligono do Tambre.
Ir makes me even more aware how priviliged I am to be able to take time off from work and walk in that gorgeous country.

Sigüeiro - Santiago de Compostela | Camino Inglés | Gronze.com

La etapa es corta, un último trámite que, si salimos temprano, nos permitirá estar en Santiago hacia el mediodía. Los dos primeros tercios del trayecto discurren por zonas de campiña y bosque, a lo largo de pistas o caminos muy agradables y siempre cerca de la nacional N-550; luego, durante el...

www.gronze.com

I am very curious about what I will experience as scenery shifts on the Norte, eventually heading south... not completely sure which turn-off I will take yet because it depends on weather... But I know I will be in for surprises kind of like what you describe here...

 

[Fred2a]

I don’t mind walking industrial estates from time to time.
As you are going to walk the Portuguese, I recommend the 5 km stretch in Orbanelle, between Tui and Redondela. I loved it. So my fellow pilgrims. Walking alone on that part, you get so focus on your thoughts and just keep going. There is an alternative path in a greener environment but I was glad I took that one.

 

[DebR]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

I’ve been pondering this post all day, in a background kind of way, and what suddenly struck me was this…
I’m not remotely religious, but I feel now as I felt almost nine years ago when I first walked: my home - my *real* home is the Camino. To borrow a worn phrase, I’m my best self on Camino. And as much as I’m an open-spaces, fields-at-dawn kind of walker, in real life I live in a very urban-industrial landscape and maybe that’s why I love taking the town route into Pamplona rather than the river, and the suburban drudge out of Leon.
That said, I’ve never taken the road route into Burgos, nor the road route through Burgo Ranero, but if the pandemic wanes sufficiently and the Australian border sitch settles enough to be trustworthily stable for weeks at a time, better believe I’ll be out there next northern spring, clad in fluoro rain gear and dodging trucks to do all the bits I haven’t done. I’ll love every urban, asphalt inch of them wherever I can.
The Camino’s my love, every millimetre.

 

[Jodean]

I really enjoy walking through the cities. Because I work walking through the city of Frankfurt and wear boots all year round with thick soles, that asphalt, and the Portuguese cobblestones never bother me. It is interesting to see the businesses, the architecture, and yes, the grittiness.

 

[HelenVanW]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

It's all part of the walk and the experience to see all types of life. But each of us might have our favorite parts, and that's okay.

 

[WGroleau]

I love them. The scruffier the industrial estate, the happier I am. It’s real life happening all around you.

I don't care for industrial areas, but I like strolling through residential or "historic" areas.

 

[peregrino_tom]

I appreciate these stretches, too. The 2nd and 3rd days of the Vasco had a fair amount of 'real life,' much of it a little worse for wear. But it was fascinating, some even eye-catching

Maybe you remember this one near Beasain? It was the wonderful typeface that caught my eye (1930s?). And then I just stood there, imagining it bustling with endeavour and activity in its heyday.
PS just found it on Basque Wikipedia - 1939 Fábrica_de_Manufacturas_Olaran (with much nicer pics!)

 

[2ndCaminho]

See lots of posts about walking through urban environments and how some try to avoid this. Personaly I enjoy them as well as being out in the wild. Its interesting to see the architecture, wall murals and the way different people live. Starting the Portuguese from Lisbon mid March and relishing the first couple of days which some seem to try and avoid. Maybe it's just me.

i agree! coming from australia, it is so different that i love drinking it in!

 

[AlwynWellington]

@Walkingboy, I also love walking through the built environment. Unless it is one I have "done" many times before in training: then I might look for an alternative.. And vice versa.

A nice experience was walking into Najera in May 2016. I was on the N120a (rather than the "approved" route just to the north. The start of buildings is quite some way before the town centre, but not "heavy". Most were either furniture or car showrooms or offering automotive services. Widish roadway with little traffic. To start with the purpose of one establishment had me baffled: the language was (of course) Spanish and it was exceedingly long. But, just to help me, the last bit just said "auto glass". I've looked on everyone's favourite street level imagery (dated Sep 2015) but cannot see it.

And I've noticed peregrinos like to hang out in town and city centres and not "in the middle of no where"

 

[Isca-camigo]

Once I have started I walk through whatever arises along the way, but I will tailor my starting points for every camino if I can start in a more natural setting. I have done it in Santander, Lisbon and Montpellier. The Lisbon one led to me starting the CP on a variant which joined up with it just before Azambuja, was soft tracks with a Sanctuary and a Albergue, so yes I missed a classicwalk out of a classic city but I did replace it for me with something special, but if I ever start further south then walking through Lisbon will be part of the deal.

 

[domigee]

I’m with @SabineP. The bars will sell good coffee, great food and drinkable wine. Otherwise they wouldn’t be there (for long)

I had a lovely breakfast in a cafe on that ‘industrial’ path to Burgos

 

[domigee]

There are several places where you have a clear choice between highway/industrial, and a more natural path. Haven't you ever chosen the natural one over the highway/industrial path? Isn't that avoiding, even if not "skipping"? (Just keeping things real here!)

Last Summer, I chose the industrial way on the Portuguese path, thinking… ‘why not? It’s quicker’. It was stupid and I regretted it

 

[nycwalking]

I have loved all bits and pieces of camino.

Walked along airport and river into Burgos on separate caminos. Yes, river was prettier but industrial path showed a bit more of local life.

Found meseta magically spiritual. Thank God I didn’t skip as many often do.

From initial Camino Frances in 2001 to latest Camino Sanabres, Ourense to SDC, 2019 I purposed in my heart to take journey as it came with least amount of manipulation on my part.