Petition on Destructive Path Works by Government of Galicia

[notion900]

I have been asked to share a link to a petition that has just been launched by ADEGA (Asociacion Para a Defensa Ecoloxica de Galiza), to stop the aggressive path works which the Axencia Gallega de Turismo (Tourism arm of Xunta de Galicia) is doing on the Caminos in Galicia. The petition states that recent path works are destroying the traditional and rustic character of the paths, and breaking their protection terms set down under their status as a UNESCO Patrimonio de Humanidad.

Here is a link to an article about the petition by ADEGA, with photos of examples of the works, it is in Gallego, so open in Google Chrome for a rough translation.

It states that they already complained about the aggressive interventions to the Spanish body in charge of cultural heritage ICOMOS, however no response having been received, they are now petitioning direct to UNESCO.

Here is a link to the petition on Change.com Please sign and share.
Thanks to Jose Manuel Sanchez Grande @xmsg for alerting us to this petition.

 

[Mikel Olivares]

I already signed.
Unfortunately it is not only in Galicia. Generally autonomous governments do these works to attract the "TURIGRINOS" turistas-peregrinos.
El Camino is a BUSINESS and with these works attract more tourists.
They are destroying the spirit of the Way.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Thank you for sharing this.

Signed the petition.

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Former member 42123]

I have been asked to share a link to a petition that has just been launched by ADEGA (Asociacion Para a Defensa Ecoloxica de Galiza), to stop the aggressive path works which the Axencia Gallega de Turismo (Tourism arm of Xunta de Galicia) is doing on the Caminos in Galicia. The petition states that recent path works are destroying the traditional and rustic character of the paths, and breaking their protection terms set down under their status as a UNESCO Patrimonio de Humanidad.

Here is a link to an article about the petition by ADEGA, with photos of examples of the works, it is in Gallego, so open in Google Chrome for a rough translation.

It states that they already complained about the aggressive interventions to the Spanish body in charge of cultural heritage ICOMOS, however no response having been received, they are now petitioning direct to UNESCO.

Here is a link to the petition on Change.com Please sign and share.
Thanks to Jose Manuel Sanchez Grande @xmsg for alerting us to this petition.

Signed.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

I already signed.
Unfortunately it is not only in Galicia. Generally autonomous governments do these works to attract the "TURIGRINOS" turistas-peregrinos.
El Camino is a BUSINESS and with these works attract more tourists.
They are destroying the spirit of the Way.

Hi Mikel , it's a shame what they are doing with the Camino.
And that only for the money and to attract tourists .

Wish you well,Peter.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Signed.

Thank you for signed the petition.
Wish you well,Peter.

 

[KinkyOne]

Thanks for posting. Signed.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

How funny, so many signing but so many offended by the term "tourigrino" and claiming "its my Camino".

Can't have it both ways people.

I opt to sign, and hope that in future Camino developments a minimal distance of 15-20 km is mandated.

 

[NoQ]

Look on the bright side. For cyclists, more paved terrain will allow for faster speeds and make it easier for more distance to be covered in a day

 

[peregrina2000]

I had almost been convinced last year that this was not as awful as it seemed to me. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-fills-the-camino-primitivo-in-galicia.41665/

The maddening part of it, though, is that I have been told that there are more ecological ways to do trail maintenance. And let's be clear, this has nothing to do with the well-being of the people living in the vicinity, it is only to make the Camino easier to transit. As others have said, there are similar "improvements" all along many different Caminos. The stretch I walked yesterday (Izarbide to Munitibar) on the Norte has many long sections with gray rock, gravel, and machine flattening. "They paved paradise" may only be a slight exaggeration in this case.

 

[domigee]

I call them 'pilgrims' motorways'. Just how many people do they expect to walk at any one time?? What was , to me, the magical path to Finisterre (coming up to Cee) has been thus wrecked (in my eyes) . I have no wish to walk it again. I fear much of the damage has already been done.
Thanks for the petition.

 

[Veronicad1]

I have been asked to share a link to a petition that has just been launched by ADEGA (Asociacion Para a Defensa Ecoloxica de Galiza), to stop the aggressive path works which the Axencia Gallega de Turismo (Tourism arm of Xunta de Galicia) is doing on the Caminos in Galicia. The petition states that recent path works are destroying the traditional and rustic character of the paths, and breaking their protection terms set down under their status as a UNESCO Patrimonio de Humanidad.

Here is a link to an article about the petition by ADEGA, with photos of examples of the works, it is in Gallego, so open in Google Chrome for a rough translation.

It states that they already complained about the aggressive interventions to the Spanish body in charge of cultural heritage ICOMOS, however no response having been received, they are now petitioning direct to UNESCO.

Here is a link to the petition on Change.com Please sign and share.
Thanks to Jose Manuel Sanchez Grande @xmsg for alerting us to this petition.

I just signed as well

 

[JabbaPapa]

How funny, so many signing but so many offended by the term "tourigrino" and claiming "its my Camino".

Can't have it both ways people.

I agree -- what is the precise nature of the work undertaken ?

Elsewhere, some infrastructural work may have taken away some "genuine-ness" from the hiking surfaces, but certain fairly hellish morasses and frankly dangerous sections no longer exist thanks to it.

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

Look on the bright side. For cyclists, more paved terrain will allow for faster speeds and make it easier for more distance to be covered in a day

I too have signed. We have a new Green way, recently opened near where I live, reclaimed from an old railway line stretching 48km and its a fantastic amenity for both cyclists and walkers and is attracting tourists by the bucket load. This is totally different though. This to my mind is a sacred path and we see enough asphalt etc as it is. Nature speaks to my soul and makes it sing. God is in his creation so please don't destroy it for commercial reasons. I'm not a 'ludite' either but why try improve on perfection in an imperfect way

 

[wayfarer]

certain fairly hellish morasses and frankly dangerous sections no longer exist thanks to it.

I have to agree. Parks and Wildlife Service have had to do the same type of work here because of the damage being done to the environment in the hill and mountains because of the increase in the numbers hiking. As the trails became badly eroded hikers would walk to the edge of the trail and the damage would start all over again and become wider. As for the Camino, the sections where we had to walk ankle deep in clinging adobe mud for days could definitely do with some work IMO as these sections were being badly damaged and some pilgrims had taken to walking in the farmers grain crops and damaging those. Nothing stays the same, some change is always good IMO.

 

[Kieran Kenneally]

I have to agree. Parks and Wildlife here have had to do the same type of work here because of the damage being done to the environment in the hill and mountains because of the increase in the numbers hiking. As the trails became badly eroded hikers would walk to the edge of the trail and the damage would start all over again and become wider. As for the Camino, the sections where we had to walk ankle deep in clinging adobe mud for days could definitely do with some work IMO as these sections were being badly damaged and some pilgrims had taken to walking in the farmers grain crops and damaging those. Nothing stays the same, some change is always good IMO.

If it is managed by all means

 

[Mikel Olivares]

All people have the right to do whatever they want.
I´ve been living in a small town on the Camino for 38 years. And I´ve seen how it has changed, The Camino and the Pilgrims.
I´m against changing a trail for pilgrims for a 4x4 road
The organized trips pedestrians or cyclists, with vehicles of support. They make 5 or 10 km a day and the rest by bus. And when you arrive at the end of your stage after a tiring day, there are pilgrims that true in poor physical conditions, the Albergue is occupied by those "turigrinos" who have not walked anything. I am absolutely against booking in advance, the first comes first occupy.
The "turigrinos" enjoy facilities "Albergues" that have been created for pilgrims who walk or go on a bike according to their conditions, some hike a lot, others less.
The Camino should be improved where is necessary, "improve" for hikers not to circulate vehicles.

 

[wayfarer]

Having looked at the photo comparisons I can only surmise that the paths may have been widened to accommodate the vehicles that draw in the gravel for the paths and not the hordes of "tourists". The paths look that they may also have originally been that wide but closed in over time without maintenance, nature is wondrous.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I too have signed, thanks for posting thia

 

[Playful Dread]

Very similiar things happening along the Portuguese Coastal Route (north of Vila do Conde).

Areas of pathways and boardwalks are overgrown with vegetation and lead nowhere but are buried heavily in sand as large roads and accessibility to possible new complexes seems to be 'on the cards'. Tourism is definitely taking over but who am I to judge by what may possibly be the saving grace for a lot of these coastal towns. Pilgrims alone are not enough to inject enough capital to save them (or not by this poor pilgrims standards!)

I dislike seeing it happen and it's not MY WAY. But it's certainly someone else's.

 

[AlanSykes]

It is a remarkable "lose-lose" that they spend presumably huge amounts of money to make things worse than before. There were long stretches alongside the coast on the Ruta do Mar from Ribadeo where the camino was on really uncomfortable crazy paving which was dangerously slippery when it rained (which has been known to happen in Galicia ...).

 

[peregrina2000]

Well, when you are alone in an albergue, the forum is great breakfast company. I read this thread while having my cafe con leche, posted a bit and headed out. On my walk I first started thinking-- in 2007, I walked the Norte on grass paths and forest tracks; now I'm walking on wide gravel trails. In 2007, I had to pick my way carefully done done rocky descents; yesterday I walked down 240+ wooden steps. In 2007, I had to go from rock to rock to cross streams; now there are wooden bridges. In2007, I had to gingerly figure out how to open the makeshift livestock gate without shredding my fingers on barbed wire; now they all swing open easily with a modern sliding lock. Then I started to think that there is something hypocritical or at least inconsistent about my complaints, when the reason these changes are made after all is to accommodate me and the thousands like me who walk these routes.

That thought reminded me of a billboard I saw years ago while inching my way into Atlanta during rush hour: you are not STUCK in traffic; you ARE traffic. I'm just complaining about myself as it turns out.

And from there my mind wandered over to conversations I've had with some transportation planners. And I wonder if what's true about traffic is true about pilgrims. As I understand it, the hard cold truth of transportation planning is that if you build more lanes and more roads, the relief will be minuscule and fleeting because the new construction encourages more commuters. As they say it -- building more roads to ease traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to lose weight. So my question (if you've had the patience to read through this condensed version of my rambling thoughts between Munitibar and Gernika) is whether all these improvements will just induce more and more demand. And if so, whether pilgrims, like car commuters, are willing to tolerate more and more and more congestion with no demonstrable point at which they say --enough!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

So my question (if you've had the patience to read through this condensed version of my rambling thoughts between Munitibar and Gernika) is whether all these improvements will just induce more and more demand. And if so, whether pilgrims, like car commuters, are willing to tolerate more and more and more congestion with no demonstrable point at which they say --enough!

I vote for leaving things more challenging, as long as they are not dangerous. A few more watering holes kn VDLP would be welcome to decrease the risk of sustroke, but I am ok not having shaded picnic areas to rest every 5 km.

For me the increase in traffic, and the increase in handholding and comfort, takes away from these walks. If a route is too challengomg for what I am able to do, so be it. I'm sure the view from the top of Mount Everest is beautiful, but I understand and accept I will never get to see it with my own eyes, and applaud those who train and save like they do to have that opportunity.

 

[Pelegrin]

As a walker I definetely prefer the old paths (corredoiras and camiños) but apart from the "tourigrinos" looking at the vecinity point of view I think that they would like paths without mud to drive tractors and cattle and also to walk. My aunt (who is 85) lives in a little hamlet (4 houses) with no streets . She walks 1 hour every day for health reasons always on the road and wide tracks because she can´t walk on corredoiras.
So. I dont know .......

 

[Mikel Olivares]

El Camino has long shared its layout with forest and agricultural tracks.
But what we are talking about now is the improvements they are making to attract more "Customers",
These improvements are not always usable for agricultural or livestock traffic.
The same people who support these works, for the benefit of the areas where the Road passes, they say themselves "Ecologists" are in favor of Sustainable Development. But they are putting in danger "La Gallina de los huevos de oro-The hen of the golden eggs".
A more "turigrinos", more increase of the prices,
A more "turigrinos", worse services.
A more "turigrinos", more annoy the neighbors.
A more "turigrinos", more degradation of natural resources
And a long etc.
Leave the Camino as it is!
Work for real "ALBERGUES", not hotel accommodations.
We want and need "HOSPITALEROS" not hotel employees
We want and need "TRANQUILIDAD" and be able to walk with our thoughts.
And a long etc.
And above all, leave the "NATURE" in "PEACE"

 

[naplesdon]

Not exactly clear about the history of how the N-120 came into existence but I have to assume somewhere way back in history there was this pilgrimage/walking path from France to Santiago basically connecting lots of villages along the way. It gave way to a lively commerce from city to city and then region to region serving pilgrims from all over Europe. There were horses with carts and eventually motorized vehicles asking to use this route. Today there are AP and E routes that follow the same trail of stars to the west. In 1000 years how many times do you suspect the route has changed course or been resurfaced?

 

[Anemone del Camino]

In 1000 years how many times do you suspect the route has changed course or been resurfaced?

I would love to help reduce the cost of infrastructure development on the Caminos, especially if it keeps the delicate ones away.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Not exactly clear about the history of how the N-120 came into existence but I have to assume somewhere way back in history there was this pilgrimage/walking path from France to Santiago basically connecting lots of villages along the way. It gave way to a lively commerce from city to city and then region to region serving pilgrims from all over Europe. There were horses with carts and eventually motorized vehicles asking to use this route. Today there are AP and E routes that follow the same trail of stars to the west. In 1000 years how many times do you suspect the route has changed course or been resurfaced?

Quite -- except count 2000 years, as it's still basically the old Roman road.

 

[KinkyOne]

I've been following this topic on and off and I must say that it is not all clear to me why the Galician government is a) doing these paths modifications and b) not doing them in a more visually pleasing and "foot friendly" way. Does anyone know? My Spanish is limited but it seems to me that there is next to no communication between Galician administration and protesting organisations?...

I would say that you don't need to read/speak Spanish to understand (at least) the second question you've mentioned, Katharina It happens all over the world when someone that doesn't know slightest thing about the topic get to do something about it.
It's not about the Camino or surface as such but I have to mention this example. There are few very posh and trendy bars where I live and the architects that did interior design didn't give any thought about a rail or something below the counter to put your feet on when standing and having a drink. I would chain them to that counter for two weeks (and pay them all they could drink) and enjoy watching them when after half an hour their feet would act like a horse/bull hoof...