What suggestions would you make to improve the camino journey?

[Jean Ti]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

 

[trecile]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

I would suggest that you leave your expectations behind and let the Camino be what it is.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

Take a plastic sitting mat. No bench required!!!

 

[RJM]

No suggestions at all for the routes I have walked as far as infrastructure and logistics. I find it all quite adequate. I can honestly say I have never really lacked in comfort while walking the Camino.
My only negative experience on any Camino route is the presence of graffiti damage to signposts, waymarkers etc. That and the removal/theft of arrows, shells etc. Unfortunately I doubt if there is a solution for that problem. Quite sad.

 

[Jean Ti]

If you walk the camino del norte you probably notice that some houses owners are placing a bench in front of their property. If you ask the permission to use it you will realise that most of the time these benchs are for the pilgrims.

There is no big expenses here simply people helping other people.

The same could apply to the Via de la Plata if the population were inform of the need.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Have no expectations. That's my advice.

 

[chinacat]

I would suggest that you leave your expectations behind and let the Camino be what it is.

You took the words right out of my mouth fingers

 

[KinkyOne]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

It's not the infrastructure in my eyes, it's the attitude. Therefore my suggestion would be "Take it easy and enjoy it to the fullest."

 

[David Tallan]

I agree that we should leave our expectations behind and not think that things should be there. That said, it doesn't mean that there aren't things that people could do to improve the Camino for pilgrims which would be appreciated. There is plenty that has been done so far, from painting the yellow arrows that point the way to planting trees by the side of the road in various sections, which I appreciate when I walk. I daresay others will also implement other things which I will appreciate in future years, which implies that not all possible improvements have been done. It does no harm to talk of things we wish to see, so long as it is not done with an attitude of entitlement.

I know when my son was walking in July and August on the CF, one of the things he was most wishing to see was iced coffee (especially if the ice cubes were made from frozen coffee so as not to dilute it).

Others, I know, would be delighted to see a greater proliferation of portable toilets on different routes.

It is hard for me to think of anything that I would want that isn't more or less being provided along the way, especially in keeping with the spirit of the Camino. But after a great deal of thought, I have come up with one thing.

I'm sure many of us have had the experience of passing through village after village with nice parish churches, many of them centuries old, only to find them closed and locked. I understand from various guidebooks that if you really want to see them, it is possible for many to be opened temporarily if you ask in the right place. If I could add one thing to the Camino it would be to post on such churches that information, so that if pilgrims passing through were willing to invest the time in pausing to enjoy the church and if there was a local resident willing to open it and show it to them, the two could be more easily connected.

I don't say that this should be done. Just that it would be nice if it were done.

 

[André Walker]

I agree: walking without expectations is most relaxing.

But: I'd like to have a café con leche in the morning, after 2 hours of walking. If that could be arranged....

 

[Bruce and Margaret]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

My suggestion would be to somehow install toilets to alleviate the wipes that are spoiling the landscape.

 

[dougfitz]

My suggestion would be to somehow install toilets to alleviate the wipes that are spoiling the landscape.

Please let's not restart this topic. It has been done over, and over, and over, most recently in this thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/why-no-public-wcs-along-the-caminos.64332/.

 

[NorthernLight]

I appreciate it when a village has put up a sign that tells something of their history or the history of an unusual building.

 

[Mike Savage]

I would like the opportunity to accept an empty trash bag when I leave an albergue and a place to drop it off (hopefully full) a town or two down the road. Strictly voluntary and no pressure (and no reward) to participate.

 

[Kanga]

My request would be for good weather. Clear sunny skies but with a cool wind. Amazing how often it happens!

 

[VNwalking]

Contentment would be nice. Can I have that please?

And this:

I'm sure many of us have had the experience of passing through village after village with nice parish churches, many of them centuries old, only to find them closed and locked. I understand from various guidebooks that if you really want to see them, it is possible for many to be opened temporarily if you ask in the right place. If I could add one thing to the Camino it would be to post on such churches that information, so that if pilgrims passing through were willing to invest the time in pausing to enjoy the church and if there was a local resident willing to open it and show it to them, the two could be more easily connected.

Thanks, Mike. I wish more people would do this rather than complaining:

I would like the opportunity to accept an empty trash bag when I leave an albergue and a place to drop it off (hopefully full) a town or two down the road.

But there's no need for anyone to supply the bag - there are plenty of them around already. I just buy something at a tienda and re-use the bag.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

What I would like to see is the elimination of the False Flag Fletcha, painted or placed so as to direct unsuspecting Pilgrims on a detour to private businesses.

 

[nycwalking]

Please let's not restart this topic. It has been done over, and over, and over, most recently in this thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/why-no-public-wcs-along-the-caminos.64332/.

It’s like potato chips: you can never have just one.

 

[Jean Ti]

My request would be for good weather. Clear sunny skies but with a cool wind. Amazing how often it happens!

.

Just for You!!!

 

[Dani7]

What I would like to see is the elimination of the False Flag Fletcha, painted or placed so as to direct unsuspecting Pilgrims on a detour to private businesses.

Is there a picture if that somewhere for this newbie to avoid getting entrapped.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Is there a picture if that somewhere for this newbie to avoid getting entrapped.

It is a frequent occurrence along the Camino, most often in towns to try and get pilgrims to pass by businesses or to a lodging. There was one town before Leon which 'caught' me. While the Camino went by the town, there were a series of convincing arrows which fooled me into going through that town. An extra kilometer of walking before getting back on Camino.

 

[trecile]

It is a frequent occurrence along the Camino, most often in towns to try and get pilgrims to pass by businesses or to a lodging. There was one town before Leon which 'caught' me. While the Camino went by the town, there were a series of convincing arrows which fooled me into going through that town. An extra kilometer of walking before getting back on Camino.

This is when having an app like Buen Camino or Wise Pilgrim with the GPS map of the Camino is handy. You can quickly check to see where the real Camino trail is.

 

[jsalt]

What I would like to see is the elimination of the False Flag Fletcha, painted or placed so as to direct unsuspecting Pilgrims on a detour to private businesses.

Noooo, don't eliminate those. I would have missed a lot of bars just off the camino if there were no "false" arrows to them

 

[SioCamino]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

Ha ha, i had had the same idea when I was walking the initial stages of the VDLP but had since forgotten. I think in particular for me there were sections between Sevilla & Cáceres where there was simply no place to rest and take a break for a few minutes. Sitting on the ground meant a tasty meal for ants when we were walking. I remember thinking that it would be a nice thing to give back to the VDLP - funding the installation of durable & sympathetic (to the landscape) benches on some of the stages where it’s >25k between any stops/villages etc. Of course I immediately forgot once I was home.
But it could be a nice idea, former pilgrims could fund a bench with a dedication, a bit like the benches you see in parks from time to time...

 

[trecile]

But it could be a nice idea, former pilgrims could fund a bench with a dedication, a bit like the benches you see in parks from time to time...

A good idea for some of the Camino pilgrim organizations, like American Pilgrims on the Camino.

 

[jasmine2015]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

I love the Camino and at the moment am walking the Camino Frances the second time. I do feel sad, disgusted and frustrated by the amount of rubbish especially tissues left in places where people go to relieve themselves. I believe as a pilgrim we have the responsibility to keep the Camino clean as a sign of respect for the Way, the locals and the environment. I suggest either we collect the used tissues in a small plastic bag and dispose of it in a proper rubbish bin or wear a panty liner and not to use any tissue at all. At the end of each day walk we all have a place to sleep and to shower anyway. Let's keep the Camino clean.

 

[Robo]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

Is this a ‘wind up’.

 

[Stroller]

There is a special place in heaven for the person who plants trees on the south side of foot paths. So plant trees for shade.

 

[TinaB]

Take a plastic sitting mat. No bench required!!!

Even better use an old plastic bag ( screws up tiny into your bag after use great for airing bare feet so stones and dirt don’t stick to them ) and watch out for perching points on outcrops of rocks or the bank of a ditch.

 

[Sam - AU]

My wish would be for all or even just some of the water fountains to be left turned on for winter pilgrims.

Being a winter pilgrim you expect longer days and less accomodation options due to the majority of the albergues closed and the possibility of fewer cafes open, its the sacrifice for a more solitary camino.

Having completed a camino previously at the start of the season I knew how many fountains were on route but I wasn’t prepared for a hard first week back in February realising it wasn’t just a few fountains ‘out of water’ or turned off it was ALL of them and this continued on until just before Santiago.
And before the ‘fill up at a cafe/bar’ suggestion is made ... we also went days without an open bar or cafe on route.

 

[Malachiuri]

Pack out your used toilet paper!!!!

M

 

[Jean Ti]

Ha ha, i had had the same idea when I was walking the initial stages of the VDLP but had since forgotten. I think in particular for me there were sections between Sevilla & Cáceres where there was simply no place to rest and take a break for a few minutes. Sitting on the ground meant a tasty meal for ants when we were walking. I remember thinking that it would be a nice thing to give back to the VDLP - funding the installation of durable & sympathetic (to the landscape) benches on some of the stages where it’s >25k between any stops/villages etc. Of course I immediately forgot once I was home.
But it could be a nice idea, former pilgrims could fund a bench with a dedication, a bit like the benches you see in parks from time to time...

I agree with you that vdlp need some $€£¥ for basic camino invesments.

 

[naplesdon]

IMHO benches would become magnets for pilgrims to stop and leave behind their litter. A perfect example is the shelter after Castrojeriz, Alto de Mosterales, which has turned into a disgusting dumping pit.

 

[Jean Ti]

A leave no trace approach should be used on all camino!

I agree that we are not there yet!

 

[Dolf]

I suggest improving the things you suggest need improving. Action. Thinking about walking a camino is fun. Walking it is what really makes a difference in our lives.

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

I would suggest to have benchs install on the Via de la Plata. Currently there is nothing and a minimum should be available.
[/QUOTE

 

[Derrybiketours]

While keeping the spirit of the camino, what suggestions would you make to improve this journey?

Stone me? Whilst enjoying the botafumeria ceremony last year I thought wouldn't it be wonderful to put an even bigger smile on the pilgrim's faces but looks like someone or two got to it first

Two altar boys were arrested for putting weed in the censer-burner

What started as a joke ended with the future of two altar boys from Spain. Read more to know what happened to him

thereisnews.com

 

[Sam - AU]

Stone me? Whilst enjoying the botafumeria ceremony last year I thought wouldn't it be wonderful to put an even bigger smile on the pilgrim's faces but looks like someone or two got to it first

What a gem of an article! Haha!

 

[Kanga]

@Derrybiketours and @Sam - AU Sadly it is not true. See this at the bottom of the webpage: "ADVICE: The content of There Is News is fiction, as you can read in our Legal Warning"

 

[Derrybiketours]

@Kanga well spotted, why let a little lie get in the way of a good story. Hard to tell what's fake news these days

 

[Former member 49149]

Ha ha, i had had the same idea when I was walking the initial stages of the VDLP but had since forgotten. I think in particular for me there were sections between Sevilla & Cáceres where there was simply no place to rest and take a break for a few minutes. Sitting on the ground meant a tasty meal for ants when we were walking. I remember thinking that it would be a nice thing to give back to the VDLP - funding the installation of durable & sympathetic (to the landscape) benches on some of the stages where it’s >25k between any stops/villages etc. Of course I immediately forgot once I was home.
But it could be a nice idea, former pilgrims could fund a bench with a dedication, a bit like the benches you see in parks from time to time...

Sounds good to me, after an hour on my knees scrubbing floors.... with the odd peek in of course at what’s new!

 

[Former member 49149]

@Kanga well spotted, why let a little lie get in the way of a good story. Hard to tell what's fake news these days

Hey you, Mister! Let’s not bring politics into this website!