Who is Gronze?

[Tali]

Who is behind Gronze.com? This resource is likely the most often mentioned on this forum. I’m thinking it’s time to do a shout out to the developers who keep it up to date year after year.

 

[J Willhaus]

Información sobre Gronze.com | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

Somos Gronze.com: Una web independiente y profesional especializada en el Camino de Santiago (y otros caminos histórico-culturales), con un equipo vinculado desde hace décadas a la ruta jacobea. Ofrecemos información original, práctica y actualizada de los principales caminos; mapas y recorrido...

www.gronze.com

Here is the about Gronze.com page. Open in Chrome and it will translate.

 

[henrythedog]

Joan Fiol

 

[Bradypus]

The team members behind Gronze are listed on this page: https://www.gronze.com/sobre-gronze/equipo. One of those listed is Anton Pombo. If you have walked through Arzua recently you have probably seen him. Quite hard to miss!

 

[Kathor1]

The team members behind Gronze are listed on this page: https://www.gronze.com/sobre-gronze/equipo. One of those listed is Anton Pombo. If you have walked through Arzua recently you have probably seen him. Quite hard to miss!

View attachment 140787

Thanks for the photo. I thought at first that it is an ad, either for his books or for beer or for tourism. But it is a work of art as I now know. There are seven of these new gigantic murals on the Camino Francés in Galicia. Laurie Dennett is on the one in Santiago. Here is the list:

Murales de las Estrellas del Camino [Últimos 100km del Camino]

Las Estrellas del Camino: un itinerario de murales para dar protagonismo a las personas que viven por y para el Camino de Santiago.

www.sehacecaminoalandar.com

Or on the beer brewer’s website who is one of the sponsors, and even in English: https://estrellagalicia.es/estrellas-del-camino/en/

 

[Former member 104756]

I don’t know any of the people behind Gronze - but if any of you are ‘out there’ on the forum and see this thread - I have a huge appreciation for your work, in providing such a wonderful resource. Thank you. Gracias. Merci.

 

[dougfitz]

The team members behind Gronze are listed on this page: https://www.gronze.com/sobre-gronze/equipo. One of those listed is Anton Pombo. If you have walked through Arzua recently you have probably seen him. Quite hard to miss!

View attachment 140787

I keep forgetting that this team have published many interesting articles over the years. Click on their images and it will bring up the individual work of the members who have published articles and guides. I really like this one by Joan Fiol, but there is far more of value on the site.

 

[Bradypus]

Laurie Dennett is on the one in Santiago.

Her one is a little distance off the Camino route. On the side of a large modern hotel near the motorway and railway bridges where you enter the city after the descent from Monte do Gozo. Still visible a long way off though!

 

[peregrina2000]

I really like this one by Joan Fiol, but there is far more of value on the site.

I had never seen that list, @dougfitz. Some of it had never occurred to me, some is obvious but worth repeating. The next time someone starts complaining about snoring in albergues, I will point them to the very sensible rule number 7. It cuts right to the chase.

And just one more Gronze tip. At the bottom of each stage description, there is a little tab “al loro.” (a phrase that means something like “inform yourself”). There are all sorts of little bits and pieces of random information about the stage, and frequently it’s very helpful!

 

[Former member 92300]

I am grateful for them... whomever they are! Especially having travelled in both summers after Spain re-opened post-COVID shutdowns. The website was the BEST resource for up to date info on which places were still closed due to COVID. In June 2021 many of the apps weren't up to date yet - but Gronze was pretty accurate.

 

[NadineK]

I had never seen that list, @dougfitz. Some of it had never occurred to me, some is obvious but worth repeating. The next time someone starts complaining about snoring in albergues, I will point them to the very sensible rule number 7. It cuts right to the chase.

And just one more Gronze tip. At the bottom of each stage description, there is a little tab “al loro.” (a phrase that means something like “inform yourself”). There are all sorts of little bits and pieces of random information about the stage, and frequently it’s very helpful!

Oh my gosh @peregrina2000 , I had no idea about that tab with the extra info! Gronze has become my go-to when planning Camino's (and also while on the Camino), and this tip was like opening a treasure chest. Thank you!

 

[dfox]

I would like to take this opportunity to express my Kudos to the folks behind every aspect of operations, maintenance, supporting, etc. Gronze, which is an indispensable planning and navigational tool for me.

 

[David Tallan]

Thanks for the photo. I thought at first that it is an ad, either for his books or for beer or for tourism. But it is a work of art as I now know. There are seven of these new gigantic murals on the Camino Francés in Galicia. Laurie Dennett is on the one in Santiago. Here is the list:

Murales de las Estrellas del Camino [Últimos 100km del Camino]

Las Estrellas del Camino: un itinerario de murales para dar protagonismo a las personas que viven por y para el Camino de Santiago.

www.sehacecaminoalandar.com

Or on the beer brewer’s website who is one of the sponsors, and even in English: https://estrellagalicia.es/estrellas-del-camino/en/

I could have sworn I had seen a photo of such a mural of Don Elias (of yellow arrow fame) shared recently, but he doesn't seem to be on the list.

 

[David Tallan]

I had never seen that list, @dougfitz. Some of it had never occurred to me, some is obvious but worth repeating. The next time someone starts complaining about snoring in albergues, I will point them to the very sensible rule number 7. It cuts right to the chase.

Number 11 is also interesting, especially as people branch out from the Frances to the lesser walked Caminos. Anyone who has been around these forums for a while knows that some people like to plan and book ahead, and others like to just "wing it". And this is quite doable. But rule number 11 alerts us to the fact that the etiquette is different on the lesser walked Caminos, where pilgrims might not arrive every day. According to rule number 11, on these routes, the rule is not to arrive at your lodging without advance warning, so they are prepared to receive you.

 

[Bradypus]

I could have sworn I had seen a photo of such a mural of Don Elias (of yellow arrow fame) shared recently, but he doesn't seem to be on the list.

I posted one of Don Elías which I saw in Sarria. Not part of the Estrella sequence. Those ones are quite distinctive in their blue and green tones.

 

[Kathor1]

I posted one of Don Elías which I saw in Sarria. Not part of the Estrella sequence. Those ones are quite distinctive in their blue and green tones.

And here we can close a circle because the Gronze website contains an article by Antón Pombo about the new mural of Elías Valiña on a house in Sarria, with a further link btw. His style/vocabulary/prose is not easy for the non-native speaker to understand and it is best read in Spanish - a web machine translation into English is likely to provide useful info but also an above average number of puzzling statements.

Sarria dedica un gran mural a Elías Valiña, el «cura de O Cebreiro»

Peregrinos que pasáis, que diría el bardo, no os olvidéis de la razón por la que estáis aquí: una historia milenaria, sí, pero también el tesón de algunos precursores que, contra viento y marea, docum

www.gronze.com

 

[AJGuillaume]

Last year, I was fortunate to meet a member of the Gronze team in Jaén, Carles Guiral. I believe he was documenting the Jaén branch of the Camino Mozárabe. He is a member of this forum, and had been following our live reports on the Mozárabe. He was surprised to find out that I was "the pilgrim walking with his darling"



The Gronze team do an amazing job, and are very grateful for any contribution to update their website.

 

[Former member 104756]

He was surprised to find out that I was "the pilgrim walking with his darling"

Andrew, your references to ‘your darling’ Rachel in this gentle and loving way always warm my heart

 

[isawtman]

The two things that surprise me about Gronze.
It's not a app
It doesn't have translation built into the page

 

[SabsP]

The two things that surprise me about Gronze.
It's not a app
It doesn't have translation built into the page

Another nice reason to study the Spanish language .
The format of Gronze is well thought out and I find it very easy to navigate.
I for one just love the fact that it is NOT an app.
This website gives you the possibility to read longer texts without having to click and scroll every minute.

 

[dougfitz]

The two things that surprise me about Gronze.
It's not a app
It doesn't have translation built into the page

There is an app, Gronze Maps, which presents the information behind the web site in a geospatial context, ie on a map. It does need an internet connexion for the Beta version that you can get through the website. It looks pretty good to me, but I haven't had the chance to use it on a Camino.

It seems to me a rather churlish objection that it doesn't have links to a translation service built in when a browser like Chrome can do this. I thought that the approach you prefer had become old hat, and wasn't getting as implemented as much as it might once have been. There are other browsers than Chrome that will do this, and other translation services. It doesn't seem like a problem to me. As it is, not only can you choose a browser that works for you, you can point it to your preferred translation service. That sounds much more convenient to me.

 

[Kathor1]

It doesn't have translation built into the page

I assume that you use a mobile phone for access to the content of Gronze.com and miss seeing a button on their website for machine translation into English? It is not necessary. If you use an iPhone, all you have to do is click on the Aa button next to where it says “Gronze.com” and then “Translate this website” and you can pick the language of your choice, starting with English and followed by Deutsch, Français and Nederlands. I’m sure phones with other operating systems offer the same convenience.

Gronze is accessed not only by native Spanish speakers and people from English-speaking countries but probably by pilgrims from every single European country. Why put a mile-long menu button for dozens of languages on your website when there is no need for it as the function of such a button is already built into browser apps nowadays?

 

[Kathor1]

I always wondered about the name Gronze. I happened to find this comment posted by Joan Fiol:

Cuando acabé la Universidad, a finales de los 80, hice en solitario Cap de Creus - Cabo Higuer por el GR 11... un antes y un después en ls vida de un joven... de ahí el nombre, 11 en catalán se escribe onze.​

GR 11 … .

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

For me Gronze is the most valuable source of information on all my caminos. Certainly on the most walked and marked routes I/you don't need anything else ( supposing you can use the translating function) The information on accomodations is actual; the phone numbers are "clickable"(?); the reviews of accomodations are/. can be useful. It gives global descriptions of the route the profile and in the "all loro"sections gives you extra information about places along the route that are worthwhile to visit or where lies a danger of taking a wrong turn.
I want to make use of this occasion to thank all the contributors for their valuable work that is highly appreciated by me.

 

[Joan Fiol (Gronze.com)]

Thank you all for your words of appreciation for the work of the entire Gronze team.

We are proud to be one of the most cited references in this prestigious forum.

We will continue to work to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.

 

[trecile]

I for one just love the fact that it is NOT an app.

Me too. You lose some functionality with apps in place of websites, primarily for me the ability to have multiple pages of the site open at the same time in different tabs.

 

[peregrina2000]

Oh my gosh @peregrina2000 , I had no idea about that tab with the extra info! Gronze has become my go-to when planning Camino's (and also while on the Camino), and this tip was like opening a treasure chest. Thank you!

And one more thing about that Al Loro section, or any other section on Gronze for that matter. They respond to inquiries, suggestions, etc. within a day.

Yesterday as I was scrolling through the Al Loro section before posting something on this thread (post 9 above), I noticed that Gronze didn’t have anything about the very easy and very worthwhile detour in between Aljucén and Alcuéscar (Vdlp) to the visigothic Santa Lucía del Trampal. I sent a short description and a link to @alansykes wikiloc tracks, and this morning I woke up to an email saying thanks, and we’ve added it!

Moral of the story - if you have helpful info on just about any aspect of any camino that you don’t see on Gronze, send it to them via their contacto button.

 

[Carles]

El año pasado tuve la suerte de conocer en Jaén a un miembro del equipo de Gronze, Carles Guiral. Creo que estaba documentando el ramal de Jaén del Camino Mozárabe. Es miembro de este foro, y ha estado siguiendo nuestros reportajes en directo sobre el mozárabe. Se sorprendió al saber que yo era "el peregrino que camina con su amada"

View attachment 140856

El equipo de Gronze hace un trabajo increíble y está muy agradecido por cualquier contribución para actualizar su sitio web.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I had never seen that list, @dougfitz. Some of it had never occurred to me, some is obvious but worth repeating. The next time someone starts complaining about snoring in albergues, I will point them to the very sensible rule number 7. It cuts right to the chase.

And just one more Gronze tip. At the bottom of each stage description, there is a little tab “al loro.” (a phrase that means something like “inform yourself”). There are all sorts of little bits and pieces of random information about the stage, and frequently it’s very helpful!

My favourites are 13 and 14.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I don't know Joan Fiol, but Anton Pombo serves with me on the board of Fraternidad Internacional (FICS). I have linked him to this thread. I am sure he'll get a kick out of it!

 

[donalomahony]

I had never seen that list, @dougfitz. Some of it had never occurred to me, some is obvious but worth repeating. The next time someone starts complaining about snoring in albergues, I will point them to the very sensible rule number 7. It cuts right to the chase.

And just one more Gronze tip. At the bottom of each stage description, there is a little tab “al loro.” (a phrase that means something like “inform yourself”). There are all sorts of little bits and pieces of random information about the stage, and frequently it’s very helpful!

Thanks for posting that link!

 

[malingerer]

There is an app, Gronze Maps, which presents the information behind the web site in a geospatial context, ie on a map. It does need an internet connexion for the Beta version that you can get through the website. It looks pretty good to me, but I haven't had the chance to use it on a Camino.

It seems to me a rather churlish objection that it doesn't have links to a translation service built in when a browser like Chrome can do this. I thought that the approach you prefer had become old hat, and wasn't getting as implemented as much as it might once have been. There are other browsers than Chrome that will do this, and other translation services. It doesn't seem like a problem to me. As it is, not only can you choose a browser that works for you, you can point it to your preferred translation service. That sounds much more convenient to me.

I have NEVER used GRONZE ! Am I unusual? I use a Camino app, Brierley, my big gob and a winsome smile Am I missing something ? I have never used GPS either! Do I occasionally get lost ? Of course! Then I get myself Unlost I first started Camino 2003. Is there something I should know or should I just carry on my own sweet way?

Have fun kiddies, after all if you keep heading West you'll get there anyway!

Samarkand.

 

[dougfitz]

I have NEVER used GRONZE ! Am I unusual? I use a Camino app, Brierley, my big gob and a winsome smile Am I missing something ? I have never used GPS either! Do I occasionally get lost ? Of course! Then I get myself Unlost I first started Camino 2003. Is there something I should know or should I just carry on my own sweet way?

Have fun kiddies, after all if you keep heading West you'll get there anyway!

Samarkand.

Unique, perhaps, but then we all are. Until my pilgrimage adventures last year, I had relied on Brierley in Spain, and other guidebooks and web sites in Scandinavia and England on my pilgrimages there. Gronze was a godsend for me last year, together with Booking.com.

I also use a GPS, but that has never stopped me getting lost. It might have helped on a couple of occasions when I needed to get back on track, but even that wouldn't justify carrying it. It is just something I have done for years, and don't see that stopping. It does make geo-locating my photos later so much easier, but sooner or later I might learn how to use my smartphone instead of a dedicated camera, and even that won't be the compelling reason it once was.

As @malingerer says, if the sun is at your back, you are heading the right way, even walking along the CP.