The Camino de Santiago is a centenary experience that has become very fashionable in the last 30 years, but there are some confusions on the part of the general public, pilgrims, and governments.
The misunderstandings that I am going to name today are not in any kind of order.
NOTE: This article was originally written in 2022, but updated with experiences from 2024.
Misunderstanding #1: “That there is only one Camino de Santiago” (for the general public)
This misunderstanding is the least common and it is by people who have barely heard spoken about the path or who have learned about the path through the film “The Way”…
Also the confusion arises because one usually speaks in the singular: THE WAY. On the other hand, many times, when speaking in the singular, it usually refers specifically to the French road.
It is, in reality, that there are many Santiago routes; it is an interconnected network that, although it ends, in Santiago (or in Finisterre) and covers not only Spain, but also Western Europe. This network reaches very remote sites such as Poland and the Arctic Circle and includes other European itineraries such as the Via Francigena, which goes from Canterbury in England, to Rome and the Camino de San Ola, which goes from Oslo to Trondheim (and which goes backwards, from Trondheim to Oslo, is a route to Santiago).
Misunderstanding #2: “That one can walk alone in the direction of Santiago/Finisterre” (for the general public and pilgrims)
That the road leads to Santiago does not imply that it can only be done in the direction of Santiago. The road can be traveled in the opposite direction. In fact, it was the way that pilgrims in antiquity returned to their home.
Although a little uncommon option, it is becoming more popular. When I did my first path in 2011, I saw in total two people that were doing it backwards.
In this last path in the year 2022, on the French path, I could see between 2 and 3 people EACH DAY.
Misunderstanding #3: “The road is overflowing with people in the summer” (of the general public and even of the pilgrims)
This misunderstanding is spread by the media and is only valid for a few points of the way, such as the French Way from Sarria or O Cebreiro or the English Way from Ferrol.
Other paths and other sections of path usually have very few pilgrims in summer, such as the Basque Interior Way, where I walked completely alone for 5 days, like the Madrid Way, where we were almost alone, the Aragonese Way where we coincided, as maximum, in the same albergue 8 pilgrims and the Winter Way, where we coincided 9 of the 12 pilgrims that we were doing the route.
Misunderstanding #4: The Camino is “cheap” (by the general public and pilgrims)
It is true that the path is more accessible than other travel alternatives, especially due to the low cost of hostels, but in order for it to be “cheap” it requires a lot of discipline.
Assume the following prices in 2024…
- Bed: 10€ (range 5-17€ in shared room)
- Breakfast(s): 4€ (people usually 1 or 2 stops in bars to rest)
- Lunch menu: 12€ (range 10-16€ menu “accessible”)
- Dinner menu: 12€ (range 10-16€ menu “accessible”)
- Others: 6€ (laundry, dryer, beers between meals)
We could assume a daily expense of 44€ per day.
If we multiply that by the number of days, the French route from Saint Jean can cost quite 1320€, that without counting the cost of transport to arrive and leave the route…
If you want it to be cheap, you have to:
- Minimize the stops at the bars…
- You have to cook lunch and dinner as much as possible
(and this is not always possible, since there are hostels that do not have a kitchen) or eat badly.
If you are interested in the topic, we have made a video about it.
Misunderstanding #5: That the Camino is made based on arrows… (by the administrations and governments)
Multiple administrations, both in Spain and in other countries, seeing the success of the Way of St. James, have taken advantage of creating their own paths or their own variants to boost their economies, such as the Ignatian Way, which goes from Azpeitia in the Basque Country to Montserrat, or the Maritime Way which goes along the Catalan Coast to Barcelona, to give some examples.
Unfortunately these administrations, only have concerned themselves in signaling the path and in providing tourist information.
The reality is that the paths are made of shelters and not of arrows.
In order for a road to succeed, it is necessary that there be accommodations at low cost in a large percentage of the route.
Misunderstanding #6: That the tracing of the path does not change… (for the general public and the pilgrims)
There are several reasons why the road changes place…
On one hand, due to the appearance of new variants signaled, such as to avoid road sections (Montejurra variant, between Estella and Los Arcos) as to that you pass by some famous monument (examples Monte Juan de la Peña or of the Abbey of Javier, on the Aragonese way, the latter not appearing in some guides…)
Another common reason is due to the construction of large infrastructure works that do not respect the historical route, as often happens with highways or dykes.
Also for a desire of the administrations to make it more touristically attractive, making it easier and reducing kms. Or well, for the same route to also be accessible to cyclists. This is the case of the new route of the English Way.
And finally, and saddest, by human speculation…
The road is business and that the road passes through your town can be a very good source of income. It has been known for a long time, the case of the town of Ventosa, in the stage Logroño-Nájera, which had diverted the arrows so that they went to the town to spend money, something that guides like Gronze have already formalized and that have renamed the original road as “direct road”) but there are also newer cases (at least from my perspective) of Cirueña, in the stage Nájera-Santo Domingo de la Calzada…
Misunderstanding #7: the physical end of the Camino de Santiago (by the pilgrims)
It seems a foolish question, but the vast majority of pilgrims do not know where “exactly” the road to Santiago ends, the KM 0.
Many pilgrims think that it is the tomb of the Apostle or well the cathedral of Santiago.
It is curious that every pilgrim INSTINCTIVELY ends his road at KM 0, and that he finds himself in the center of the plaza del Obradoiro…
There is a bowl on the floor that says Camino de Santiago, European itinerary.
A very satisfying detail of design, I must admit, is that if we see a satellite photo of the Plaza del Obradoiro, we see how the paths unite in the center, in the same way as the hyper-simplified design of the star.
Misunderstanding #8: The sense of the phrase “The tourist demands, the pilgrim thanks” (by the pilgrims)
The tourist demands and the pilgrim thanks is one of the most well-known phrases of the Way, but nowadays it is used to manipulate and abuse the pilgrims.
To this misunderstanding, we dedicate a complete article.
Misunderstanding #9: “That every person who takes the path is a pilgrim.” (by the media and the general public)
There exists the mistaken custom of calling “pilgrim” “every person who does the Camino de Santiago,” while the term “pilgrim” should be used for the person who behaves with respect to the Camino and to its traditions, to the sites by which he passes, to the environment, to the inhabitants of the populations, and to the other pilgrims.
To understand how a pilgrim should behave, we wrote a decalogue of good conduct.
Misunderstanding #10: “That everyone who works in a albergue is ah hospitalero.” (by the media and pilgrims)
In the same way, there exists the mistaken custom of referring to any person in charge of a shelter, regardless of the type, with the title of “hospitalero,” a term that should only be used EXCLUSIVELY for those who offer what is said in the name: “hospitality”. We’ve written another article where we explain this in detail.