Tag: Spain

There is 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.

In the same way, there exists the mistaken custom of referring to any person in charge of a hostel with the title of “hospitalero,” a term that should only be used EXCLUSIVELY for those people who offer what is said in the name: “hospitality”.

In this article, we are going to analyze the profiles of the different people in charge of managing a hostel, their interests and purposes, in order to adjust our expectations accordingly.

The different types of hostels on the Camino de Santiago and their administrators

First let us begin defining the types of lodging and their corresponding administrators.

The first is private lodging, which may be the owner themselves or a staff member.

The purpose of the owner is to make money and for this he tries to provide a good service. In the case of the owner, his behavior will be oriented to maximize profitability, while in the case of the employee, he will try to minimize his work, without suffering the quality of the service.

This type of hostel is highly sensitive to criticism, especially online, because bad reputation translates into less money. The objectives are aligned with those of the pilgrims due to fear of damage to their reputation.

The second is municipal or state lodging, whose price is usually the cheapest of the options available and whose administrator is an official.

The purpose of the official, like the employee of the private inn, is to fulfill the tasks and rules of his work while making the least possible effort.

They highlight 2 characteristics:

They are totally insensitive to minor criticisms, since their work is rarely at stake.

They are mostly lacking in empathy; none made a path, and they rarely have a true interest in the experience.

They may have knowledge of the area, product of living in the area, but not of the route.

Although the responsibilities of the official may vary greatly, there are 2 details particularly important: if they are permanently in the hostel and if they have to do the cleaning themselves.

These 2 details help to create the main official profiles:

The “fleeting host,” also known as ‘arrive-collect-and-leave,’ is limited to checking in the pilgrim, collecting the corresponding fee, and in some cases, explaining a little about the use of the facilities. In these cases, the tasks of cleaning and maintaining the facilities are outsourced. These officials are rather relaxed regarding the use of the facilities.

The “permanent host is present at the hostel during all reception hours, and those who are responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the facilities can be seen in his behavior.

They are more detailed when explaining the rules of the hostel and more strict regarding their use. Out of self-interest, they usually limit, as much as possible, access to the public areas of the hostel, such as other rooms and bathrooms, which makes sense; the more areas that open, the more they have to clean the next day.

In the case that there exists a conflict between the needs of the pilgrim and his own convenience, they will most often choose the second.

To illustrate: imagine that a senior person arrives at the hostel at 8 pm after a day of extreme heat and finds all the lower bunk beds occupied and the manager has two options: instruct the old man to sleep in a upper bunk bed or open another room for him to sleep comfortably. In this case, it is almost guaranteed that said person will sleep in a upper bunk.

In this category falls the great majority of the managers of the Xunta de Galicia.

Without excusing his behavior, it is to be said that the situation is not exclusively his fault. An official told me the conditions in which he was hired, or more accurately subcontracted, through a temporary employment agency.

The third and last type is the traditional hospitality shelter, which responds to pilgrim associations and parishes, and whose manager is the host, often a volunteer.

The first thing that differentiates the hospitalero from the other two is empathy; the hospitalero has done a Camino de Santiago and knows the needs of the pilgrims.

The second aspect is in the knowledge of the route, where there are people who are true bibles of the way and of experience in it. Likewise it may not be the case. Many volunteer hosts are assigned to pilgrim hostels that they have not traveled. This happened to us while we were doing the Camino de Madrid.

Third, we could say that his personal objective is to genuinely help and to interact with other pilgrims. In fact, a hospitalero defined him as “doing the Camino (without walking).”

And finally, it is a positive attitude. Unlike the other categories, they do want to be there, helping the pilgrims. Moreover, they are even capable of renouncing part of their vacations to go to a little village in the middle of nowhere. This is the essence of the path and the hospitable people form part of this magic.

Now, these categories are not so strict, but rather diffuse.

We have come to know highly dedicated workers who behaved like hospitaleros.

Also there are owners of private hostels, who were pilgrims and are true hosts, offering a traditional welcome service, either on a donation or at a very accessible price, like a municipal/state hostel.

On the other hand, there are also parish shelters that have succumbed to economic pressures and behave like private shelters (accepting reservations, transporting backpacks, etc.) and that try to maximize profits at all costs.

What to expect from each one?

Regarding what to expect from each one, it is simple.

From the hospitaleros, empathy.

of the owners, the contracted service.

and of the officials, a minimum service of inconsistent quality, that will depend on each town hall/region.

Knowing what to expect, we can define as a “bad behavior” the non-fulfillment of such expectations.

In this way, a “bad owner/bad employee” is someone who does not offer a service of the quality agreed upon, for which it was paid.

We can also define what a “hospital worker” is, that is a person who acts with a lack of empathy and selfishness, which is quite rare, but if it occurs.

I have particularly come across 2 (and have come to know perhaps between 40-50), and both had this same fault: they imposed their personal interests above the needs of the pilgrims, basically having very similar and sometimes identical behavior to that of officials and owners.

A bad official is one that does not even fulfill its few functions nor the minimum rules of interpersonal respect.

Established in this way, the treatment received by many state hostels becomes very clear, especially in the case of Galicia, which is where it is most evident.

There is a problem of perception and management of expectations among the pilgrim public, who thinks that upon reaching the end of the road the spirit should be more alive than ever, and the Xunta, which behaves like a “bad owner,” that tries to extract the maximum benefit from each pilgrim, at the expense of lowering the quality of the service.

The pilgrims expect to be attended by hosts, someone who cares about their needs and the government offers indifferent and poorly paid officials.

The great difference between a “bad owner” and the Xunta, is that the Xunta knows that it has a monopoly and that monopoly is called “Santiago”. And that while people want to continue arriving at Santiago, the Xunta will not have reasons to improve its service.

What to do about it?

Regarding what to do about it, in the 3 cases, the answer is the same and consists of 2 tasks:

the first is to set down the bad experiences to prevent other pilgrims and let the laws of the market correct the bad behavior… or they change their attitude or disappear.

In cases of bad state run albergues, it is a matter of seeking alternatives, from looking for other accommodations to replanning the stages to avoid staying in such places. It is worth noting that the second option is the best option as it causes a penalty to the economy of the site.

And in the case of Galicia, which is a more general problem, there exists a single solution, unthinkable for many people, which consists of not visiting the region.

the pilgrims willing to walk secondary routes are increasing in numbers, starting far away from Santiago, and where the Camino is lived in a more pure way.

Summary

In summary we can conclude that using the term “hospitalero” indiscriminately devalues the work of the true hospitaleros, who in their great majority do an excellent job, worthy of much respect and undeservedly elevates the status of apathetic officials and unscrupulous owners.

The Way of St. James is a very intense experience that captivates tens of thousands of people each year and although it is not often spoken about, it has physical and psychological consequences that affect the pilgrim in the short, medium, and long term.

Warning

Doing the camino can have effects on health and on the soul; some of these effects are serious and others are funny.

Of course each person is a world and these effects that I am going to tell you today are based on my personal experience; as well as on the experience of people that I met in multiple paths and it may be that your personal experience is different…

And regarding the effects, one last thing before the intensity of the side effects is directly related to the way of doing the Camino.

The effects become much more noticeable on long trails and with a backpack, while on short trails and without a backpack they may be less evident or not visible.

1. Improvement in self-esteem (especially after finishing your first path)

You have set yourself a very difficult thing and you have completed it.

I’ve walked with heat, cold, at night, during the day, with mist , under the rain, with fatigue and pain, with thirst and hunger.

You have carried your backpack for many hours a day and many kilometers.

You have left your comfort zone and you have reached and surpassed your limits several days, and above all, you have been the protagonist of a movie story (and not a passive spectator).

After completing such an experience it is absolutely normal that you feel that you are capable of doing more things than you thought possible and that your self-esteem is better than ever.

2. Improvement in physical condition

The routine of the Camino involves walking between 20km and 30km a day, which translates to between 5 to 8 hours of aerobic exercise each day, every day.

This is much more exercise than most people do in their daily routine and it can be quite painful at the beginning while the body adapts to the new routine.

Because of this reason it is recommended to train before doing the Camino, to reduce the pains and the days of suffering.

All of that exercise can be translated a improvement of physical condition that includes gain of muscle mass and in reduction of fatty tissue, toning the whole body and in many cases slimming down.

This improvement can be intensified by taking care of the diet (which on the way is not easy) and doing intermittent fasting.

3. Changed sleep schedules (and a better quality of sleep, in some cases)

The routine of the Camino forces the pilgrim to wake up early and go to sleep early, to make the most of the hours of light.

To synchronize the hours of sleep with the night helps many people to sleep better, despite the fact that the conditions of privacy and silence in the hostels are not the optimal ones.

Also a deeper dream can be attributed to the tiredness generated by walking so many hours.

To sleep better contributes to number 4 effect.

4. Better humor

On the Camino, it is possible to disconnect from the pressures of everyday life and relax, and it is quite normal to have catharsis talking about your life with complete strangers.

One also has more contact with nature and enjoys the fresh air…

All of this contributes to us being more relaxed and in a better mood…

5. Becoming minimalist (or to appreciate living with less things…)

The Way teaches us that we can live an intense and satisfying experience, with a few possessions that fit in a backpack, and that in the end, we don’t need so many things.

This learning is then transferred to everyday life and many pilgrims become minimalist after completing the journey.

6. Wish for a simpler life

In our daily life, we spend the day worried and planning an uncertain future or reflecting and regretting past mistakes.

Every day on the road is much simpler and forces you to live in the present, where the most immediate concerns.

* To what time to wake up…

* How far to walk…

* How much water to load…

* Where are you going to sleep…

* Where and what are you going to eat…

* If you are going to be able to wash the clothes…

* If other pilgrims are well…

at the same time that it proves to be a physically demanding experience, which is a life more like that which our nomadic ancestors led.

7. Get even more bored with the daily routine.

There exists the theory that our perception of the passage of time is directly related to the amount of new information that we receive.

In that regard, the Way is a most intense experience that can be, since we are constantly in contact with new sites, with new people and new information all the time.

It results a dilation of time: the sensation of that has passed much more time of what really passed physically…

Because of that, when one returns to one’s daily routine, the world seems very boring…

The routine life exposes you to very little new information, few new people, and few new experiences…

Because it is important to give oneself time at the end of the journey to decompress and readjust to everyday life…

8. To have a great desire to do another Camino

According to guru Tony Robbins, the human being has 6 emotional needs: Significance, Consistency, Uncertainty, Connection, Growth and Contribution…

Robbins says that any experience that satisfies at least 3 of the 6 can become addictive, and that the more it satisfies, the more addictive it becomes…

The Camino satisfies all those emotional needs like few experiences in life.

This helps to explain a lot the popularity of the path. Many of the tens of thousands of people who do it each year are repeating it.

And to finish, probably the last side effect will be more funny and more curious.

9. Emotional reaction to seeing a yellow arrow

…which is completely logical.

Anyone who has made a long journey has undergone a Pavlovian training, of associating the yellow arrow with the relief of being on the correct path.

Once outside the path, encountering a yellow arrow can result in a range of emotions, among which is…

* surprise (“is there a Camino?”, “the Camino passes by here?”, “how does it go through here and I didn’t know?”)

* nostalgia (“ohhhh, I miss the Camino!”, “I want to return to the Camino!”, “We have to go back to the island!!! I mean …Camino!”).

* the call to adventure (it is not strange to have wild desires to follow the arrows to see where they lead)

And it is also possible to feel briefly relief and bewilderment…

“The Way” is the most well-known film, set and filmed on the Camino de Santiago and has helped to popularize the Camino de Santiago throughout the world, despite being a film overvalued by many pilgrims.

In this article, I would like to make a review of the film, centered on how it captures the essence of the experience, how much of what it shows is true and how much is poetic license.

The Plot of “The Way”

Let’s talk a little about the movie.

It was filmed in the year 2010 and set in that year (please remember the year because it is important);

it is directed by Emilio Estevez and starring Martin Sheen (father and son in real life and in the film).

It is about a father who loses a son who was beginning to make the Camino de Santiago and decides to do it in his honor and in the process he rediscovers himself.

Personally, being a film fanatic, I admit that the movie did not like me, for reasons unrelated to the representation of the Way.

I think it has serious script problems: it is full of exaggerated characters; convoluted dialogues; unnecessary plots (such as the backpack falling into the river or the backpack being stolen) and “exposition dumps,” which is when a character tells another character the necessary contextual information to advance with the film. (the most exaggerated example is the police officer from Saint Jean, who in his free time could work in a pilgrim information office).

In terms of cinematography, it portrays the landscape very well, although it takes many liberties including of places off the beaten path, sites out of sequence, and with people walking in the wrong direction.

Now, regarding the representation of the experience…

Equipment and clothing for the Camino de Santiago (according to “The Way”)

Let’s start with the equipment.

It is an American film and Americans like large backpacks, and in the film it is shown that the pilgrims are carrying backpacks much larger and heavier than necessary.

The backpack of Daniel (the deceased son) included: compass, maps, and a photographic album; heavy and impractical things that no one would recommend carrying on the Camino.

An arguable detail would be the use of a sleeping mat.

At that time it was normal to carry a sleeping mat in case you had to sleep on the floor of the hostel, although by 2010 it was falling out of use. In fact, I took a sleeping mat on my first Camino and I didn’t use it once.

Nevertheless, even in 2024, sleeping mats can still be seen as a result of the recommendations of the old guides in book format.

Regarding clothing, several characters are seen walking around with jeans and boots. It is not recommended to wear jeans on the trail, as they are uncomfortable and difficult to wash and dry; and boots are optional, preferring hiking shoes.

A correct detail is the use of “Camino Guide”, something that was very normal before the popularization of Smart Phones and of guides online like the Eroski guide at that time.

A nice detail is the reference to a special Dutch guide, with shortcuts and advice… such guides existed and still exist… but they are German and yellow-covered.

Death in the Pyrenees

On the death of the son, which is the trigger of the film’s plot, it happens while completing the stage where it crosses from France to Spain through the Pyrenees.

The route of Napoleon, as it is known as the Saint Jean-Roncesvalles mountain variant, is very well signposted and it is almost impossible to get lost and, much less, to suffer a fatal accident.

Furthermore this route closes when there are adverse weather conditions.

However, on the other hand, although they are not discussed regularly, there are several deaths on the Camino each year, but the majority are due to heart attacks and traffic accidents.

The human group (aka The Camino family)

On the human group, it was very accurate that each character be from a different country, but it falls very short on a diversity level.

The real Camino is much more diverse and it makes a mistake of not including any Spanish or Spanish-speaker in the group, nor including Koreans, and including briefly an Italian…, being these 3, demographic groups very important at that time and now.

It is not realistic to keep the group closed and stable throughout the entire film. People are known all the time and the groups that form, change a lot of members.

And it is very unrealistic that all the pilgrims are doing the camino for the first time… (except for the police officer). In reality you will meet a lot of experienced pilgrims…

And finally, the least realistic of all is that the characters forced themselves to walk together, not tolerating each other. It is quite common to find people with whom you have no affinity or well people who act in an unpleasant manner and it is most normal to ignore them and continue on your way.

Free Camping on the Camino

Then, the two situations of spending the night outdoors that were shown in the film were unnecessary and illogical.

It would have been advisable and totally possible to obtain shelter in both circumstances… even in that era.

On the French route, there are towns every few kms and many options of accommodation…

Furthermore, in the second opportunity, in “Torres del Rio” there is another village with services literally next to it….

The life in the hostels

And about the hostels…

I think it is one of the weakest points of the film for not representing correctly the experience of sleeping in hostels…

Despite showing the lack of privacy and the snoring, they do not clearly show the different types nor the rules of coexistence…

There are strict curfews at the hostels to respect the rest of the pilgrims, and one cannot enter to sleep late at night when everyone is sleeping.

The boots or sneakers must be left outside of the hostel, and inside the hostel all the pilgrims wear sandals or flip-flops… People walking inside the hostel with boots.

And people don’t wash clothes in fountains… there are laundromats and many with washing machines and dryers available.

Sleeping in monasteries, like it shows in the movie, only happens once and it is in Sobrado dos Monxes, on the Northern Way;

there are some parish hostels where you sleep in churches but nothing so beautiful and many traditional welcoming hostels are usually the old school of the village.

Lavish banquets do not exist, and they certainly do not exist in parish albergues. The meals are usually very simple, and they usually consist of salad and pasta, although sometimes one has the luck of having some slightly more elaborate dishes.

He doesn’t show any peregrine collaboration around the preparation of communal meals, which is normal in parish hostels: no character cooks, nor cleans, nor sets the table, nor washes the dishes.

It doesn’t show any “ceremonies” or “blessings” to the pilgrims, like those at the parish albergues of Logroño, Grañon, Bercianos del Real Camino and more…

Furthermore, in more than one scene, although brief, it is seen that they put the backpacks on the beds, violating rule #1 of the road!!!

And finally, show a hostel with occupied beds for tomorrow, when it is mandatory to leave the hostels very early.

What leads us to the next great distortion of this film.

The Walking period

The schedule in which the characters walk does not correspond with reality, and definitely not with that of the French Way.

The Camino de Santiago is a route of dawns and not a road of sunsets.

In the film they do not walk even once in the morning. And they walk a lot in the afternoons.

They are carrying the backpacks all the time.

The normal behaviour is to walk fast in the morning to arrive at the destination as soon as possible, and to ensure a bed in the hostel, to get rid of the backpacks… and so to be able to rest and then to go out to eat or to cook in the hostel.

The representation of Santiago

The way Santiago is represented, has been and is the point of greatest contention and consists of 2 scenes:

the first of the Cathedral of Santiago and the second in the office of the Pilgrim.

Starting with the Cathedral, the group enters through el Pórtico de la Gloria (Portal of Glory)… and shows the 2 old traditions:

give 3 small head-bounces (or crocques) to the statue of the Saint, also known as the Saint Dos Crocques…, located at the base of the central pillar and to touch on a specific point the central column, a tradition so popular throughout the centuries that the imprint of the hand.

These two traditions were forbidden in the year 2008, two years before the filming of this movie; and given that the financing of the movie by the Xunta de Galicia, I consider it “deceptive advertising” to include this scene.

Then one sees the botafumeiro functioning, which is not seen in all masses and which is seen less and less.

And returning to the Pórtico de la Gloria (Portal of Glory), the entire area is closed to the general public and for some time it has become a museum, where to see it you have to pay 12€ and if you are a pilgrim 10€.

The other scene in Santiago is in the pilgrim’s office, where the characters request the Compostela.

This scene, beyond certain poetic licenses, was well filmed and captured this moment (one of the few representative scenes of the movie). Unfortunately, today the process of obtaining the Compostelas has been largely automated and that interview with the pilgrim no longer exists.

To request the Compostela, a form is filled out online and the Compostela is no longer written by hand, but is printed. Indeed, this whole new process is quite mundane and there is emphasis on selling you a new certificate, the distance certificate, which is not free.

Muxía, as the end of the Way of St. James

And my last criticism was the effort to promote Muxía, by the government of Galicia.

The way the town was included without context and without mentioning Finisterre is insulting. (to the point of erasing Finisterre, literally, from the map).

Perfectly they could have named both locations and choose for some specific reason Muxía, but the way that they chose was very clumsy.

By a coincidence of life, I accidentally found myself in a bar in Finisterre on the day the movie was premiered on television, and I can confirm that I am not the only one who thinks that.

Well represented details

Now well… I want to end the article in a positive way, recognizing that, in the film, there are still 2 moments well represented…

The first is the reunion in Burgos with other pilgrims.

Personally I think it lacked a farewell from someone who was returning home.

And the second and last;

while staying a luxurious hotel, each with their private room, choosing to spend time together in the same room captures perfectly the intensity of the bonds created with other pilgrims while making the journey;

and may it be, probably, the best scene of the whole film.