Elevate the path: It is important to ask ourselves what life we ​​want for the Camino

“This summer we have returned to the Camino, the overcrowding, especially of the Camino Frances and the North, forces us to get lost along more unknown paths”

“We are concerned that today the overcrowding and commercialization are detrimental to the centennial essence. We only ask for a quieter lane. We do not criticize the superficiality of walking, we miss the confluence with other solitudes”

“We have slept in hostels that were “sardine cans”, saunas where you had to choose between the noise of the street or suffocation inside. Business should not accompany the sacred”

“When the Xunta calls the Senda Compostela, don’t forget to turn off the neon lights, to hide an arrow, to point out the fork between gastronomy and spirituality”

This summer we have returned to the path, in reality we will always be returning to the Camino, such is its magic and spell, its power to captivate us. We will continue to do so as long as the Unmentionable keeps us healthy and moves our clumsiest legs, however, it will be necessary to search for more forgotten itineraries. The overcrowding, especially of the Camino Frances and the North, forces you to get lost along more unknown paths.


We have seen in the distance the familiar towers of the cathedral from all angles, entered the Holy City, overwhelmed with suppressed emotionthrough all its doors. Since 1991, when we set out for the first time towards Santiago, backpack on our backs, many things have changed on this unique Path. An authenticity then manifested itself almost without exception in the pilgrim or pilgrim you encountered. Each one of those pleasant encounters was decisive, because the faith was so alive, mostly without color or label, that it was perceived in the eyes of those who walked.

We are concerned that today overcrowding Y commercialization go to the detriment of the centennial essence. In our days it is difficult to find deep motivation, apart from the easy adventure, the economic plan, the popular mixture of meeting, sport and beer. Nothing further from judgment we only ask for a quieter lane. We do not criticize the superficiality of walking, we miss the confluence with other solitudes, the encounter that moves us, the meeting with other walking silences. We do not question the river of pilgrims, we only suggest an opportunity for those who want to advance in a silence inherent to the ancestral Path. After all, many trains already have their cars for those who want to travel in silence.

When, on the last day of this past August, we arrived in Santiago along the road from Sanabré, we did not muster enough patience to put ourselves at the end of one of the endless queues that they are made to enter the cathedral. We headed to a solitary adjacent church by the name of San Paio de Antealtares. The baroque temple, variegated with old sculptures, was empty of souls. In its midst was only a devout Canadian pilgrim with his prayer book in hand. The pilgrim who seeks recollection must dispense with seeing the botafumeiro fly over his head, give up the “Spotify” in his ears when entering the Holy City, he will try not to be engulfed by the atmosphere and banal conversation.




The Camino is a common heritage that should not leave the custody of altruism. He would agree that the Way, as a spiritual route, be, even to some extent, free of marketing. We have slept in hostels that were “sardine cans”, saunas where you had to choose between the noise from the street or the suffocation inside. The business should not accompany the sacred, the commercial use of the Path should be limited.

I have seen many pilgrims finish their journey at eleven in the morning, managing to secure their bed at that early hour. Nevertheless, the pilgrim is on the Camino, not within the four walls of the hostel or the restaurant. She lives, prays, meditates, eats, writes, reads, naps… on the Camino. He is not interested in arriving before, but in irreplaceable Company. He doesn’t have a plane waiting for him. His Song is the one inside, not the one in the headphones. He doesn’t know mileage, he doesn’t wear digital bracelets. He is only interested in the GPS that leads him deeper into himself. He never runs to get a bed. The mattress doesn’t occupy her mind. If she finds him, he blesses God and thanks him, if he doesn’t enjoy contemplating the infinite stars in the open.

The Way is space, the plural and integrating way in which we can all meet and live together, of course also Macarena Olona, ​​but the dazzling and misleading spotlights should point in another direction. The high stat has its obvious “pros”, but also its inevitable “cons”. The post-pandemic and the desire for the open field have triggered the figuresthe shelters overflow and throw mattresses on the floor, but peace and recollection are increasingly cornered.

No one can doubt that the Way has taken on a new and sometimes overwhelming life, now ask ourselves what life we ​​want for the Camino. When the Xunta calls the Senda Compostela, do not forget to turn off the neon lights, to hide an arrow, to point out the bifurcation between gastronomy and spirituality. Compostela will only be one more cardboard on the desk, as long as we do not put awareness, attention and gratitude at each step.




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Elevate the path: It is important to ask ourselves what life we ​​want for the Camino