Just curious if anybody who has done the Camino has seen the movie?
In trailer, Martin Sheen is carrying a huge backpack and wearing a parka.
But everybody in the crew is in shorts and t-shirts.
With a pack that big, you'd soon roast in a parka.
People with packs that big soon start sending stuff home or just ditching it.
Did you go?
Where is it, how do you do it ... is there a group or do people just go independently?
I walked the Camino last year, and like the movie I started in St Jean Pied du Port, it took me 33 days, I started on May 22nd and arrived in Santiago on June 23rd. I saw the movie today, I've been waitiing for so long to see it, when I was on the Camino last year we heard they had just finished filming so it was something everyone I met was looking forward to. Though the characters in the movie had their flaws it did give an overall good idea of what it is like to walk the Camino, the scenery, the solitude, what it's like to share a room with 100 to 200 people in an alburgue, though ones that large are not common, for the most part they have rooms of anywhere from 12 bunks to 20, they're are church, municipal and private alburgues, it costs anywhere from 1 euro to the most I paid 10, but the average is 7 euros in the privates. I met people from all corners of the world, everyone has their reason for walking, searching for something in life, religous to name a couple, myself and others did it for the adventure of doing something truly unique, the religious aspect is there if one wants it and most people do partake in the religious aspect, in fact I recommend people do take part in this aspect, it adds very much to the experience. Because of the weather a parka can come in handy though I carried a lined rain jacket and a fleece, the Pyrenees and in Galicia it is mountains so it does get cold (I remember seeing 4 memorials to people that have died along the Camino, a couple were because of the weather), though in the movie he wore his in areas where is was very warm, that area is called the Meseta, north central Spain, primarily farming country. Many people do bring too much stuff, it is often dumped in the alburgues, especially in Roncevalles, the first place he stayed. I sent about 15 lbs of things home from Pamplona myself, one can also mail it ahead to Santiago. A pack weighing about 15 lbs will suffice, there is no need for camping gear except for a sleeping bag, no need for a tent or cooking gear, I carried a 1 liter Nalgen bottle for water and it worked well. If you're interested I have a blog I kept, www.bhcamino2010.blogspot.com. And the Buen Camino that is often said in the movie, it is the common greeting you hear. If you have any specific questions just let me know.
sharebbhud007 thanks for your informative post.
A fifteen pound pack seems incredibly light.
Thank you BBh, that was really informative. This is been on my list of things to do, and I think the movie just pushed it over into the must-do column. Will look at your blog as well. Thanks for taking the time.
Whenever you look up, there I shall be -- and whenever I look up there will be you.
I walked 2 years ago and found that carrying two pair of each clothing item was sufficient. I wore clothes that dry quickly and hand washed every night. A light pack is essential. There are enough provisions along the way. Hiking shoes were generally not needed, just comfortable walking shoes that have good support.
I wish the film had more of the overall beauty of the walk.
There was some talk in the movie about different guide books. I used one from a British writer, can't remember his name. The guide books are useful for determining where to stay in each town, but the best parts of the journey are the unexpected occurences that can't be predicted.
larry deemer tell me more about these clothes that dry quickly.
Light cotton? Nylon?
I walk a lot and could talk about this stuff all day.
The quick drying clothes are like the hi-tech Body Armor line. Cotton is a particularly bad fabric for a pilgrimage. The equipment question, and perhaps a good question for life in general, is not how much is enough, but how little is enough. A pack of 15 pounds is sufficient. Leave the sleeping mat behind.
shareThanks, i'd love to do this and start out in Paris.
Europe is so beautiful.
Just curious, when there are that many people crammed together, what do you
do if you get sick or get the flu or something?
You cough and infect other people. Getting some medicine and warm tea helps. If it gets bad, you go to the hospital. You will not be kicked out of the hostel nor do they have a special corner where sick people are left to die...
shareMost people do it in the summer months then, I'm assuming?
shareI walked the Camino last year, although I only started in Leon. I did have a big back pack, but not as big as Martin Sheen's.
I wouldn't say the movie was an accurate reflection of completing the camino as I didn't get that much of a communal feeling from the different pilgrims that they met along the way. I completed the camino with one friend, but there were loads of people that I kept meeting on the way.
I also didn't stop in any plush hotels. (but perhaps that's just me.)
I did like the movie though.
I spent 6 months this year walking the various routes and directions of the camino. The french way, which is in the film, is the most popular route and is the only route you'll see people with packs that size staying in albergues. They may be camping, of course, but that's a different kettle of fish. People send things home from Leon all the time. I met a German "alpinist" (his words) who sent nearly 10 kilo home...
Parka-wise, it totally depends on the time of year. In the summer, especially in the meseta, a parka is not necessary. It is handy to have, just in case. Of course, when it really rains, it doesn't matter. I have spent several days walking in monsoon-like rain while wearing a parka and though the water did not effect me as it came down, it just travelled up my trousers and onto my torso, leaving me soaked.
Less is more, as people have been saying. Layers are essential for spring/fall seasons as the weather changes quickly. Lots of people live by high-tech synthetic materials, I personally prefer lightweight wools (even underpants) as they seem to get less stinky.
Anyway, lots of information about the walk, the various routes and regions, etc. from various websites. Have a look and give it a try. Not everyone finishes "the camino", but everyone finishes "their camino" and returns a changed person.
Thank you for all the wonderful information. I'm planning to do the walk myself so I'm try to get enough information to plan my trip wisely.
shareI walked the Camino Primitivo in May of 2011. It's the oldest route, which starts in Oviedo, and can be completed in less than two weeks.
I have not watched the film yet, but I know that it depicts the Camino Frances, which is the most popular route as others have stated. As far as I know, the northern routes are the coldest ones, and they get rain year round.
I did not have much time to plan the trip, so I just brought a 35L backpack with some basic outdoor things (poncho, bug spray, biodegradable soap, emergency blanket, small first aid kit).
As for the clothes, I didn't bring anything special...I brought jeans, swimming shorts, a heavy wool sweater, two track jackets, one long sleeve shirt, two polo shirts, and two t-shirts. (The city clothes were needed because I flew to Madrid afterwards.)
Most of the time I wore the shorts and sweater/track jacket, as the weather was in the high 50s/60s F, 13-17 C but warmed up towards the end (sunny 23C-25/73-77F) of the route. It really depends on the sun.
I was walking eight hours a day, so shorts were fine for me, though they are dangerous if you go off path (as I did) through woods, for obvious reasons.
The poncho was useful as I ran into some heavy storms for two days. The rain is rough, it's akin to a severe thunderstorm.
I ended up mailing some of my clothes back home and just washed the shorts and t-shirt on a daily basis. I kept the sweater and one jacket, I think they were the most useful.
I also brought my laptop and wish that I hadn't. A smartphone or a tablet will suffice, but if you don't have them, don't worry. It really took away from the experience, but I had no other choice.
Towards the end of the route there are services which deliver your baggage to Santiago for 8 euros or so, but don't expect it if you're more than 30km away.
May is still considered off-season; I only saw a handful of pilgrims throughout the route, most from Germany and France, but once I reached the Camino Frances a lot more people appeared.
All in all, I'd say less is best.
Regarding accommodations, I mostly stayed in pensions because I am a late riser and was worried about full hostels. The Camino Primitivo still lives up to its name, so I didn't want to gamble on sleep (the albergues are not always in locations which you may walk). It really was a last minute trip, but I've wanted to go for a long time. I will definitely do it again, and bring less clothes.
congratulations … what an adventure.
if people are dying every once in a while i'd say you need to be prepared and not just count on luck.
what did you do with photos? digital? how did you save your pictures … when i was in france for
just a week and a half I fillled up many SDRAM cards … but that was when they were smaller.
Still, I'd hate to take lots of pictures and lose them.
Do you ever buy Smartwool? I think the shirts are great, but they can be hot.
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Remember how this movie starts ... with the death of a young man from exposure. I'd be very careful and not try to push yourself and your mother. Since I have not tried it myself it's just a thought. You also did not say how old your mother was or what shape she is in.
share>> if people are dying every once in a while i'd say you need to be prepared and not just count on luck. <<
Yeah...I'd be interested to know how the deaths happened. You'd think that the pool of walkers would include quite a few people toward the ends of their lives, people with terminal illnesses, older people who've always wanted to do the Camino, etc., so maybe some of the deaths were of that nature (old age or illness). But as for healthy people dying of exposure, I would think just being careful about the weather -- we're often very disconnected from it in the Western world, of course -- and knowing specifically what to do if you're caught out in it might be in order. If you're on too tight a schedule, trying to push to the "finish line," that can affect your judgment, of course. With all the 24-7 weather coverage available, there's really no reason for a weather front to take anybody by surprise, although of course mountain weather can be particularly unpredictable at times. If you pay attention to the forecasts and act accordingly, that'll cut down on most of the potential problems, leaving only the unexpected event or two (or five, or whatever). Then, if you're prepared for those relatively rare occasions, well...people have survived outside in weather for centuries, when they're prepared and when they know specifically what to do.
I actually wondered whether I'd missed something in the movie, about how a young and healthy man could die of exposure so close to help. It's not a particularly common occurrence. Did I miss something, or did they really not ever explain this with any specificity?
I live in Chile, and while we do not have pilgrimage sites, we do have plenty of places were foreigners can walk around. I'm not sure if it's the same for El Camino, but over here pretty much every single time a tourist dies it's because he decided to take a shortcut and got caught in a storm, fell off a cliff or died of cold during the night.
Word of advice. Stick to the road and listen to the locals. Most people who wander off do not die. But most of those who die, died because they wandered off.
Always good advice. I hope somebody reads it and saves his/her own life because of it.
shareCould be what we call the Disney movie effect around our house. In short: Life is not a Disney movie. You are not magically protected from natural phenomena or bad people, just because you're a nice person, you love your mom, and you're from a fairly privileged first-world country. So pay attention, and listen to people who know what they're talking about.
Something like that. ;-)
Incidentally, the few contacts I've had with people who've been there, along with the considerable amount I've read and seen, indicate that Chile is quite a beautiful place. Little bit of envy going on here.
That (the subject line) is one of the smartest questions I've ever seen asked on an IMDB board.
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I don't know about "fits," but I do agree with you generally that the movie didn't suffer from not knowing the exact cause of death, and actually may have benefitted from that decision. A father in this situation would have questions, of course, but unless he thought the death had been a murder and therefore that something to be done about it in that sense (and in fact, even in a situation like that, really), I would think most parents would find the fact of their child's death the most significant thing, and the question would be finding whatever the meaning was behind it, if any. It's not like the difference between a heart attack, a stroke, exposure, etc., would've mattered to the Sheen character, or that that would've had any great meaning. Even more so in a situation like this, where meaning in the sense of something beyond yourself was the whole point of the son's trip, and then the father's. In that context, specific manner of death wasn't the point; the point was the fact of death as a part of life, not only for the son's character but for the father, and really for all of us.
What I meant by saying that the question in the subject line was a great one was simply that I thought it was brilliant to ask about any actual real-life experiences along the Camino. That in itself is fascinating to me.
Yeah, I was kind of confused by what people were wearing -- sometimes shorts, sometimes very many layers of rather warm looking clothing.
I thought this movie did a wonderful job of showing what the Camino is like. That first albergue experience reminded me of why I quit :)
The fact that the characters had not completed their stated goals by the end of their walk was so true to life-- how many of us undertake a grand journey, expecting it to change our lives in some specific way? I know I do that quite a bit -- and my life is changed by my trips, but not the way I'd planned.