114 - This week on the Camino....Camino News Update 3/27/24 Camino Invierno and Portuguese Litoral, those scary looking outfits during Holy Week and what they are really all about, Santiago, cold weather snap, pilgrim count, packing tips, and more! With

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Hello pilgrims. It's Wednesday, march 27th and I am in the beautiful coastal town of Bayona and Tricia and I have been walking the Camino Portuguese Litoral and oh, what a beautiful start we had to our walk all along the coast. It's been gorgeous until today. We're getting some rain. This week's show is going to be so exciting. We have a special report from Johnny Walker, all about the hooded outfits that are worn during Semana Santa. Lindsay Tachinay he's still with us this week and he is walking the Camino Invierno. Tricia has a special report about tips that she's learned since our last walk to Fatima.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Hi pilgrims, my name is Tricia and I am walking with Lee. We are friends from back in the States and now we are doing a 12 month Camino, walking one week every month for the next year, and we are on our third Camino, one to Fatima, this coastal that we did, and my first Camino was doing the Camino Frances, and that was in 2022. I can give you some tips, the things that I've learned along the way. I'm going to give you three tips two to do with my feet and one to do with your jacket or a vest, which is now what I use. So this is a down vest and I prefer the vest to the down jacket because it's not as encumbered. You have more movement, so you can use your poles and you can use it in all weather. Right now, it's cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon and I can wear my vest all day and I'm visible because it's a bright color. So cars when we walk where where there are cars, I'm visible and that's important. So it's a safety thing. But also I can hold on to the poles without without feeling like I'm stiff. You know, with the jacket, that's how it was with the jacket, and the backpack was just too not enough movement, so I suggest that you get a vest instead.

Speaker 2: 2:05

The second thing is shoes. So I haven't had a blister yet, even though we've walked all these, all these Caminos. And the tip is that you rub Vaseline with rosemary oil and put it on pretty thick, rub your feet before you put on two pairs of socks, one liner and then your sports sock. That goes over that. You can use rosemary oil and Vaseline, or I use tea tree oil this time and Vaseline, and both work great, no blisters.

Speaker 2: 2:33

And then the last thing is that make sure that you get sandals, and the hiking sandals that have the straps, because your feet will swell after walking a lot of miles and if you get the straps, you can make them bigger or smaller. And those are my tips for you. So two tips for shoes and the vest. Make sure you rub your feet with Vaseline and rosemary oil before you start your day and I also rub it at night too. It really does help with the blisters and make sure you have sandals, for after your Camino or during the Camino, when it gets warm, you can take off your shoes and wear sandals instead. And then the vest.

Speaker 1: 3:10

The vest is the best thing, okay, so good luck when Camino so, pilgrims, we are in downtown Vigo right now and we're in this beautiful structure in the middle of the city. Next up, let's go to Johnny Walker to talk more about the weather and the pilgrimim numbers.

Speaker 3: 3:24

Hello Lee, hello everyone, greetings from a very rainy Santiago de Compostela. It's been raining all day today and, as you can see from the forecast, it's going to continue for the rest of the week. So if you're out there on the Camino, wrap up well.

Speaker 3: 3:38

And spare a thought for people out in Roncesvalles, where they had a heavy snowfall, so let's hope that that thaws quickly. Pilgrim numbers are on the rise because this is Semana Santa, this is Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter Sunday, next Sunday, and the numbers always rise at this time. Over the last week we've had 1,500 or 1,600 compostellas issued, and in the year so far we've had 15 or 1600 Compostelas issued, and in the year so far we've had 12,203 Compostelas issued. And the interesting fact you know we've been looking at this is so far, that's 35% more pilgrims have arrived in Santiago at this time than the same time last year and, as always, we will watch whether that trend continues.

Speaker 1: 4:27

Our featured place for pilgrims to go to this week is La Cala Inn, a pilgrim's inn. It is owned by Tanya Valdez, who many of you have probably seen on the Camino Cafe podcast. She's a wonderful hostess. She's from the United States and she's been in Oya for quite some time. This albergue is so fantastic. Now, one of the things I wanted to say it's shoulder season, so we were able to get in. If you are planning on staying there, make sure you make a reservation. The rooms are beautiful, the view you just can't beat the views. It's got two lovely restaurants in Oya. We had a wonderful dinner here at this place and I wanted to say, although I've been to Oya a couple of times to visit with Tanya, this was the first time I could visit the monastery, and what an amazing, amazing monastery this is. So be sure to stop at La Cala Inn the next time you are in Olla. And now let's check in with Johnny with our featured story this week. And that's all about Easter in Santiago. Holy Week, johnny.

Speaker 3: 5:23

Why is Holy Week important? It's the week when people, the Catholic Church and other churches celebrate the passion, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and here in Spain they celebrate this big time and all over Spain they mount processions where they take statues and scenes depicting biblical stories of Christ's crucifixion and death and resurrection and they take them around the streets, often with marching bands. In Seville, in the south of Spain, they have 50 of these processions. Here in Santiago, we have a more modest 16 and some of them have already been rained off throughout Spain.

Speaker 3: 6:07

However, when people look at these processions and here's, there's, in the plaza of Obradoiro from last year, and you can see that there are people wearing hoods as they carry the statues around and often people look at these people dressed up particularly in white robes, with the tall pointed hats, and they say that this is redolent of the Klu Klux Klan, whereas in fact, nothing could be more different.

Speaker 3: 6:32

Now, in a shop in Malaga, they've actually put up a sign to say this is not the Ku Klux Klan. This is a Spanish tradition and it's a very traditional thing that goes back to the Middle Ages, when people were penitents, so when they confessed their sins and they had to do a penance for this walking the streets as a penitent they were dressed up as penitents. During Holy Week they're called Navarrenos they were dressed up as penitents and they put on a pointed hat because they were figures of fun and people jeered at them as part of their penance. But they were allowed some anonymity so they could put a veil over their face and so they could see what they were doing. They cut holes in their eyes and a hole for the mouth, and so this was stolen by the sinister organisation 300 years later, so it's a much more traditional and authentic tradition than anything that the Ku Klux Klan are doing. So now you know the story. I wish everyone a very happy Easter.

Speaker 1: 7:36

Let's catch up with Lindsay. He made it to the Camino Invierno this week.

Speaker 4: 7:40

Hi there, lindsay, here again. While the rest of Spain is participating in the festivities of Seminar Santa, the week leading up to Easter, I'm on day four of the Camino Invierno, or, in English, the Winter Way. Over the past few days it has been surprisingly warm t-shirt weather. However, today it's turned cool, with rain predicted throughout the week, and I'm very glad I've hung on to my winter gear. I've been sharing accommodation for the past couple of days with six other pilgrims four women and two men from Spain and Italy. Tonight, though, I'm by myself, four kilometres past the town of Obarco in a cosy 20-bed albergue.

Speaker 4: 8:29

The Invierno is 267 kilometres long, leaving Ponferrada and heading south-west to eventually join the Via della Plata and into Santiago. Mostly, the way is an easy walk, with stunning panoramic views, unique culture and rich history, including Las Mediolas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest open-pit gold mine of the Roman Empire. Walking in slate mountains and beside rock processing factories. Today I'm right at the source of all those black slate roofs so typical of Galician architecture. Throughout history, the invierno served as a way to enter Galicia during the winter months to avoid the cold snow of Osobrero, however, in these modern times of congestion on the French Way with its associated bed scramble. A left turn at Ponferrada into the Invierno is an easy choice for the smart pilgrim. Until next time, buen camino.

Speaker 1: 9:42

And pilgrims. We're in Vigo right now and we've had a small break in the rain, but more wind is coming and more rain, but luckily for us. That's it for this week. Thanks to Tricia, to John and to Lindsay, and thanks to everyone for watching the Camino News Update. We'll be back next Wednesday. Until then, pilgrims hope to see you in Santiago. Ciao.