115 - This week on the Camino....Camino News Update 4/3/24 Rain, Easter Week, Tips for booking ahead and getting a massage in Santiago, Camino Invierno, sneak peak at a route in Japan, plus more!

Theme Music:
"Looking for you in Finisterre" by Luis Vallecillo, Original Song, available on Spotify soon! 

Quintana Massage
https://www.quintanamassages.com/

Camino Pilgrim International Discussion Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/155693474900286

Johnnie Walker Books
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Johnnie-Walker/author/B06XT5CRHV/allbooks?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1712123453&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Johnnie Walker Blog 
https://johnniewalker-santiago.blogspot.com/2018/12/living-in-santiago-was-not-my-plan.html

Gonze 
https://www.gronze.com/

Wise Pilgrim
https://wisepilgrim.com/

Whats App
https://www.whatsapp.com/

DeepL
https://www.deepl.com/en/translator

Transcript

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Speaker 1 0:00

Hello Pilgrims , welcome to the Camino News Update . I'm Leigh Brennan , an American Pilgrim living right here in Santiago de Compostela . It's Wednesday , april 3rd 2024 , and this is episode 13 already . Well , that's new intro music compliments of my friend Luis Valleceo . He's a local musician here in Santiago , his newest release coming out later this week on Spotify . It's called Looking for you in Finisterre . I hope you'll check out his music .

Speaker 1 0:33

You know my passion is walking the Camino and connecting with pilgrims . I've been doing the Camino Cafe podcast for four years now . This show , the Camino News Update , is a collaborative effort with co-host Johnny Walker , santiago and a rotating team of pilgrims who are out actually walking the Camino . We are hoping to bring you the latest news from Santiago , the various Camino routes , and bring you Camino tips and recommendations that you can put to use as soon as you start walking . Each week , Johnny and I , along with our Pilgrim team , hope to reignite your Camino spirit and inspire you to walk your first Camino or , I don't know , maybe your second or your tenth . Johnny will join us shortly to discuss Pilgrim numbers and the weather and if and how to book accommodations ahead . Lindsay Taishane is back this week as he is finishing up the Camino in Vierno and Rocco Rossi is back to give us a little teaser of his upcoming walk in guess where ?

Speaker 1 1:29

Japan . Well , it's been raining all week here in Santiago , rain , rain and more rain , but there are loads and loads of pilgrims here as they chose to walk , and no rain is stopping them . And there are even more tourists here because of Semana Santa . Well , I met several pilgrims the other night at the greenhouse who had walked in nothing but rain-filled days from Saria , and another when I was at Quintana Massage who had walked in nothing but rain all the way from Porto .

Speaker 1 1:58

Well , let's check in with Johnny Walker , in case you didn't know . He has walked thousands of kilometers on pilgrim routes in Spain , italy , the UK and Japan . He has also written numerous guidebooks about the Camino , and he has done all of that on a volunteer basis . One of the things I admire the most about Johnny is that all of the books that he has written , the proceeds for those books go back to supporting the Camino and pilgrims . You can connect with him daily on the Facebook group Camino Pilgrim International Discussion Group . I'm including a link to that , as well as his blog that details how he ended up becoming a pilgrim and living right here in Santiago . But let's get the weather , pilgrim numbers and more from Johnny today .

Speaker 2 2:40

Hello Lee , hello everyone , this is John speaking to you from Santiago on the 1st of April . I'm recording this news bulletin early because I'm off to Malta tomorrow for a few days to a family wedding and to meet the Maltese Pilgrim Association . The big news of the week is there is a yellow alert , a yellow weather alert in Galicia . There will be more rain , more storms . This morning in Santiago , we had a very long hailstorm , which was very impressive . You can see it on the window , you can see it in the window behind me , and there's snow in febrile as the Camino Francés passes over into Galicia . Now be very careful , if you're on the Camino , in saying that . I spoke to a pilgrim a wee while ago who's just walked in on the Camino Inglés and they had some rain this morning .

Speaker 2 3:31

It didn't really rain until they reached Santiago , so be careful . And there have been plenty of pilgrims , you know , if you just look at that , 28,000 pilgrims since the beginning of the year . And last week was Holy Week , easter is early . Yesterday was Easter Sunday . It's early this year . It's a moveable feast and so the pilgrim numbers always swell in the run up to Holy Week and Easter . And in fact you can see the pilgrims office statistics saying that there are 66% more pilgrims in this period this year than in the same period last year . Now , that's a false statistic because Easter is early and we'll see the numbers going down over the next few days . But just have a look at the graph of the year so far and the numbers are on the up and up and up and , as always , we'll keep you posted on this .

Speaker 2 4:28

And because of these numbers and people talking on the social media , there's a considerable concern and I'm getting emails from people saying John , well , we have to book accommodation for all of our Camino . We're on the the Camino Portugues , which is busier . We're on the Camino Francés . Do we need to book ahead ? Well , I would say , certainly book the first few nights of your Camino , when you'll know the date when you're starting and then assess the situation , you'll see how many pilgrims are around . And use good , reliable websites like the Wise Pilgrim app , the Buen Camino app , and here I rely on gronscom , and you can download an app from Grons and Grons , although it's in Spanish , don't worry about that , because the accommodation listings are very obvious on how to use them , and you can go straight through to bookingcom .

Speaker 2 5:24

Now a word of advice if there are no beds available in a private albergue or a hostel or a hotel on bookingcom , then get in touch direct with the hotel or the establishment or the hostel , and many of them . Whatsapp is used universally in Spain and you can communicate with them very well on WhatsApp and if you're worried about Spanish now , here's another tip .

Speaker 2 5:52

There's a website called DeepL . I'll show you there and you can download their app . It's a very , very accurate translator device and then you can write out your WhatsApp message to make your room booking .

Speaker 3 6:06

So with that .

Speaker 2 6:08

I'm up very early in the morning to go on the plane , but I'll be broadcasting to you from Malta next time .

Speaker 1 6:16

Now for this week's feature places to visit while in Santiago Pilgrims . I am always recommending that you stay in Santiago for as many days as possible after walking your Camino . One of the reasons for that is for your body's recovery . Now I just got back from walking several stages on the Portuguese and , like every Camino I've done in this past , well over a year , I have come back to Santiago and I have booked a massage at Quintana Massage . Quintana Massage is located very conveniently near the cathedral . Owners , danny and Jose , have built a really beautiful and relaxing spa setting for the massages . But , most importantly , what I admire most about them is that they have hired a really beautiful and relaxing spa setting for the massages . But , most importantly , what I admire most about them is that they have hired a team of extremely talented massage therapists . No matter who I book with , I've had a great massage .

Speaker 1 7:04

I asked one of the owners , danny , for his tips for the three most common issues that he sees when pilgrims come in for treatment and his recommendations on maybe what we could do to prevent some of these issues . The first thing he brought up is blisters . Well , no surprise there , for we pilgrims , huh . And while he said it's not a muscle or joint injury . It's still the number one injury he sees . His recommendation is to wear shoes that you have already walked in you know used shoes , not brand new ones and make sure they're breathable . He also recommends using something to hydrate the feet , like Vaseline , for example . Now , as far as the body injuries he talked about Achilles tendonitis , and that is what I am suffering with . He said that the most important thing you can do with this is to stretch at least 10 minutes a day before your walk and then after your walk as well , and then take a cold shower or soak in cold water for the legs and the calves especially . The third most common thing that he sees are injuries to the quadriceps . He recommends the same type of treatments stretching before you walk , stretching after the walk and any kind of cold water therapy .

Speaker 1 8:13

He then surprised me when he added that he believes we should stop using poles , and I said both poles . What do you mean ? And he said both poles . Don't walk with poles . And I asked him why ? And he said you know , we were designed to walk on our two legs , not with two legs and two poles . So I'm really going to think this over , because I think he makes some good points .

Speaker 1 8:36

So look , pilgrims , by staying longer in Santiago , you have the ability to schedule a massage . I think your body will thank you for this act of loving , kindness and self-care . I mean , after all , it's carried you all the way on that Camino , so I think it deserves a little love and attention . You can schedule your massage online . You can do it on WhatsApp or you can call Quintana Massage . The contact information is in the show notes . They are now open through the rest of the Camino season every single day , 9 am to 9 pm , including Sundays and bank holidays . So please be sure to visit Danny Jose and their team at Quintana Massage . I can't recommend them enough . I'll be booking again after my next walk , so you might see me there .

Speaker 1 9:21

Now let's check in with Lindsay Tachanet . He is an Australian pilgrim that is here in Spain for over a year to just walk a bunch of caminos and , wow , is he doing a fantastic job . This week he's just finishing up the Camino Invierno , so we'll get a nice report on that . But I wanted to say that I really admire things that Lindsay did during COVID . He was one of the founding members of a Camino for Good and they did some amazing things to keep we Pilgrims inspired , as well as support the infrastructure here in Spain that was suffering with everything being closed for COVID . So let's hear what Lindsay has to say this week .

Speaker 3 9:56

Hi there , lindsay , here again . I'm on day 10 of my Camino in Viena , the winter way out of Ponferrada . I'm in a village called Rodiero . Just like the rest of the caminos in Spain , the rain has been a constant companion for the past week . This Camino seems less affected by the rain than others . Consequently , I've done very little sloshing through mud and always arrived at my albergue dry enough to enjoy the evenings . A number of the albergues I've stayed at are relatively new . It seems that Galicia is committed to providing real alternatives to the crowded French way coming into Santiago , and I've now reached the 100 kilometre mark and , as we all know , it's two stamps per day from here on in to get my Compostela .

Speaker 3 10:49

One thing I've really loved at this time of year is what I like to describe as spring fluffiness . The trees are just emerging from their winter hibernation and for at least a week or so , they present with a unique visual texture as their spring foliage emerges . There were a couple of days in the past week that were over 25km , with no services . On other caminos I've recently done a distance like this without the chance to stop for a café con leche was quite daunting On the Invierno , though , the constantly changing and undulating landscape , coupled with the distraction of numerous quaint little villages , make the kilometers go quickly and easily . I'm really looking forward to walking this route again in better weather and I'm sure with a little sun it will sparkle in an entirely new light . So now , on my last few days , I will join up with the Via de la Plata and on to Santiago Buen Camino .

Speaker 1 11:54

Next up is Rocco Rossi . Rocco is a pilgrim from Canada and he's getting ready to walk a Camino in Japan . One of the things I love about Rocco is the fact that after his first Camino , he dedicated his life to doing good and most of the Caminos that he's walked he's walked over thousands and thousands of miles , and most of those have been dedicated to someone that's been lost in the Camino pilgrim family or maybe is too ill to walk . Well , let's hear from Rocco this week with a little bit of a teaser . Rocco .

Speaker 4 12:21

Lately getting ready for my next pilgrimage , getting my credencial ready . No , not this one , this one , but not this side , the other side , because I am going to the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage in southern Japan . It is the sister pilgrimage to the Camino de Santiago . In fact , I got this credencial in the tourism office in Santiago at the end of the Ruta de la Plata I recently completed , and when you complete both , you get dual pilgrimage status . So lucky me .

Speaker 4 12:57

It is a very different kind of pilgrimage because there's relatively little infrastructure . It's a series of trails between three important sites Kumano , hongu , taisha , kumano , nachi , taisha and Kumano , hayatama , taisha . These are Shinto Buddhist shrines , temples . The Nakahechi route , which is what I will take to go to Hongu and then Nachi , is about 70 kilometers in total , but mountainous , forested routes , very slow going . And then from Natchi to Hayatama along the Eseji route and then I will try to extend , depending on how much time , take a train further up north and come back down on the Seiji route along the coast . Cannot wait . Highly recommend you using the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau site to reserve . You can't do this last minute . Already all of the bookings in the small infrastructure on the Nacahatchee is full for April and May . I was fortunate , started over a month ago and am now ready to go , and we'll be sending back reports . Buen Camino .

Speaker 1 14:29

Well , that's it for this week's news on the Camino and in Santiago . We will see you next Wednesday and until then , well , we hope to see you in Santiago . Ciao , pilgrims .