Most Spanish people are so generous and welcoming of us foreigners stomping through their streets and lanes, never failing to wish us Buen Camino! I can't believe they all feel like that, for pilgrims by the hundreds pass every day throughout the entire year, and some months by the thousands!
Over 6 weeks +, there have been a few, but very few indications that there are downsides to the whole business felt by a few locals who suffer it.
Imagine Sunday morning, your only day off, and you are asleep in your bed when at 5:30am you hear tick-tick-tick-tick going by your window. And a again at 6am, and 6:30am. Tick-tick-tick. By this time you must be going mad. Now imagine a dozen tick-tick-ticks at a time.
This is what it is like when pilgrims who walk with poles without rubber stoppers on the bottom spikes sound like, when the metal spike strikes the stones or tarmac of the street. Most pilgrims probably don't even hear it anymore, after weeks of the same noise. Many don't bother with rubber stoppers, or with replacing them when the spike wears through the rubber (I have gone through 4 pair of these stoppers already!) Who needs to use their poles when walking through a village anyway, unless it is up a mountain side? So there is no need to drive some poor Spaniard crazy, early or any time of the day.
Pilgrims generally spend only one night in each place, so there must be an incredible amount of cleaning and laundry and preparation every single day for those who run their own small business. We spoke to one young couple who have a few casa rurales (and young children) and who would prefer to rent out to weekenders or local tourists that stay a few days, but know that they have to take in pilgrims to ensure they can pay the rent, so it's all about juggling child care, day jobs, and all the work required by housing pilgrims.
We ourselves were following the Camino along the thin shoulder of the road one day, thankfully a very quiet road, and saw a car coming towards us on the curve, so we stopped as usual to ensure he could pass, and watched as he veered abruptly to drive directly at us! We just stood there like rabbits with our jaws open and at the last minute he corrected his course and drove off. It had to be a passive aggressive stance at pilgrims,, no doubt after a negative incident, but it unnerved us.
In the Camino days of yore, many pilgrims were ambushed, injured, or killed for their money, their horses or their clothes, and even more were taken advantage of by unscrupulous hoteliers and boat owners where there were no bridges, and probably hundreds of other incidences.
Mind you, not every pilgrim is as appreciative and loving of their fellow pilgrims either.
Today I saw some writing on one of the waymarkers on the Camino, along a woodland path: "Jesus didn't start the Camino in Sarria" This seemed to be a very mean-spirited and judgmental stance directed at those who chose to walk the last 100km instead of further. I wanted to add "Jesus didn't take an airplane to the Camino starting point either, bucko!" but knew that was just as judgmental a response. Besides, Jesus didn't even do the Camino!
So I just said a little prayer for the insensitive writer as well as for anyone who might possibly be offended by the words. And who might possibly be offended by the behaviour of pilgrims too!
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