News , numbers and gossip from Santiago

Hola

I reported recently that pilgrim numbers this year had broken records yet again. As October draws to a close that trend continues although the number of arrivals is much reduced. By the end of this month another 16,000 pilgrims arrived. This makes the total for 2011 so far 177,939. For a full analysis see the bottom of this post. It isn't surprising then that Santiago is celebrating these increased numbers and preparing for the future.

Exhibition: 20 years on the Way

Xacabeo is the government funded Galician organisation responsible for developing and promoting the Camino. They have mounted an exhibition to celebrate their success over the last 20 years. I visited it yesterday. It is very well done, full of sound and light shows, pictures and models of the albergues that have been built and a litany of statistics. For example did you know that in the 20 years since Xacabeo has been operating numbers on the camino have grown by a factor of 32?

The exhibition also contains some replicas of artifacts and a copy of the Codex Calixtinus in Gallego which was produced in recent times. I held a copy of the tome in my hands. That is probably the nearest I will ever get to the real medieval book which was of course stolen from the cathedral archives recently. Conspiracy theories still abound on that one with newspaper pundits feeding off local gossip publishing theories that the priceless book was stolen by cathedral insiders in an effort to embarrass and therefore depose the unpopular Dean of the Cathedral. Frankly I think this is simply hogwash and I subscribe to the theory that the book was stolen to order by professional art thieves. In 2003 I was talking to the Duke of Baccleuch (as one does!) just after a painting by Leonardo da Vinci was stolen from his home, Drumlanrig Castle. He said, "Yes it is a shock but the authorities say these things are so rare it is hard to for them to be sold and usually they are found...eventually" Four years later the Leonardo was returned. Let's hope the same is true of the Codex.

The exhibition:  Xacabeo, 20 years on the Way is open daily until 23 December 2011 in the exhibition rooms, San Martin Pinario. Entrance Free.

New airport for Santiago

For the last few days it has been pouring with rain in Santiago. All day. "Raining cats and dogs" is a phrase in English which is universally known in Santiago. I wonder why? But during one of the better days I decided to go out to see the new airport at Lavacolla and walk back home on the Camino Frances. Although I'd seen reports of the new airport in the newspapers I was still very impressed by the sheer scale and elegance of the new facilities. This is not Heathrow or La Guardia but it is a far cry from the airport of 1932:

The new reception and check-in areas are vaulted, huge airy spaces. There are modern restaurants and coffee stalls with giant televisions. There is a new baggage reclaim designed not only to cope with the existing 2 million passengers per year but also for significant growth in passenger numbers who will be attracted by the routes served by the airport. I thought pilgrims planning trips perhaps also involving a holiday at the end of a hard walked Camino might be interested to see the current list of destinations:
ALICANTE

BARCELONA

BILBAO

FRANKFURT /HAHN

FUERTEVENTURA

GINEBRA

GRAN CANARIA

LANZAROTE

LONDON

MADRID

MALAGA

MILAN

PALMA DE MALLORCA

PARIS /CHARLES DE GAULLE 

REUS

SEVILLA

TENERIFE

VALENCIA

ZURICH
Aeropuerto Santiago de Compostela: Lavacolla  S/N 15820 Santiago de Compostela
Telephone 902 404 704  http://www.aena-aeropuertos.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Santiago/es/

New Museum of Pilgrimage in Santiago

Back in 1951 a very modest Museum of Pilgrimages was founded in the city. It was established in what is known as the "Gothic House" parts of which date to the 14th Century (Left). However the Museum didn't become permanent until 1996 and of course since then visitor numbers have grown like topsy, maybe because entrance is free.

At the moment the exhibitions are divided between pilgrimage generally in the world and the Camino to Santiago in particular. I found the exploration of the phenomenon of pilgrimage in many cultures across all continents very interesting and I think this is something on which they will expand. And expand they will, because the Museum is moving to bigger, better and more central premises. Some of you may remember this building in the Plaza Platerias - just beside the Pilgrims' Office: 

This former home of the Banco de Espana has been under major renovation and construction for some time and was due to be open as the new home of them Museum of Pilgrimages in October. However such is the scale of the building work to an historic building there have been inevitable delays. It will however be open soon and will look like this:

For those wishing to visit the current Museum of Pilgrimage:

Rua de San Miguel, 4. 15704 Santiago de Compostela  http://www.mdperegrinacions.com/

Entrance free

All the numbers for the year so far:

In the month of October almost 16,000 pilgrims arrived.  The total number in the year so far is analysed as follows:

The number of pilgrims who arrived between 1 January 2011 and 31 October 2011 is 177.939

Countries	Number of pilgrims
Spain	94847 (53,30%)
Germany	16333 (9,18%)
Italia	11991 (6,74%)
Portugal	8446 (4,75%)
France	7980 (4,48%)
United States	3623 (2,04%)
Ireland	2609 (1,47%)
UK	2297 (1,29%)
Holand	2284 (1,28%)
Canadá	2240 (1,26%)
Brasil	1872 (1,05%)
Austria	1789 (1,01%)
Poland	1779 (1,00%)
Denmark	1590 (0,89%)
Belgium	1575 (0,89%)
Corea	1536 (0,86%)
Australia	1347 (0,76%)
Sweden	1206 (0,68%)
México	1155 (0,65%)
Switzerland	1148 (0,65%)
República Checa	941 (0,53%)
Norway	909 (0,51%)
Japón	802 (0,45%)
Hungría	744 (0,42%)
Argentina	668 (0,38%)
Finlandia	636 (0,36%)
Eslovenia	559 (0,31%)
Eslovaquia	545 (0,31%)
South Africa	502 (0,28%)
Venezuela	415 (0,23%)
Colombia	409 (0,23%)
Russia	236 (0,13%)
New Zealand	224 (0,13%)
Rumania	198 (0,11%)
Chile	174 (0,10%)
Ecuador	170 (0,10%)

Gender

Male	102548 (57,63%)
Female	75391 (42,37%)

Method of travel

On foot	148461 (83,43%)
Bicycle	28960 (16,28%)
Horse	485 (0,27%)
Wheelchair	33 (0,02%)

Motivation for pilgrimage

Religious or spiritual	89063 (50,05%)
Religious	77900 (43,78%)
Not religious	10976 (6,17%)

Starting point

Sarria	38230 (21,48%)
S. Jean P. Port	18580 (10,44%)
León	10477 (5,89%)
Cebreiro	9844 (5,53%)
Roncesvalles	9138 (5,14%)
Ponferrada	7857 (4,42%)
Tui	7489 (4,21%)
Oporto	6479 (3,64%)
Astorga	5837 (3,28%)
Pamplona	4098 (2,30%)
Burgos	3830 (2,15%)
Le Puy	3184 (1,79%)
Oviedo - C.P.	2870 (1,61%)
Vilafranca	2847 (1,60%)
Valença do Minho	2728 (1,53%)
Resto Portugal	2696 (1,52%)
Irún	2469 (1,39%)
Ferrol	2381 (1,34%)
Sevilla	2229 (1,25%)
Ourense	2141 (1,20%)
Francia	2053 (1,15%)
Triacastela	1786 (1,00%)
Resto C. León	1406 (0,79%)
Oviedo	1369 (0,77%)
Resto Asturias	1203 (0,68%)
Lugo - C.P.	1166 (0,66%)
Ribadeo	1094 (0,61%)
Samos	1072 (0,60%)
Santander	926 (0,52%)
Logroño	921 (0,52%)
Somport	854 (0,48%)
Bilbao	834 (0,47%)
Ponte de Lima	788 (0,44%)
Alemania	716 (0,40%)
Holanda	680 (0,38%)
Salamanca	644 (0,36%)
Vilalba	641 (0,36%)
Lisboa	628 (0,35%)
Gijón	614 (0,35%)
Avilés	492 (0,28%)
Resto País Vasco	455 (0,26%)
Sahagún	448 (0,25%)
Zamora	439 (0,25%)
Resto Asturias - C.P.	393 (0,22%)
Madrid - C.F.	382 (0,21%)
Bélgica	337 (0,19%)
Puebla de Sanabria	329 (0,18%)
Suiza	303 (0,17%)
Jaca	294 (0,17%)
Resto Cantabria	276 (0,16%)
Frómista	265 (0,15%)
San Sebastián	263 (0,15%)
Vega de Valcarce	257 (0,14%)
Carrión de los Condes	254 (0,14%)
Braga	253 (0,14%)
Neda	238 (0,13%)
Baamonde	237 (0,13%)
Gudiña	229 (0,13%)
Lourdes	217 (0,12%)
Cataluña	202 (0,11%)
Sto. Domingo de la Calzada	202 (0,11%)
Madrid	197 (0,11%)
Puente la Reina	191 (0,11%)
Granja de Moreruela	185 (0,10%)
Rabanal del Camino	182 (0,10%)
Porriño	179 (0,10%)
Mondoñedo	173 (0,10%)
Fonsagrada - C.P.	169 (0,09%)
Mérida	158 (0,09%)
Hospital de Orbigo	152 (0,09%)
Vigo	150 (0,08%)
Vezelay	149 (0,08%)
Arles	144 (0,08%)
Lourenzá	139 (0,08%)
Zaragoza	133 (0,07%)
Navarra	129 (0,07%)
Muxia	125 (0,07%)
Hendaya	121 (0,07%)
Com. Valenciana	121 (0,07%)
Cáceres	116 (0,07%)
Resto C. León - V.P.	115 (0,06%)
Abadin	110 (0,06%)
Laza	105 (0,06%)
Estella	103 (0,06%)
R.Pais Vasco	102 (0,06%)
Chaves-Portugal	102 (0,06%)
Valencia	101 (0,06%)
Barcelona	101 (0,06%)
Austria	96 (0,05%)
Resto Europa	95 (0,05%)
Grandas de Salime - C.P.	93 (0,05%)
Verín	92 (0,05%)
Montserrat	88 (0,05%)
Resto Andalucia	84 (0,05%)
Molinaseca	82 (0,05%)
Xunqueira de Ambia	76 (0,04%)
Resto de Extremadura	75 (0,04%)
Francia	75 (0,04%)
Grandas de Salime	68 (0,04%)
Finisterra	65 (0,04%)
Tineo - C.P.	65 (0,04%)
Canfranc	61 (0,03%)
Rábade	60 (0,03%)
Tineo	59 (0,03%)
Cast. la Mancha	58 (0,03%)
Fonsagrada	58 (0,03%)
Granada	58 (0,03%)
Italia	58 (0,03%)
Com. Valenciana	57 (0,03%)
Castilla La Mancha	54 (0,03%)
La Rioja	53 (0,03%)
París	49 (0,03%)
Cadavo	48 (0,03%)
Allariz	48 (0,03%)
Povoa de Varzim	47 (0,03%)
Castilla la Mancha	46 (0,03%)
Huelva	39 (0,02%)
Malaga	39 (0,02%)
Valladolid	36 (0,02%)
Nájera	35 (0,02%)
Benavente	34 (0,02%)
San Sebastian	34 (0,02%)
Córdoba	32 (0,02%)
Cataluña	32 (0,02%)
La Mesa	32 (0,02%)
Roma	32 (0,02%)
Salas	30 (0,02%)
Badajoz	27 (0,02%)
Castrojeriz	26 (0,01%)
Murcia	23 (0,01%)
A Guarda	23 (0,01%)
Resto Galicia	22 (0,01%)
Fonfría	19 (0,01%)
Vegadeo	19 (0,01%)
Ponferrada. C.Inv.	18 (0,01%)
Reino Unido	16 (0,01%)
Republica Checa	13 (0,01%)
Polonia	13 (0,01%)
La Rioja	13 (0,01%)
Grado	12 (0,01%)
La Bañeza	12 (0,01%)
Leyre	11 (0,01%)
San Juan de Ortega	11 (0,01%)
Baiona	11 (0,01%)
Dinamarca	10 (0,01%)
A Rúa	10 (0,01%)
Luxemburgo	8 (0,00%)
Sobrado	6 (0,00%)
Finlandia	5 (0,00%)
Inglaterra	5 (0,00%)
Vilabade	5 (0,00%)
Viveiro	4 (0,00%)
Irlanda	3 (0,00%)
Hungría	3 (0,00%)
Monforte de Lemos	3 (0,00%)
Covelo	2 (0,00%)
Gonzar	2 (0,00%)
Ortigueira	2 (0,00%)
Paradela	2 (0,00%)
Valcarlos	2 (0,00%)
Jerusalem	2 (0,00%)
Andorra	2 (0,00%)
Egipto	2 (0,00%)
Reino Unido	2 (0,00%)
Artieda	1 (0,00%)
Betanzos	1 (0,00%)
Borres	1 (0,00%)
Cea	1 (0,00%)
El Escamplero	1 (0,00%)
Guntín	1 (0,00%)
Mella	1 (0,00%)
Peñaseita	1 (0,00%)
Petín	1 (0,00%)
Pontedeume	1 (0,00%)
Silleda	1 (0,00%)

Employment status

Employed	43412 (24,40%)
Students	31126 (17,49%)
Technicians	24508 (13,77%)
Retired	19964 (11,22%)
Professionals	17695 (9,94%)
Teachers	13469 (7,57%)
Civil Servants	9122 (5,13%)
Manual workers	5899 (3,32%)
Housewives	3891 (2,19%)
Unemployed	3884 (2,18%)
Artists	1476 (0,83%)
Directors	1278 (0,72%)
Priests	804 (0,45%)
Farm Workers	553 (0,31%)
Religious	483 (0,27%)
Sailors	215 (0,12%)
Sportsment	108 (0,06%)
Oikoten	52 (0,03%)

Ages of pilgrims
30 - 60	102256 (57,47%)
< 30	50704 (28,50%)
> 60	24979 (14,04%)

Routes followed

Frances-Camino de	128869 (72,42%)
Portugues-Camino	21473 (12,07%)
Norte-Camino de	11819 (6,64%)
Via de la Plata	7698 (4,33%)
Primitivo-Camino	4889 (2,75%)
Ingles-Camino	2625 (1,48%)
Otros caminos	376 (0,21%)
Muxia-Finisterre	190 (0,11%)

No more tears in heaven

A lot of people wouldn't associate the words "heroism" or "nobility" with pilgrims. And yet I wonder if maybe all pilgrims who walk to Santiago are heroes? I don't know. All I know is that heroism is sometimes more obvious than others. On my own pilgrimages and in my time in the Pilgrims' Office I've met people who have walked with disabilities or had to overcome huge challenges. Recently a man arrived carrying his rucksack who had walked with one leg and a crutch from France. Other pilgrims are obviously ill. Sometimes we find out how ill they are. For some it is the last pilgrimage.
Often pilgrims arrive and the struggle they have made to reach the Tomb of the Apostle is etched on their faces. This can be true of pilgrims walking the 100 kms from Sarria as well as much longer distances. Maybe inside everyone's rucksack there is pain and suffering of some kind or another. But as in life some people are exceptional. I would like to tell you about two pilgrims. No pictures, no pack drill, and, as they say, some of the details have been changed.

I looked up from my desk after I had pressed the gadget which flashes the desk number on the screen above the door. A middle aged couple approached. Quiet and demure, neatly dressed in hiking clothes. I guessed they were Spanish. They stood there almost at attention whilst I introduced myself and asked for their credenciales. As they handed them over I sensed their seriousness. For many people receiving the final stamp and the Compostela is a solemn moment. I opened out their credenciales on the desk in front of me and it was clear that theirs had been a long journey. I noticed the first stamp and asked for confirmation, "Where did you start from?" "Arles, in France," was the reply. Now it is not unusual for us to receive pilgrims who started in Arles. It is however highly unusual for two Spanish people living in Spain to travel this distance from outside their own country. I said that I'd heard the route was beautiful and I asked how they had found walking in France. We chatted as pilgrims do about walking, the route, where they slept and so on. I explained I was applying the final stamp of the Cathedral on their credenciales and asked them to confirm their names which would go on their Compostela. The atmosphere changed to one of greater seriousness. "Sir," they said, " we have walked before and we would like a dedication on our Compostelas." "Of course," I replied, "In what name?"  I have learned that it is best not to ask anything about the dedication unless the information is volunteered. Sometimes the memory is too painful. As I wrote I kept my head down but the woman kept talking and the story emerged. "The name is that of our daughter. She died at the age of 10, 10 years ago. This is our 10th Compostela dedicated to her memory. Every year we have walked and every year we have needed to walk farther. This year we have walked farther than ever before. Now it is time to stop."

As I handed over their Compostelas we grasped each others hands. In that moment I saw the nobility of all pilgrims who walk with grief and pain yet have the courage to keep going because they walk with a purpose. Pilgrims also have a destination and this dignified couple had now reached theirs. A tear rolled down the mother's face which she brushed away saying quietly, almost to herself, "no more tears" as if saying it might make it so.

A line from a song in comes to mind. It too was born of tragedy:

 "There's peace I'm sure. And I know there'll be no more... Tears in heaven"




 

Time to squeeze lemons

Monastery at Oseira

This week saw the announcement that my home city of Glasgow still tops the list for having the highest death rate in the UK. As if that wasn't enough to cheer me up I looked out of the window at the rain clouds hovering over Santiago. I was also conscious that it was my birthday. Another birthday. Shhhhhh.  I knew it was coming and in reflective mood I've been re-reading some of Graham Greene's novels. The novels of my youth. Greene was very much in my mind when I visited the Monastery at Oseira during the later stages of my last camino. I found the place full of peace and exquisite beauty. So too did Graham Greene and he visited there regularly for many years. As I walked around the cloisters I remembered the effect his work had on me when I was younger. His great insights into the human condition. In his novel the Power and Glory he explores the frailty of an alcoholic priest and in doing so exposes the weaknesses of humanity and the institutions we build. Recently I've enjoyed again Greene's 'Stanboul Train'. This is the opus which established him as a great author. It concerns the struggle within us all, our ambivalence, between being realistic and being romantic. I remembered that Graham Greene lived until he was 87. The probability is he would have died 16 years earlier had he lived in Glasgow.

With these morbid thoughts in my mind I decided it was best to forget my birthday. Who wants to celebrate getting older? My friends however had other ideas and I couldn't refuse their invitation to dine at one of my favourite restaurants. It is called O Dezaseis (which means 16. The street number where it is located) and you won't find better Galician cooking anywhere, all served up in the loveliest of rustic surroundings - and the Menu of the Day is still only 12 euros. During the meal I had to put up with a battery of questions like, "What did you do during the Second World War? and "What was the Camino Frances like in 1958? I was more than compensated for the teasing by the excellent bottles of Godello, the type of regional white wine I prefer, followed by a rich deep red Mencia for the second course. By the end I had inevitably warmed to the whole birthday thing and although I was contemplating bed I was easily persuaded by the gang's late night plan.

Vaova Cocktail Bar, Santiago

Santiago it seems is changing and now boasts two cocktail bars which specialise in gin based cocktails. The bars wouldn't look out of place in London or Manhattan. Off we went into a land of ice cold glasses, cocktail shakers, 100 flavours of gin and the glamorous people of Santiago. Of course there wasn't a pilgrim in sight. This is another Santiago. Was it good? Well I enjoyed myself and it was a great laugh but frankly an oversized and overpriced glass with gin, tonic, a slice of cucumber, a vanilla pod and a rose petal isn't quite what the boy from Glasgow feels most comfortable with.

The next day naturally became a day of rest and recuperation. I was secretly pleased when I got messages from the younger people in the gang who appeared to be suffering more than me. Put it down to experience...or just getting older. Because you know it has its compensations. I find some of the changes a challenge. I am moving at a different pace now from the striving of my previous life. The keep-all-of-the-plates-spinning-at-the-same-time life. But I feel I am getting there. And of course a night on the tiles with the gang shows me that I can still do it. But I need that less and less. Other things are becoming important. Poets can express this much better them me. Take "A Poetic State" by Czeslaw Milosz:

"Things once difficult are easy but I feel no strong need to communicate them in writing. Now I am in good health, where before I was sick because time galloped and I was tortured by fear of what would happen next. Every minute the spectacle of the world astonishes me: it is so comic that I cannot understand how literature could expect to cope with it. Sensing every minute, in my flesh, by my touch, I tame misfortune and do not ask God to avert it, for why should he avert it from me if does not avert it from others?...I was impatient and easily irritated by the time lost on trifles among which I ranked cleaning and cooking. Now, attentively, I cut onions, squeeze lemons and prepare various kinds of sauces."