Update

I walked from Paris to Santiago in 1998 and I wrote this book to share my experience so that intending pilgrims could get a sense of what it is like. Of course everyone's pilgrimage is a unique journey but there are some constants that modern pilgrims share with those who have walked this path in the past hundreds of years. Feet are still feet; blisters still need attention; bones will ache. Pilgrims are subject to the vagaries of the weather. They need food and shelter.
Since I travelled the camino the volume of pilgrim traffic has grown enormously. There are more refuges along the route but at times the demand for a bunk can outstrip supply. The technological revolution has gathered pace this century and electronic communication devices are commonplace so many pilgrims can now phone ahead to book a night's accommodation. Refuge wardens are helpful in this regard. There are more services for transporting backpacks and sometimes pilgrims need to avail themselves of this facility. I wonder what the medieval pilgrims would think of their successors.

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