This picture is from a happier time that seems ages past, but it was barely a year ago that I walked the Camino Ingles again, because the route had changed, and I needed to see it for myself. I had planned to walk the Norte this year, but well, you know what happened, and Spain has been in “a state of alarm” for months. As of the 21st June, travel is allowed between provinces, and even to travellers from the Schengen region, and the UK.
The Camino opens with new rules and a new reality. It has survived the Moors, the black plague and Henry the VIIIth. It’s staying around, with all its ebbs and flows. But should you walk the Camino just because Spain is “open”? Spain has had a hard-fought battle to flatten the curve – it’s a difficult issue – open to tourism, and risk a second wave?
The questions to be asked are:
Are you carrying the virus in with you? Are you carrying the virus out with you?
Of course, this is a rhetorical questions for those of us from the US, and Australia. By all accounts, it looks like Europe is not welcoming tourists from the US, and Australia has virtually no flights out of the country.
The worrying fact is
The Camino Ingles is such a short camino that you may be totally asymptomatic, and yet infectious. If you have any doubts at all, stay home and go later.
Remember you are a pilgrim, not a tourist, and as such you have a greater responsibility. Stay safe, camigas and peregrinos.
I’ve added some links below.