Monday 27 September 2010

Leaving Sevilla

After again resting my feet in Sevilla, meeting with Qt had been a wonderful reunion. I sensed a difference in her that I suspected was not good for our Camino future together. But, being a patient soul I let her show me around the city she had come to know these past few days, for once becoming the leader of discovery. I have to say I really ejoyed the city I had never known, and there was plenty of things to see, experiences to have. The tapas bar on Via de la Constitution for example, was a real pleasure for both of us. Also during my time here, I was able to get the first of my postings on the blog, and the story underway. My Idea to have a live blog/story finally coming to life. Unfortunately for me, Qt has decided to change the direction of her travels at this time, in search of experience, less painfull on her feet, I suppose. This has robbed me, cruely, of my Typist. I was hoping that with her superior technical experience and fast secretarial skills, I would be able to get my story, as "LIVE" at a faster rate. Seemingly you readers will have to be more patient, as I can type about 18 words per minute, and what with Internet availability on the Camino, I will either have to walk slower, or learn to type faster.... It has been possible, and of course always is, to do less Camino per day and be able to write more regularly. This may not be possible everyday for various reasons, bet well hey.... this is the story which is writting itself, so I have no control over what it choses !!!

Good luck QT, on what you decide to do henceforth ....
And thankyou for sharing with me, ´til now, the ´Camino pequeno Andaluz`.

In my experience of life so far, it is more than evident that for good experiences to exist, then bad ones, must be their opposite. (As a concept, how can light be light, without the absense of light? We call this darkness.) I try not to be negative, seeing normally, good coming from bad on lots of occasions. In relation to the camino from Sevilla however, I have to make myself known on several points of dissappointment. I will be brief, as in the main the overall experience has been a wonderfully enlightening one.
Having walked previously from St Jean pied du port in France, on the camino Frances, I was overwhelmed by the attention to detail of the information and help available to the naive or uninformed. Whilst I admit myself here I did little in the way of preparation, in the gathering of information as to routes and distances from Sevilla onwards to santiago, I have found that little help or clear information is available by the usual routes. You cannot for example, get a credencial from the Cathedral. You have to go to a hotel, the Hotel Don Simon, in a street close to the Cathedral. You then have to be available, at the convenience of the priest to get a sello (Camino stamp) in your Credencial. Which is between 10am and 2pm.
The staff at the various points around the cathedral are rather uninformed, or clueless about what the Camino de Santiago actually is. (My personal experience) Based upon have a reasonable grip on their Langauge. and an attention to try to reason out with them I could not hang around ´til the following day for the stamp.
And of course, Gods house is not free to visit for pilgrims, apparently he needs your cash to install better security systems, in case you fancy taking something away with you, in your already heavy backpack !!!!
Even the tourist information offices are poor at helping with any directions as to how and from where you find, and follow the Camino out of Sevilla. And to add, the people of Sevilla who live and work here, seem to have no idea either where to find the Camino markings.

I am aware that to this end, many well informed guides have been created to assist you with these difficulties. Without one, like me, you will have to rely on some serious common sense and determination to find your way out of the city to the first markers. I found my first yellow arrow at Camas, several kilometres from Sevilla, and even then they were a little hard to find until Santiponce.

No comments:

Post a Comment