A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino Frances: From St. Jean Pied De Port to Santiago De Compostela

Rating:
Summary: not worth the time or money
Review: I attempted to use this book during my Camino of September 2003. What a big disappointment.

It is full of typographical errors and mistakes. This in the age of the spellchecker. The errors would have been forgivable except the carelessness is reflected throughout. Town names described in the narrative don't always match what's illustrated on the map. That kind of discrepancy can confuse and stress a tired caminante. Distances given are often grossly inaccurate. Waypoints are sometimes described out of position by extreme distances and sometimes attributed to the wrong towns entirely. You're left not being able to trust the book when you need it most. Many pages (between chapters) are left blank that could have been used to add usefull local knowledge and navigation clues. More detailed information would have helpful. In some cases the exact same photos were repeated on consecutive pages (in different sizes) to just fill space. Entire stretches of the trail are described in a single sentence when a 100 words would have helped navigate.

The maps only vaguely resemble what the trail's twists and turns actually look like. Critical information, such as highway numbers, is strangely absent.

This is a book that was designed to look pretty and provide spiritual content. It is not good for navigating the trail. With the ubiquitous yellow arrows marking the camino and the downloadable lists of refugios and distances, you have more accurate information at your fingertips than in brierley's book. Maybe the second edition will correct these fatal flaws.

Rating:
Summary: walking the camino
Review: I walked the camino frances from St Jean to Compostela this April/May (2004). Before I went I looked at a number of guide books and decided to choose John Brieley's book mainly because I thought he gave the best and most thoughtful advice about doing the walk beforehand in areas like how long to take doing it and what to take.

Unlike one of the reviewers I was then not at all disappointed using the book on the route. In fact it became a valuable companion for me. I liked the division of the route into 33 stages, which I did not follow religiously, but it gave me a sense of how I was doing as I had allowed nearly five weeks to do the walk

I found the book easy to use and especially liked the colour maps of each stage of the walk. I found they gave me a sense of the route which I did not find in other books and this was well backed up by the short description of the route for each stage which I found a useful overview. One of the best things about the book for me was the description of alternative routes which were not on main roads nor on the modern paths called sendas which John Brierley describes as "soulless" and which I entirely agree with him about

The other thing that commends this book to me is that John Brierley takes seriously the idea that the camino is a spiritual journey and addresses this aspect in his writing. I think this is very difficult to do without being overly self-indulgent and before I went on the walk I was not drawn to the accounts of another person's spiritual journey, but as I did the walk I found myself being drawn more into and interested in these accounts and, whilst I did not at times agree with some of the underlying philosophy of what was written, I felt that the accounts were written with a deep respect for and understanding of the spiritual nature of what the camino can offer and is a refreshing alternative to accounts that reduce the walk to a primarily physical challenge or a social event (such as in a recent article in the travel section of an english Sunday newspaper)

And although I think it is a bit hit and miss to offer quotes for each day as John Brielrley does....how do we know that this quote will be relevant for each person on that day?...I did find that one of the quotes offered had a profound effect on me at a later part of the walk

It is true there are a few small typograhical errors in the book but these are minor, not at all misleading, and detract in no way from the overall thrust of the book which is to offer an original and interesting guide to both the practical and the spiritual dimensions of walking the camino frances, what Paulo Coelho calls "the strange road to Santiago".

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Guide
Review: I walked the Camino in June-July 2004 and I found this book to be an excellent source. The primary drawback is its weight. When you're walking with a full pack, every ounce makes a difference. However, this book was worth carrying. I found the maps of the path to be completely reliable. The information provided on the villages and towns was quite accurate as well. At first, I found the format of the guide to be somewhat confusing. I read the guide before heading to Spain, though, and was quite comfortable with it by the time I needed it.
The book guides you day-by-day along the path at a reasonable day's walking distance. Included in each day's information are distances, in kilometers, from the starting point to the ending point as well as all the places you encounter along the way. A very valuable thing when you're exhausted and thirsty and want to have an idea how far it is to the next fountain or bar! The information on the albergues was not always accurate in the number of beds provided, usually estimating lower than the actual amount. However, this was a Holy Year, and I was walking to arrive on The Feast of St. James, which is a very major event. I'm sure that additional beds were provided for this reason...not enough beds by any means, though!
I used the companion guide for walking to Finisterre, and it was also excellent.
If you're planning to go on this pilgrimage, buen Camino!

Rating:
Summary: Fine guide, in color, frequent maps, trail profiles, photos
Review: This 15+ ounce guide is very pleasing to look at: glossy paper, colored photos almost every page, multicolor maps and trail profiles, parts of text set off by shading. It has the information the walker needs, where the refugios are, how many beds, alternate choices. There is an introductory section with introduction, overview, followed by the beginner's guide, and then a short history section. The main body of the guide follows, organized in 33 stages where each stage corresponds to a typical day's travel. Each stage has a map and a trail profile.

Its beginner's guide section is very useful - detailed equipment list, travel info, essential phrases in Spanish.

This guide also makes a serious effort to address the spiritual or inner path side of the journey. In addition to the map and profile, each stage begins with three paragraphs - the Physical Path - a narrative overview of the day's walk, the Mystic Path - to awaken you to the spiritual potential of the day's walk, and Personal Reflections - a quotation from the author's reflections. In each stage there is a page with blank lines for the walker to write in their own reflections. The mystic path, personal reflections and blank reflections page didn't work for me, but that is personal preference. I am very weight oriented, cutting pages out of books, edges off of maps, etc. when I travel on a journey like this. I would rather give up the self help section and have fewer pages, less weight and a little smoother reading flow in the guide.

The only real competition to this guide is Davies and Cole Walking the Camino de Santiago. Brierley's guide clearly beats Davies and Cole on appearance, and maps and profiles are much better. However, you pay for that quality with weight. Davies and Cole is a little more readable, and 10 ounces. Either one will get you there. I'd buy each ahead of time and make your choice. In total trip expenses it's a minor cost, and both have information you will appreciate. Also be sure to get the confraternity guide in the next paragraph.

When walking the Camino, the mandatory guide for English speakers is the Confraternity of St. James Pilgrim Guides to Spain I. The Camino Frances. This is a barebones 76 page guide focused on pilgrim food and shelter - how far is it, how many beds available, what does it cost. Supplementing this is the Camino chapter out of the Lonely Planet's Walking guide to Spain - about 35 pages.

The Camino facilities change from year to year, and inevitably publications will have typos and errors of fact. Do not rely on just one guide, and do future pilgrims a favor by emailing the publication's website if you find errors in the text.