Little Green Tracs

Camino de Santiago and the Via Francigena – A few years later

It has been just over four years since we walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. In that year, 114,377 walked or biked the entire network of Camino trails to Santiago, (nearly 100,000 along the famous camino frances route) and received their Compostela.  Another estimated 400,000 to 500,000 also traveled sections of the way but did not arrive in Santiago or they did not receive their Compostela.

The number of people traveling the Camino continues to rise steadily. Last year in 2010, being a Holy Year, saw 272,135 pilgrims arrive in Santiago.  There is no indication of the number of people that just simply walked or biked a section of the path but did not received their Compostela but a rough guess is that nearly one million did some or all of the Camino last year.

An interesting statistic is that most of the pilgrims are Spanish; nearly 70% - followed a smaller group of Germans, Italians and French. North Americans make up a very small percentage of those do the Camino

Another interesting statistic is that approximately 25% only walk the last 100 km into Santiago. Another 50% or so start somewhere in between Santiago and France for example. Very start in places like St Jean P. Port or Roncesvalles.

This year, the numbers have dropped but by early indications, 2011 will see approximately 180,000 pilgrims arrive in Santiago via the Camino, a 50 increase in just four short years!

With the movie, The Way released this year, staring Martin Sheen and produced by Emilio Estevez, one can only assume the number of people wanting to walk the Camino will explode in numbers!


/>Meanwhile in Italy Europe’s other great pilgrim trail the Via Francigena quietly grows in popularity. There isn’t the same level of official records kept as you see in Santiago Spain, but in 2008 when we walked the Via Francigena, an estimated 500 people arrived in Rome and received their Testimonium. More interesting was that only 1,000 people for the entire decade prior to 2008 had arrived in Rome. Therefore, you might conclude 2008 was a banner year for the Via Francigena!

Further, in 2010, some estimate that the number of pilgrims arriving in Rome has risen to nearly 1,000 people. And others estimate that maybe another 1,000 walked some section of the Via Francigena but did not arrive in Rome; an increase of 100 - 200% in just two short years!

However, these numbers are still less that those that traveled the Camino in Portugal, the Camino Norte, the Via de la Plata and Camino Primitivo in Spain in 2010. It is even less than those that walked the Le Puy route in France, the Via Jacobi in Switzerland and maybe the Jakobsweg in Austria and a probably a number of less known trails in Germany. 

Nevertheless, it is impressive in many ways.

Still, like the Camino in Spain, the majority of people traveling the Via Francigena are Italians and most travel that last 100 plus kilometers into Rome through Lazio. Only dozens of people walk the entire distance through Italy.

The Via Francigena in Italy in many ways is and remains today, an elusive, barely discovered, almost secretive trail.

Sillydoll, aka AmaWalker, aka Sil

In her own words, Sil once described herself as an overweight couch potato that quickly approaching midlife back in 1995. She could barely walk 2 km along the beach in her native homeland of South Africa let alone do much else.

Then starting that year, she embarked on a series of steps that would change her life.

In 1998, she trained and participated in the Capital to Coast 80 km Ultra marathon. In 1999, she walked 32km in the Cape Town Big Walk. Interestingly all the time she claimed after each event that this was the last time she would walk such a distance. Nevertheless, she plowed ahead. 

Then in 2001, she moved into the big leagues when she organized a 350 km walk for 10 people along the Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast in England.

Her resume of walks continued to grow. During the next 10 years, Sylvia completed a series of long distance hikes that included;
The Camino Francis in Spain 2002 (750 km)
The Via Turonensis from Paris to Spain in 2004 (1000 km).
Later that year, she walked the Camino Francis route from Sarria to Santiago and earned her second Compostela.
The Via Francigena from Lausanne Switzerland to Rome Italy in 2006. Along with four women from South Africa, they covered 750 km in approximately 4 weeks skipping the 200 km section that runs through the Po River, from Ivrea to Parma and another section from Pontremoli to Lucca.
The Camino Francis route in Spain once again in 2007.
The Camino Aragones from Lourdes in the south of France, crossing the Pyrenees at the Somport Pass and then continuing onto to Pamplona Spain in 2009.
Later she has also completed the Camino Ingles to Santiago and from Santiago to Finisterre.

Like her monikers, she has a half dozen blogs but her most common blogs are the following:
Amawalker http://amawalker.blogspot.com
VF Pilgrims  http://www.vfpilgrims.blogspot.com/
2009 Pilgrims http://2009pilgrims.blogspot.com/

Today, Sylvia Nilsen, sometimes known as Sillydoll, or AmaWalker, or just simply Sil, is a Camino junkie. Sylvia describes herself as a peripatetic traveler and self-confessed pilgrimage addict who is passionate about the Camino and about encouraging others to walk The Way!

Long Distance Hiker’s Trolleys

For the long distance hiker or walker needing to carry extra gear or food, or those wanting to lighten to load, a walking trolley is something to consider. We saw a few people using them on the Camino in Spain and more recently in Switzerland on the Jakobsweg.

Below are four examples of walking trolleys that are available in the marketplace.

From the Netherlands

The Wheelie III Trekking walking “dual wheel” trailer is an innovative alternative for a rucksack. It serves an ever-growing group of long distance walkers. With its contents of 60 liters and 40 kg load limit, it is an easy to handle heavyweight loads. One hardly notices the actual weight of the luggage because of the upright position of the bag. In hot weather, walkers will appreciate not having a sweaty rucksack on their back. https://www.radicaldesign.nl

From Australia

The Trackmate is a one-wheel trolley that will take the weight of the pack off your back, while still allowing you to carry it when necessary. The Trackmate has a single 250-mm wheel, which will roll happily over some very rough terrain. You can push it when the going is easy, and pull when it’s tougher. It is incredibly easy to balance and it puts almost no weight on your hands. Naturally, there will be times when the going gets tricky and you will need to pick it up (though in several months of testing we have found that this is not at all frequent). It takes a matter of seconds to fold up the handles and get the pack on your back. http://www.prohikeaustralia.com.au



From the USA

The Dixon Rollerpack is single wheel trolley, ideal for traveling on all established trails. Because of the wheel’s size and shape, it can easily go over rocky, sandy, muddy, terrain and even over snow with the ski attachment. The pack is also easier to put on and take off because it is lighter and lower to the ground. For those that are going on off trails adventures, the Rollerpack will convert into an external frame backpack in less than a minute. http://dixonrollerpack.com

From Switzerland

The Carrix trolley is designed specifically to carry your bag on your bush or track walk. Lightness, strength and reliability are the criteria for this unique and simple concept. As most of the load rests on the wheel, making for perfect load distribution, Carrix goes everywhere you want it to go, without weighing you down. With less strain on your back and legs, you save energy and enjoy your walk more. On your mountain walk, uphill and downhill, a shockproof Carrix can efficiently carry your heavy bag, negotiate bumps and endure the most punishing treatment on steep and rough terrain. For the climbing part of your trip, simply pack your Carrix strapped bag on your back. http://www.carrix.ch