Oficina del Peregrino

Unidad Tagua, cumpliendo nuestra misión

Inma Tamayo

Los amigos del GRUP 7de9 – JOVES LA SALLE hemos hecho el Camino con mucho esfuerzo y mucha ilusión. Nos ha acompañado nuestro fundador San Juan Bautista de la Salle y nos sentimos con más fuerza para seguir nuestro camino de la vida.

GRUP 7de9 – JOVES LA SALLE

Barcelona

¡¡Bienvenidos!!

Este Camino nos ha abierto los ojos “a lo que no se ve”

Inma Tamayo

El grupo Scout La Salle, de Córdoba, hemos caminado hacia Santiago el 29 de julio, desde Sarria. Somos un grupo de 22 pioneros y responsables ilusionados y comprometidos con la vida.

Este Camino ha sido una experiencia inolvidable y nos ha abierto los ojos “a lo que no se ve”. ¡Indescriptible! Dios no nos ha dejado nunca, nos ha abrazado, nos ha dado fuerzas… ¡¡Hemos llegado!!

Aun así, “no es llegar sólo por llegar”, el Camino tiene meta pero el verdadero Camino empieza AHORA.

Hemos encontrado juntos nuestra misión: “Ser felices haciendo felices a los demás”.

Saint Thomas Aquinas Senminary in the way

Inma Tamayo

We started our pilgrimage in Saint jean Pied de Port. It was our first time. Thirty days of prayer, meditation, sufferings and jay.

Thank you for welcoming us so warmly.

Good bless you!

Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary

Winona, Minesotta. U.S.A.

'Amigos' Welcome Service in Santiago

www.johnniewalker-santiago.blogspot.com

Inma Tamayo

For many years there has been a perception that more could be done to welcome pilgrims to Santiago and to provide them with advice, support and information

This year the initiative has been backed by the Confraternity of St James in the UK and the Irish Society of the Friends of St James who recommended members and others as Amigos. Next year we want to invite other countries to join in developing the service

The Confraternity of St James in the UK and the Irish Society of the Friends of St. James supported and helped develop the idea that volunteer pilgrims could come to Santiago to live and work for two weeks to provide such a service. The aim is to welcome every pilgrim individually and to provide information and support to English speaking pilgrims. This new initiative is timely because although overall the number of pilgrims arriving in Santiago so far this year has grown as usual by around 6%, the growth in English speaking pilgrims is exponential:

1 January 2012 – 31 July 2012

Country	2009	2010	2011	2012	Growth
Australia	529	624	652	932	43%
Canada	1093	981	1116	1448	3%
Ireland	1144	1365	1413	2293	62%
South Africa	157	161	272	424	56%
United Kingdom	942	1085	1149	1950	70%
United States	1573	2021	2234	3978	78%
New Zealand	109	129	126	189	50%

The management of the Pilgrims’ Office was delighted with the proposed project. We decided to run the service on a pilot basis for 6 months from May – October 2012 and following evaluation determine its future. We called it the Amigos Welcome Service and we estimated we would need 2 volunteers for every two weeks period. The name “Amigo” really defines the role – to be a friend and support to pilgrims and we set out to recruit 26 willing pilgrims as the first Amigos.

We got almost 60 applications and these were assessed based on a number of criteria including availability and language skills. In the teams of 2 Amigos we have tried to link people who have good language skills in English, Spanish and often another language with those who have basic skills in Spanish. In reality this has worked well.

The new Welcome Service started at the beginning of May when Larry and Sean (pictured above) our first Amigos arrived and took up residence in the apartment which was to be their home for two weeks. Larry is a retired headmaster from Ireland and Sean is a computer consultant from England. Both are experienced pilgrims and their understanding of pilgrims' needs combined with their own talents for empathy and communication made them ideal Amigos Number One.

On their first day they were shown round the office and the domestics were dealt with as well as introductions to everyone. They spent some time seeing how the Office works and the way in which pilgrims are dealt with and data collected.

We then had a briefing meeting which was attended by Mari who coordinates the morning shift. We went through the FAQs I had sent in advance and then we had a session on the city map so that they could familiarise themselves with how to locate the main places which pilgrims ask about.

We welcome every single pilgrim often with a handshake and they leave with our “congratulations” ringing in their ears. We have an excellent supply of city maps to give to pilgrims and they very much appreciate the welcome and practical help they are receiving.

Now past the half way point many more Amigos have arrived and departed having left their own individual impression on arriving pilgrims. As each team has started work pilgrim numbers have been rising and at the moment around 1,000 pilgrims per day are arriving at the office. The office is open from 9am – 9pm and we have been trying to cover as many of these hours as possible. We already know that to do this effectively we need more Amigos in future years.

Sometimes there is a queue. The other day it went right up the street (see picture) when a total of 1400 pilgrims arrived. But unlike previous years when there were queues with pilgrims waiting for some hours with the help of the Amigos organising things on that very busy day no pilgrim waited for more than 45 minutes.

The Amigos Service has had a very good start. The atmosphere in the office and on the staircase is quite different. It is lighter. There is a lot of joking and laughter. Our words of "welcome and congratulations" are spreading. Goodwill is infectious.

In the last few weeks there have been instances where pilgrims have needed practical help - how to change a flight, how to get in touch urgently with another pilgrim, where to print a boarding card, where to buy a SIM card and so on. There have also been instances where pilgrims have been in tears just because of the kind words of an Amigo congratulating them on getting their Compostela.

As well as helping with rucksacks there have already been many occasions where their kindness and pastoral approach has been necessary and welcome. Cynthia an 83 year old pilgrim who walked from Sarria was greeted with huge congratulations on her arrival. Another pilgrim who had walked from St Jean Pied de Port to Burgos when physical problems prevented him continuing was profoundly disappointed not to receive a Compostela. The Amigos provided support. The Pilgrims’ Office wrote a letter of sympathy for his problems and of welcome to Santiago. Much help was provided as he changed his plans and contacted his insurers. Pilgrims helping pilgrims.

The staff of the Pilgrims' Office could not be more supportive of the project. They can see the power of pilgrims helping pilgrims as they witness the conversations on the stairs about blisters, and the weather and how good a poncho is compared to a rain jacket.

Don Jenaro, the Canon in Charge of the Pilgrims’ Office is delighted with the project. He said at the launch: "On the Way pilgrims greet each other with "buen camino!" now when they arrive in Santiago they have fellow pilgrims greeting them with "welcome and congratulations!".

In the first three months of the Welcome Service some 80,000 pilgrims have arrived.The vast majority of them have been welcomed by the volunteers. It is exhausting work standing smiling as pilgrim after pilgrim arrives, answering questions often in different languages and shaking hands with everyone. But the rewards are greater. At that moment when pilgrims arrived having walked many kilometres they need to be congratulated. They need to feel valued and support. That’s what the Amigos do.

Finally a word about how much it costs and how it is organised. This is a low cost – high impact service. The Amigos pay for their own transport to Santiago and home again. Some of them walked into to Santiago to do their voluntary work at the end of the Camino. Others have left to start walking. The volunteers also pay for their own daily living costs. The project provides a lovely apartment and a box of groceries with basic supplies every two weeks. The initial 6 month pilot period will cost less than 5000€.

Johnnie Walker

Santiago de Compostela

Johnnie Walker is a pilgrim and guide writer who lives in Santiago and works permanently as a volunteer in the Pilgrims’ Office where he is responsible for developing volunteer initiatives.

Gracias, Familia Claretiana por vuestro testimonio

Inma Tamayo

Hace unos días los peregrinos del grupo de Claretianos de españa, portugal y Francia nos dejaban su testimonio del Camino: http://oficinadelperegrino.blogspot.com.es/2012/07/claretianos-espanoles-portugueses-y.html y ahora nos mandan la foto que se hicieron a la salida de la Misa del Peregrino en la Catedral.

Gracias!!! y esperamos volver a veros pronto!!!

O traballo na Oficina de acollida ao Peregrino

Inma Tamayo

Entrevista publicada no xornal El Correo Galego a María Neira, unha das coordinadoras da nosa Oficina:

Traballadores e voluntarios da Oficina do Peregrino esfórzanse por recibir da mellor maneira posibles ós camiñantes que chegan a Compostela. Entre o 1 de xaneiro e o 5 de agosto, recibiron a compostela 105.359 persoas. En Radio Obradoiro, a coordinadora da oficina, María Neira, explica que no interese pola ruta xacobea teñen moito que ver "os libros publicados sobre o Camiño e a película `The Way´"

O tirón do Camiño de Santiago non ten discusión algunha. As cifras de peregrinos chegados a Compostela no que levamos de ano superan en máis de 6.000 ás de 2011, e tamén están por riba das do Ano Santo de 2004. Este luns, en Radio Obradoiro, a coordinadora da Oficina do Peregrino confirmaba que entre o 1 de xaneiro, e onte, 5 de agosto, recibiran a compostela 105.359 persoas.

Segundo María Neira, son dous os factores que poderían explicar en boa medida o interese crecente polas rutas xacobeas: "a publicación de varios libros sobre o Camiño de Santiago, e a película "The Way" de Emilio Estévez". Esta última, engadía, "fixo que se producira un incremento notable no número de peregrinos norteamericanos e procedentes de países de fala inglesa". Tamén lles chama a atención o aumento de camiñantes coreanos, debido neste caso "á publicación de varios libros escritos por unha surcoreana. Ademais, son peregrinos que veñen dende moito máis alá que 100 kilómetros, ó mellor dende Saint Jean de Pied de Port".

Os españois, recoñece Neira, somos un pouco máis vagos, "aínda que as cousas están cambiando". En xeral, "facemos o mínimo para recibir a compostela, 100 kilómetros, e a pé. Os holandeses e os alemáns, por exemplo, saen da porta da súa casa en bicicleta". O que é difícil é falar dun peregrino tipo porque "aparte de nacionalidades moi diversas, hai dende escolares que veñen co colexio, ata adolescentes, xubilados e familias". En agosto, explicaba, predominan os españois e os italianos. A motivación fundamental segue a ser a relixiosa.

O que máis lles chama a atención ós traballadores e voluntarios da Oficina do Peregrino é "a forza de vontade de moita xente". María Neira lembraba que a semana anterior ó 25 de xullo "recibín un pai de Sevilla que percorreu o Camiño de Santiago logo de facer un artiluxio para unir a súa bici á cadeira de rodas do seu fillo minusválido psíquico e físico. Ese mesmo día, unhas dúas horas despois, chegou un pai da República Checa, cre que procedente de Sarria, tirando da cadeira de rodas do seu fillo. Estas cousas fannos reflexionar". Recoñece que "é un traballo gratificante, e sempre tentamos recibir ós peregrinos dun xeito amable. Cando che din "grazas polo teu sorriso", un marcha contento para a casa e dúralle a felicidade varios días".

¡¡¡100.000!!!

Inma Tamayo

No es un premio de la lotería!!! Es el número de peregrinos que han llegado a la Oficina del Peregrino a recoger la Compostela. El número se consiguió, el pasado martes 31 de julio, cuando una familia francesa sellaba sus credenciales que les acreditaban el haber terminado su peregrinación. Han hecho el camino Portugués desde Ponte de Limia.

No han desvelado quién de ellos fue realmente el número 100.000, lo comparten en familia, como todas las cosas que han vivido durante el Camino. ¡¡Enhorabuena!!

¿…Y qué tal les fue? Aquí nos lo cuentan:

“Hemos recorrido el Camino Portugués con el fin de unir a la familia. Ya habíamos recorrido en familia los 250 km del Camino francés y nos había gustado mucho peregrinar juntos. Magnifico viaje, descubriendo peregrinos e intercambiando cultura

Gracias por vuestra acogida. El espíritu de la peregrinación quedará profundamente anclado en nuestros corazones”.

Familia Béjanin y Alice Coquema

El pequeño peregrino

Inma Tamayo

Dos familias de Bruxelas llegaron a finales de julio a la Oficina del Peregrino. Venían desde Irún en bicicleta, pero nuestra sorpresa y alegría la tuvimos cuando nos dimos cuenta de las edades de los hijos… el más pequeño tenía 2 meses. El resto de los niños entre 6 y 12 años.

Felicitamos a toda la familia pero de una manera especial a la mamá del pequeño peregrino!!! Si hace falta fuerza para hacer el Camino ella la ha tenido en abundancia.

Éste fue su testimonio:

"Ce pélegrinage fut une très belle aventure, qui nous a permis de cheminer á deux familles vers saint Jacques et vers le Christ. Le ciel nous a offert chaque jour le temps dont nous avions rêvé, des rencontres inoubliables avec les Espagnols remarquablement accueillants, et des paysages de toute beauté á Irún et á Santiago.

Merci Seigneur et merci saint Jacques"

Simon de Fautereau

Orar y Caminar