The longer I walk the frances, and the closer to Santiago I get, the more defeated I become. I’ve grown sick of the wide road. I’ve grown sick of the hundreds of pilgrims in every city along the way. I’m exhausted by the tourist traps. I wanted to come here to learn about leaving little impact. I intended to study agriculture while I was here. I can’t escape the feeling that I abandoned those goals in search of something else. Instead of trying to understand intricate agricultural prsctices, I’ve realized my desperate desire to first learn Spanish. It was foolish to think I could discover so much without a proper command for the language. My Spanish has improved tenfold, but most of that was not due to the Camino Frances. Ever since joining the frances, my only chance to speak Spanish seems to be ordering food from the cafés, and shirt conversations with the hosteleros. Most people on the Frances seem to have less of a command for the language than I do. I have a sense of regret that I can’t seem to change. I wish I would have taken another route. I wish we went right past Logroño up to the norte. I wish we would have taken a bus to Salamanca from Burgos. I would have missed out on some wonderful inter-personal connections with other people, but I would have felt less trapped by the Camino. The French route emminates tourism at its best. Most of the small towns here continue to exist solely for pilgrims to walk through and spend more money. The route has created a deep-seated dependency on pilgrims. It’s a sad truth of tourism. Spanish unemployment is through the roof, it would be foolish for them not to take advantage of the pilgrimage for a source of employment for these small plain towns. But the dependency takes away the hospitality. People here are friendly to pilgrims, but the rumors of farmers seeing pilgrims and stopping to invite them in for food and water has long been lost on this path. The frances is disenchanting, and I feel disillusioned by it.
We have shout 250 km to go, and I couldn’t seem to care less about walking this route.
I’m tempted to take a bus to the north or south, and seeing how close to Santiago I can get before the time is up. The Compostela has lost its importance. My stamps on my credentials have started to mean more than anything I could imagine.

My project has changed from my starting plan. Instead of the academic pursuit of rural development, I learned that true development comes from connecting with a community. So I’ve focused on Spanish studies, and placed a strong importance with interpersonal connections.

Update: Finished ranting, bought a tent. Will try to see if locals / albergues will lwt us set up the tent for free.