Together we have to make the Camino de Santiago a benchmark in sustainable tourism. We explain some tips that you can follow.
Although the Camino de Santiago has become a tourist phenomenon for part of society, especially thinking about religious issues, some continue to choose it because of the connection with nature it offers. Walking a large number of kilometers daily can be a very big effort, however it is also an experience since when walking we can discover all kinds of secrets of nature. For this reason and among all of us we have to make the Camino de Santiago a reference to sustainable tourism, so that many more people can enjoy it for years.
Despite the fact that all the municipalities and different organizations that are related to the Camino de Santiago have developed measures to protect nature, there are still things that we must avoid to make it more sustainable. The environment is the main protagonist in most of the stages that make up the Camino, so we must take responsibility so that everyone can enjoy this experience without taking a bad memory. If you have already chosen a Jacobean route and you are clear about the time of year when you will start your journey, keep in mind these tips on the Camino de Santiago to make it a sustainable path.
As many people already know, plastic waste is very harmful to the environment. In addition to taking longer to disintegrate, since they are not biodegradable, they accumulate and damage the habitat of thousands of animals that live in the wild. Controlling our consumption of plastics will make us generate less waste and thus avoid the amount of waste that can harm the environment, in addition to protecting the animals that live in it. Along the Camino de Santiago there are sustainable tourist products that pilgrims can buy, just as there are cloth bags that can be reusable.
We must be aware that we are not the only people who are doing the Camino de Santiago and that for this reason we have to take care of the environment around us. In addition to not polluting, we must not damage the trees and different elements that we cross the Camino, in addition to not taking anything that we find along it. We can take photos of all kinds of things that we find, to have a memory of that moment of our trip to Santiago de Compostela, thus keeping the experience alive without damaging the environment.
The Camino de Santiago attracts people from all parts of the world, so when we do it we can find a great intercultural variety. We must be aware of this and show our respect to all the pilgrims we come across during each stage, so that we can all together make a more sustainable Camino de Santiago. Not prejudging a person for their sex, race or religion and enjoying learning from other cultures is basic in the Camino de Santiago guide. Instilling values about sustainability and caring for the environment is also important.
The bottle of water is one of the essential objects for pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago. Although in specific cases we have to buy plastic bottles, to be more respectful with nature we should use recyclable water bottles. In the market there are a wide variety of them and, in addition to making the Camino de Santiago a sustainable form of tourism, they better maintain the temperature of the water so that we can cool off, especially on hot days.
Along the Camino pilgrims can generate waste that goes directly to a garbage or recycling container. It can be simply the container of a juice, a handkerchief or the fruit peel of an orange, among many other things that we do not need and that we want to get rid of. There will be many areas in which we will not be able to do it because they will be in the middle of nature, without bins or containers nearby, but we should not leave them in the middle of nature. To make a sustainable trip on the Camino de Santiago we must carry a bag to put all the remains, in order to conserve them and dispose of all of them when we find the specific containers.