There were thousands of updates waiting to be worked into Camino Ninja. By today we finally got them all edited into the database.
And we have updated more than 1000 prices of albergues, we have verified more than 2000 new photos, that you, the pilgrims, have uploaded.
Camino Ninja is app-to-date again đ
And for new accomodations, there is a new form that helps you bring your new hostel into the Camino Ninja app, within 10 minutes and for free.
After the sudden death of Andy, the developer of Camino Ninja, there were a few months of time, when nobody had technical and legal access to the Camino Ninja App.
From March 2023 on, the famous app is being continued by me, Peter Eich.
Besides being a pilgrim myself, I am founder of the german company Jakobsweg-Zentrale. Together with my team, we are running the leading German website about the camino, which is jakobsweg.de. We do also operate an online-shop for pilgrims, shop.jakobsweg.de, which is fulfilling way more than 10.000 orders per year. We do also employ several developers, who have been working on the app Camino Love (formerly called CaminoCamino), focussing on more than 200 different caminos throughout Europe.
This background enabled us to rescue the beloved and helpful app Camino Ninja.
Since there was no kind of manual left behind for us, we had to (and partly still have to) reverse-engineer everything about the Camino Ninja app.
This was a slow process, that took way much longer than expected.
But by the beginning of 2024 we finally brought the app back to both app stores of Google and Apple.
I have some deeply sad news to share from Spain. I am sorry to say that our dear friend Andy Max Jensen, AKA the Camino Ninja, or Ninja, has died. He was 49 years old. Andyâs body collapsed last week and his heart stopped in LeĂłn, it was sudden and unexpected and he didnât make it out alive. He loved what he did for the Camino and pilgrims around the world and he had plans for a good long life. It is the Caminoâs great loss to lose a Legend so soon.
Andy (1973-2022) was the creator, founder, and full-time programmer of the Camino Ninja App. He built it from scratch after walking over 20,000 Camino kilometers tracking routes all throughout Spain, France, and Portugal.
Andy was fierce, strong, quick-witted, and unexpected. Andy was also an advocate: friend, confidante, pilgrim, and fellow wanderer. He loved deep conversation as much as a good laugh. Andy somehow âgot itâ and never took life too seriously.
Andy loved lifeâthe adventure, always ready to challenge himself and the worldâhe was open to the deep intricacies of lifeâs perpetual and constantly shifting nature.
Andy was always ready to give the clothes off his back, the shoes off his feet, Camino tips and tricks, whatever people needed, if he had it he gave it freely. He was deeply giving and kind.
Andy was a computer programmer for over twenty years. Before that he worked in the music industry in Copenhagen. Andy captured memories in his photography, he had an eye for seeing the world. Andy is from Denmark originally but was a global citizen the past fifteen years, most recently spending his time tracking the Caminos in Portugal, France, and Spain.
And he lit up the world: his eyes spoke volumes and his friendly hug enveloped. Andy would walk for awhile, hear someoneâs story, listen, chat, share. He could befriend folks from all backgrounds and walks of life.
Andy had friends and fellow pilgrims he connected with from all over the worldâSpain, Korea, Italy, UK, US, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Mozambique, Brazil, Mexico, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, Canada, Japanâyou name itâthe whole world met on the Camino and for the past decade, the Camino was his world.
Andy built an empire from the ground up. He was a force to be reckoned with, yet also kind and empathic, a great friend to us all. He liked to see people happy and was deeply satisfied to know his ideas and work as the Camino Ninja made the journey a pleasant go for pilgrims along the Way. With 100 plus Caminos under his belt, Andy met people as they were, wherever they were at, and found great joy, love, and connection in conversation and friendship.
When in the zone, Andy didnât walk, heâd glide. There was a musicality to the way he moved, worked, played.
Over the last year Andy had grown consistently more recognized on the Caminoânearly every time he walked or took a pit stop there were excited pilgrims asking for selfies, happy to meet the Ninja. The app made people happy and he loved that. He took the effort to respond to each email individually and was adamant the app was free to all, businesses and pilgrims, with no advertisingâhe just wanted to make the best app that he could offerâlogical, streamlined, convenient, and functionalâthe app he wanted for himself the first Camino 20,000 plus kilometers back and fifteen years ago.
Andy never pushed the Camino to be a particular wayâeveryone had an individual journey, transformation, story, and challenge to face head on along the path.
He loved all of you and loved your stories, your moments together, your notes, suggestions, frustrations, walking extra kms or stopping early, walking through the night, eating meals together, detours, late night chats. He loved everything about the Camino experience, how it could make us all connect. So thank you for being a part of his world fellow pilgrims, it really brought him so much joy.
Please share your own stories, photos, and memories of Andy in the comments. If youâd like to add your pics with him to his Instagram, Facebook, or App please do. Please share videos, photos, memories, or comments here or via PM that you would like to be shared in his service from LeĂłn, Spain, details to be announced.
Andy loved the Camino, loved all of youâmade all of the hard work worth it. Thank you for being a part of his journey. He will be very much missed.
Andy Max Jensen (January 1973-July 2022)
New colors to make camino life a little easier and more colorful.
The colors allow you to easily see what is open or closed.
If you prefer to be completely offline, you can also see what is open on the Portuguese Caminhos and print the list here:
Porto – Valença:
https://albergueperegrinosporto.pt/theway
Tui – Santiago:
https://ideas-peregrinas.com/en/camino/
Your two trail-angels Carla from Albergue de Peregrinos do Mosteiro de VairĂŁo and MĂłnica from Ideas Peregrinas makes sure you are always updated.
Hope you like the colors!
Bom Caminho / Buen Camino
New offline Elevation Chart in the Camino Ninja App works faster and works without being online. If you have your GPS turned on it will show your closest location on the Elevation Chart. That is the green dot.
Scroll sideways to view the full selected route.
Enjoy and Buen Camino!
In January, just after the App was released, I walked Camino Francés. As usual in January there is about 70% koreans walking the camino. And they where all exited about the new Camino Ninja App. One Korean, Sunyoung Cecil Noh, even suggested to translate the App. So it happened.
I’m really thankful for the translation, and hope all Koreans will find it usefull. All you have to do is set your phone to Korean, if not already.
Buen Camino!
When I finished this this Januaryâs winter camino and arrived in Santiago de Compostela (in February), I checked in to this new albergue called Albergue SIXTOs no Caminho. I saw it last year when they were building it and it looked promising. So, I checked in, and already from the name (no caminho) I guessed it was either Portuguese or Brazilian owned. And I, and everybody else, got the warmest welcome from the Owner Orlando Sixto. Him and his brother Ramiro spend a lot of time making a really nice albergue and rethinking everything a little bit better. Orlando is also skilled with technology, and when he saw the Camino Ninja App, he was excited. And he promptly suggested to do a translation for all the Brazilian and Portuguese pilgrims. So here it is!
So if you see Orlando Sixto when you come to Santiago de Compostela, please say hi and thanks!
Enjoy, and Buen Camino!
Over The Air (OTA) Updates is minor updates being pushed out to your phone when you open apps. For the Camino Ninja App that is usually minor updates to routes, albergues, photos and functionality. Instead of updating automatically every time you open the App, it now automatically updates whenever you are on Wi-Fi and ask if you want to download and install updates when you are on mobile data. This is another data-saving feature. And it also makes sure you always have the latest updates, if you choose to.
You also have the option to check manually for updates.
Enjoy, and Buen Camino!
If you like to save battery when you have a lot of screen time, secretly making plans for the next day while everybody is sleeping in the dormitory or just look more Ninja with the new Dark Mode / Dark Theme features enabled in The Camino Ninja App. You are all set.
(Dark Mode requires iOS 13 or later)
1. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness.
2. Select Dark to turn on Dark Mode.
See the official guide for iPhone and iPad
(Dark Theme requires Android 10 or later)
Go to Settings > Display, then tap the Advanced drop-down menu at the bottom of the page.
From there, tap Device theme, then simply tap Dark from the pop-up dialog box.
From there, simply pull down your quick settings area and you’ll see the new white text and dark gray aesthetic.
See the official guide for Google Android phones
Enjoy, and Buen Camino!
New Year, new App and new routes. If you are planning your summer camino and are curious about the Portuguese ways, here are the most popular routes.
Caminho PortuguĂȘs Central
Caminho PortuguĂȘs da Costa (Official)
Caminho PortuguĂȘs da Costa (Senda Litoral)
Caminho PortuguĂȘs da Costa (Official) and Caminho PortuguĂȘs da Costa (Senda Litoral) have just been added to the Camino Ninja App.
Caminho PortuguĂȘs Central is also shown on the maps and starts in Lisboa (Lisbon). It is also in the App.
It has been quite a hassle getting the two coastal routes in the App. The official route is poorly documented, and so is the unofficial coastal route Senda Litoral. On top of that there is a lot of people and organizations having a influence on the routes, but very little or poorly documented official material. It makes it both more interesting, and for documenting more difficult. A big thanks to Oscar Miguel Andrade from Albergue Peregrinos do Porto and Associação dos Amigos do Caminho de Santiago de Viana do Castelo for helping with gathering information and picking the right information.
Go check it out, and Buen Camino!
