Only back 1 day and my heart is still there.

[AudTrekker]

I came back yesterday from 1 week on the Camino Frances and feel like my heart is still there. I had a feeling it would be special with all that I had read about it but it has got under my skin. I met such wonderful kind, funny and special people. I never expected the countryside to be so beautiful esp that last hour before Puenta la Reina walking through the fields of crops with all the wild flowers.
Hope all the people I met along the way who were continuing on to Santiago have a safe and wonderful trip.
I will definitely be back at some stage to continue on - of that I'm sure.

 

[LesBrass]

If t helps at all I've yet to walk and I'm already planning to walk again next year!

 

[mspath]

Glad that you enjoyed it!

Ultreia!

 

[Mark Schipp]

Hi Audtrekker
I walked that section today and am resting now in Puenta la Reina with a beer. A lovely day's walk, the crops and wildflowers are lovely, but I have a few blisters!
Best wishes,

 

[AudTrekker]

I am so jealous. Wish I was still there. I stayed in Albergue Jakue and the buffet was great.
Buen Camino.
Audrey

 

[trevorcc]

I have been gone nearly a year, back in September it has never left me.

Trevor

 

[AudTrekker]

I'm in work now and I can't stop thinking about how a lot of people I met are still on their way to Santiago. I'm glad you're getting the chance to go back.

 

[mauveglass]

It's been almost 2 years since I walked the Camino and I am still somewhat speechless when I'm asked about what it was like. There are still no words to describe what it meant to me. The feelings have never left. I'm planning to go again next May.

 

[petro]

I know the feeling. I'm back home after finishing my third camino, but my heart will always be on the camino!

 

[KentuckyJay]

I came back yesterday from 1 week on the Camino Frances and feel like my heart is still there. I had a feeling it would be special with all that I had read about it but it has got under my skin. I met such wonderful kind, funny and special people. I never expected the countryside to be so beautiful esp that last hour before Puenta la Reina walking through the fields of crops with all the wild flowers.
Hope all the people I met along the way who were continuing on to Santiago have a safe and wonderful trip.
I will definitely be back at some stage to continue on - of that I'm sure.

Six weeks since I finished my Camino and I feel the same as you.

 

[indyinmaine]

You never really "finish" a Camino.

 

[clearskiescamino]

I'm in work now and I can't stop thinking about how a lot of people I met are still on their way to Santiago. I'm glad you're getting the chance to go back.

I was just like you in May last year. I stopped in Leon while all my friends I had met walked to Santiago and beyond. Every few hours I checked up on how they were getting on, or if they had updated their blogs. I was still walking with them.
I am back in September

 

[pilgrim b]

Sounds like you lot have all caught it, the thing is you were warned before you went, this might happen, but still you went and want to go again then again. Well you do know there is no cure, so you may as well just join the club ! It's like telling alchoholics to try Fanta!!

 

[Chip59]

It really does get under your skin. I remember that feeling when your camino buddies leave you behind. I felt distraught at the time and still think about them four years on. Going back next week. Think I'm going to have to settle somewhere in the north so it's always close by. Run for the hills

 

[rcm]

Been back a month and sure do miss some of the people I met. I miss the walking but my toes needed a rest

 

[AudTrekker]

Sounds like you lot have all caught it, the thing is you were warned before you went, this might happen, but still you went and want to go again then again. Well you do know there is no cure, so you may as well just join the club ! It's like telling alchoholics to try Fanta!!

Pilgrim b, I've definitely caught it. Someone should have told me it was highly contagious

 

[jeffnd]

You never really "finish" a Camino.

Indeed.

 

[jillmom]

Finished in April, and still follow the forum every day. I am an addict.
Planning to walk the CP in April next year.
It's been the best thing I've ever done.

 

[CaptBuddy]

You never really "finish" a Camino.

Yep. Me too. We'll start our second Camino in September, almost 2 years to the day since arriving in Santiago, 2012.

 

[Texaloha]

I dreamed about the Camino foray least two weeks after my return. Decided to return next year

 

[LoneStar]

Hiked it this spring and thought once was enough...I was wrong. Hope to get back in 2016. Hiking on sections of old Roman roads, seeing Templar structures and all the wonderful people make the Camino one of the best places I've ever hiked.

 

[danielc]

Hiked it this spring and thought once was enough...I was wrong. Hope to get back in 2016. Hiking on sections of old Roman roads, seeing Templar structures and all the wonderful people make the Camino one of the best places I've ever hiked.

I know the feeling – did the CF in Sept /Oct 2013 – planning the do the Portuguese Camino in Oct 2014 – flights booked – cannot wait

 

[JohnMcM]

I came back yesterday from 1 week on the Camino Frances and feel like my heart is still there. I had a feeling it would be special with all that I had read about it but it has got under my skin. I met such wonderful kind, funny and special people. I never expected the countryside to be so beautiful esp that last hour before Puenta la Reina walking through the fields of crops with all the wild flowers.
Hope all the people I met along the way who were continuing on to Santiago have a safe and wonderful trip.
I will definitely be back at some stage to continue on - of that I'm sure.

And some of us met some very special people in that same very short time.

 

[teda]

I came back yesterday from 1 week on the Camino Frances and feel like my heart is still there. I had a feeling it would be special with all that I had read about it but it has got under my skin. I met such wonderful kind, funny and special people. I never expected the countryside to be so beautiful esp that last hour before Puenta la Reina walking through the fields of crops with all the wild flowers.
Hope all the people I met along the way who were continuing on to Santiago have a safe and wonderful trip.
I will definitely be back at some stage to continue on - of that I'm sure.

Dear unknown pilgrim...
My first Camino was in 2009 and I was surprised there are people who are going this way once again ( a second, fifth, tenth, etc)... I thought for me there is only this time and never more... Wow, I didn't know the Camino is like a drug, it addictive...
Since that time I am in Spain every year and every year I walk different path to get Santiago d.C. When I cannot go (because of my health) I am a volunteer in alberge...
There is no Life for me without Camino....

 

[gidivet]

I am very tempted to go back and walk a few days on the Camino in September 2014. I did SJPdP to SdC in the Spring this year and my feet are barely healed up. But my thoughts are on the Camino every day. I would love to see the autumn, because so many of the books mention it.

I can get away for just 8 days, which would allow 5-6 days of walking. The route will be determined by flights from London. So at the moment I'm considering flying to Santiago and taking a train from there to walk the last few days, or flying to Bilbao and taking public transport from there to the nearest point on the Camino.

 

[Scott Sweeney]

It was surprisingly difficult for me to readjust after my return. The walls in my house seemed a lot closer than they were when I left. Upon returning to do the Camino again I was quickly reminded of something my mother has told me "you can't step twice in the same river".
Where I have enjoyed each Camino, they have not all been as moving as the first. Now it seems the pilgrims are less the pilgrims and more those looking to be part of the fad.

 

[C clearly]

I wouldn't label the motives of new pilgrims as generally being part of "the fad." Can something not be worthy and appreciated if it is also popular?

 

[Scott Sweeney]

Absolutely! But if it has been since 2012 since you have walked and you are planning another Camino this year I believe you will notice the change in the people walking along side of you. One thing I have noticed is the decline in open spontaneous conversations, I met many wonderful people this spring but I can also say there was more rudeness and also less general compassion than I have seen previously. I do not want to imply that the people on this journey are not good people, but I feel, it is my opinion that many are walking just to say they walked the Camino de Santiago. Many many new trekkers that have not undertook something like this on even a small scale, this has lead to many more injuries then I have seen in past years, people walking only because they have seen a movie or met friends online. I am sorry and will be more careful with my wording if I sounded as if I was trying to explain or judge the motives of others.

 

[Scott Sweeney]

Hey this year I met Al the Optimist....so it was a very rewarding Camino.

 

[C clearly]

Thanks for the follow up. Since I'll be walking in the late fall, I'll miss many of the people who are perhaps more casual in their attitude, so it's easy for me to be tolerant of the masses (since they aren't there!) I've had debates with my husband about "fads" as a motive, so maybe I was reacting to that!

 

[Kanga]

One of the miracles of the Camino is that it actually does change people for the better. Not everyone, but many. Maybe people who are ready to change anyway, who knows. But it does. So I don't really get too worked up about initial motivation. I'm just happy to let the road continue to work its magic.

 

[Lindadev]

It's been almost 2 years since I walked the Camino and I am still somewhat speechless when I'm asked about what it was like. There are still no words to describe what it meant to me. The feelings have never left. I'm planning to go again next May.

I am also considering going in May. Did you chose this month purposefully or was it a choice of convenience? Also, are you going alone? You were alone the first time, weren't you? I have wanted to do this for 8 years and now that the time has come, I will be going alone and am wondering how you felt about it.

Thanks much,

 

[Al the optimist]

Hey this year I met Al the Optimist....so it was a very rewarding Camino.

Just seen this thread. So kind of you Scott. But hey we had a couple of good conversations didn't we? I remember thinking that the man in SDC was a lot more upbeat about things than the one I first met. Hope things are going well for you.

 

[Julio Gone Camino]

I came back yesterday from 1 week on the Camino Frances and feel like my heart is still there.

Been back approximately 22 days, 13 hours and 25 minutes (but Hey! whose counting!) since this year's 2 weeks, and I must confess to still being mesmerised by the memories - often to the point of distraction. On the one hand that's great: on the other, something of a nuisance, as there are still all the day-to-day responsibilities to attend to.

Don't worry, though: I'm sure it won't pass!

 

[k-fun]

I returned from my first Camino in 2011, and my heart is still there. Hardly a day goes by without my thinking about the Camino—it made such an impression.

 

[Carol06]

I have been back for over two years and my heart is still there.

 

[Dennis D]

One's heart never leaves the Camino. The day that I returned home, I washed all my Camino clothes and re-packed my backpack. It is ready to return in 2015. All I have to do is pick it up and go. My world view has changed and my life has never been better. Buen Camino

 

[Al the optimist]

No it never goes away. I am sitting here waiting for today's delivery of a lumbar pack! Still searching for a lighter and more manageable Camino. It's turning into a quest for the Holy Grail! But I have to do something to quell the between Camino blues somehow.