A fall (2014) camino

[Thengel1]

I finished my camino back in early May. Since then, I have found myself thinking back on the experience a lot, and missing it. I was watching a series of video blogs about the camino, and I kept looking for places I recognized, sometimes remembering people that I associate with a place.

It’s funny, I almost quit after my first day, and seriously thought about stopping up until Estella. From Burgos on, I was taking pain killers every day after I stopped walking for my back. Sometimes it would take me several minutes to get dressed after a shower at the end of the day, because my thigh muscles were so stiff I was worried that they would cramp if I bent my legs too far(in order to step into pants ... this got better as time went on). But...

I could probably run a list of things I enjoyed about the experience, but if I get down to it, it comes to this:

I miss the simplicity of it. For five weeks, all I had to do each day was get up and walk.

And in truth, most of the problems I had walking would be greatly reduced if I just started out carrying about 15 kg less weight (on me, not the pack). Knowing the price I paid for carrying that weight, I don’t think losing it will be a problem.

So, a year from today, I will start walking again.

There will a few changes:

I will leave the camera and iPad behind. I took pictures and blogged the first time, I can’t see there being any need to do it again, and the camera in particular does put a barrier between you and the camino.

At this point, I am thinking of walking the Camino Frances again, though that may change. Even if it doesn’t, I figure I can make enough changes in my route that about 4.5 days will be completely new terrain (starting with taking the route Napoleon). Combine that with stopping at different places and taking a few detours. and the fact that I will be doing it in the fall rather than spring, means it should be a somewhat different experience. If nothing else, I will get to see what vineyards looks like in season, rather than the dead looking little trees I experienced in the spring.

On some level, this is more of a dream that something I can be confident will happen. There are a lot of obstacles in my way: Financial, health, logistics etc. But making a public declaration like this makes it a more tangible thing.


Glen

 

[mspath]

Glen,

"The end of one journey is simply the start of another. You have to see what you missed the first time, see again what you already saw, see in springtime what you saw in summer, in daylight what you saw at night, see the sun shining where you saw the rain falling, see crops growing, the fruit ripen, the stone which has moved, the shadow that was not there before. You have to go back to the footsteps already taken, to go over them again or add fresh ones alongside them. You have to start the journey anew. Always"
Jose Saramago, A Journey to Portugal

Good luck with your plans!
We all need our dreams in order to have our dreams come true.

Ultreia,

Margaret Meredith

 

[julie]

At this point, I am thinking of walking the Camino Frances again, though that may change. Even if it doesn’t, I figure I can make enough changes in my route that about 4.5 days will be completely new terrain (starting with taking the route Napoleon). Combine that with stopping at different places and taking a few detours. and the fact that I will be doing it in the fall rather than spring, means it should be a somewhat different experience. If nothing else, I will get to see what vineyards looks like in season, rather than the dead looking little trees I experienced in the spring.

Glen, do whichever route feels right for you at the time. Even if you walked the Frances at the same time as before, it would be completely different. The people you meet along the way will be different and that will shape some of your experiences but, more importantly, YOU will be different. The changes started the moment you began your research, continued when you set out and are continuing still. The next time you step forward, your baseline will have changed quite dramatically from that of your first pilgrimage. That can be seen already in your thoughts about weight, camera, blogging. Happy planning!

 

[WayWalker63]

I will be starting about the same time but due to time constraints I will have to start in Leon if I want to go all the way to SdC or start in SJPP and just walk as far as I get. Still trying to decide between these two options, but leaning towards the 1st one.
I've lost about 46lbs in the past 18 months with at least another 16lbs left to my next goal. It's been slow going but not too hard. My biggest help is using an app/website called MyFitnnesPal to log my food and exercise each day. Keeps me aware of what I'm doing and reduces the sometimes delusional mental calculations I was prey to. There are lots of these type programs out there usually free, MFP is. If you have a smartphone or a tablet they make it easy to keep current.

 

[taozenqi]

I finished my camino back in early May. Since then, I have found myself thinking back on the experience a lot, and missing it. I was watching a series of video blogs about the camino, and I kept looking for places I recognized, sometimes remembering people that I associate with a place.

It’s funny, I almost quit after my first day, and seriously thought about stopping up until Estella. From Burgos on, I was taking pain killers every day after I stopped walking for my back. Sometimes it would take me several minutes to get dressed after a shower at the end of the day, because my thigh muscles were so stiff I was worried that they would cramp if I bent my legs too far(in order to step into pants ... this got better as time went on). But...

I could probably run a list of things I enjoyed about the experience, but if I get down to it, it comes to this:

I miss the simplicity of it. For five weeks, all I had to do each day was get up and walk.

And in truth, most of the problems I had walking would be greatly reduced if I just started out carrying about 15 kg less weight (on me, not the pack). Knowing the price I paid for carrying that weight, I don’t think losing it will be a problem.

So, a year from today, I will start walking again.

There will a few changes:

I will leave the camera and iPad behind. I took pictures and blogged the first time, I can’t see there being any need to do it again, and the camera in particular does put a barrier between you and the camino.

At this point, I am thinking of walking the Camino Frances again, though that may change. Even if it doesn’t, I figure I can make enough changes in my route that about 4.5 days will be completely new terrain (starting with taking the route Napoleon). Combine that with stopping at different places and taking a few detours. and the fact that I will be doing it in the fall rather than spring, means it should be a somewhat different experience. If nothing else, I will get to see what vineyards looks like in season, rather than the dead looking little trees I experienced in the spring.

On some level, this is more of a dream that something I can be confident will happen. There are a lot of obstacles in my way: Financial, health, logistics etc. But making a public declaration like this makes it a more tangible thing.


Glen

What a cool new dream Glen. Hope it matures into the reality you need to nourish your soul. If it develops into the CF in the Fall of 2014, maybe our paths will share some common footsteps. All the best , Jim

 

[DawnsJourney]

Glen, I'm making my public declaration too. I'm walking my Camino in September 2014.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Buen Camino!

 

[DawnsJourney]

Waywalker, I love MFP!!

 

[WayWalker63]

Waywalker, I love MFP!!

Send me your email or Facebook address and I will friend you on MFP, if you would like?

 

[LesBrass]

Hi Glen - I'll be walking around the same time too... I'll be starting on the 15th September from SJPdP... and like a few others and yourself... I intend to shed some excess pounds before I start.

Happy preparations!