LIVE from the Camino Crisis...

[Derwen Rhys]

I am lying in a hotel bed 9 days out from St Jean. I have reached San Domingo. It has been weird and wonderful. I am a bit of a loner normally; I have been talking to myself a lot as I go along. I wanted to go home 15 minutes out from St Jean. Then when I crossed the Pyrenees I felt great. In these few days which seem like weeks already I have started to feel things I didn't expect. Saying im a loner is different to admitting you're actually lonely. I have walked and been overwhelmed by the flowers and birds; heartbroken with the strays. I wake up every morning and think "Okay I'll go another day." Today I felt OK. Very thoughtful and to be honest a bit tearful. Then this evening something happened which threw up a lot of old insecurities. I have tried to book a ferry from Santander for Wednesday and now I am lying here feeling crap. Perhaps some people just don't make it. Perhaps people like me.

 

[Phillypilgrim]

Hi Derwen,
I am not sure I can help. But, 8 days into the Camino Frances I woke up with a feeling that the novelty had worn off. I had to dig deeper. It is a process, walking for so many days. It is not all good every day. One day at a time is the best approach. It is a challenge, that you have taken on. Try a little longer, see what happens. It is okay to feel sad, lonely, as well as overwhelmed by the beauty. Hang in there, and keep talking to us! Buen Camino.

 

[norelle]

I can recommend staying at Granon - and you are so close right now. Maybe have a short day tomorrow, stay at Granon and see how you feel. Trust the camino and trust yourself.

 

[bystander]

Derwen,

It’s not a “must do”
It is not a trial of strength, either mentally or physically.
There is no real destination, mentally or physically.
There is no “succeed” nor is there a “fail”.
It is in someway a long look into a mirror with no reflection.
It trips you up mentally.
Your points of reference are suddenly gone.
You are on your own in a very strange way.

I can remember the first time I went on long yacht journey.
After a few hours we were out of the sight of land.
I began to feel very disoriented, physically and mentally.
I wanted out.
But there is no out when on a yacht in the middle of the English Channel.
I lay below decks alone and thought “What an idiot, what have I done, what have I committed myself to?”
Time, some hours, passed.
I came back on deck and could just make out the outline of the coast of France.
And with that outline self-confidence and self-belief came flooding back.
I was going to make it.

Since then I have made many journeys “out of the sight of land” and I don’t just mean sailing journeys.

I know I can’t persuade you to continue nor would I want to.
I just give you the above as a personal example.

Take heart, my friend, take heart.

 

[dougfitz]

I experienced something pretty similar. If there was an airport at Castrojeriz, I would have been out and on my way home. There wasn't, so I walked the next day, and the next until I walked into Santiago. Its not a perfect answer, but you already seem to know the pattern - walk today, but don't feed the demons that don't want you to walk tomorrow.

 

[Kanga]

Derwen, as you can see, there are many of us supporting you. I agree with all the wise words and experiences others have expressed. We are your cheer squad and will support whatever decisions you make.

My contribution is very small but might help. When bad stuff happens to me on Camino (and it does to everyone; the Camino is part of life) I walk away from it, literally and physically. In my case it is usually a rejection or judgment by someone. Always leaves me floundering. So I walk to put it behind me. It can be a great help to put into bodily actions what my logic tells me is the best way to deal with something I cannot change.

Go well, friend. May the staff of St James give you strength.

 

[SkuDah]

I am lying in a hotel bed 9 days out from st jean. I have reached San Domingo. It has been weird and wonderful. I am a bit of a loner normally; I have been talking to myself a lot as I go along. I wanted to go home 15 minutes out from st jean. Then when I crossed the Pyrenees I felt great. In these few days which seem like weeks already I have started to feel things I didn't expect. Saying im a loner is different to admitting you're actually lonely. I have walked and been overwhelmed by the flowers and birds; heartbroken with the strays. I wake up every morning and think " okay ill go another day." Today I felt ok. Very thoughtful and to be honest a bit tearful. Then this evening something happened which threw up a lot of old insecurities. I have tried to book a ferry from Santander for Wednesday and now I am lying here feeling crap. Perhaps some people just don't make it. Perhaps people like me.

Derwen, good luck with whatever decision you end up making - whether you continue tomorrow or go home - perhaps the meaning of your Camino is about to unveil itself at this point. Take care.

 

[StuartM]

I ended up on the Camino through my own crisis. I remember lying in a bunk in Rabanal surrounded by people and feeling more alone in the world than I had ever been. It was probably one of the lowest points of my life and definitely one of the most painful.

The Camino is sneaky, the next was possibly one of the most uplifting days I have experienced.

You never know what is round the corner.

No-one can tell you what to do. You need to listen to yourself. But I was there too and I realised many things. I knew if I stopped then I'd have to go back to the real world I was running from. I'd be doing that having not found my answers. I'd have not made it to Santiago and would have to live with that. I'd never know what was round the corner and that I'd rather be miserable in a beautiful part of Spain than miserable in the bomb site of my real life.

Do whatever is right for you.

 

[MKalcolm M]

A few days into the camino everything hurt. If I had to describe my experience in one word it would have been "painful", but I kept going. After two weeks I began to enjoy myself, and one evening I heard a voice in my head saying " I hope this camino goes on for ever". Don't give up yet, there will be good times ahead.

 

[Derwen Rhys]

5.15am and I am going to walk. Thank you, each and every one of you for all your thoughts. I feel miserable, and foolish...but I'm going to walk. I usually crash about at times like this, dramatic and then regretful. So I will walk today and see where I go.
Thanks again, Derwen

 

[hampshire!tim]

Hi Derwen

I had a similar crisis when leaving Burgos. As others have said, only you will know what is right for you.

Camino gave me a deeper insight into "living for/in the moment". The doubts and uncertainties often come from self-talk, internal dialogue of one type or another.

What helped me was stopping the self-talk. Don't deliberately replace it with anything. You can't force enjoyment. Just seek to experience what's around you without judgement or analysis or interpretation. Soon I was enjoying the journey, and in a much deeper way than before. And now looking back, I am so glad that I had the experiences from later in the Camino, as well as the early ones. I even am glad of "that Burgos moment".

Glad to hear you're walking again, whatever you decide over the rest of the journey will be right for you.

Buen Camino

 

[Thomas1962]

To me the Camino feels like a quadrupling of life. Feeling high is much more intensive than in normal life, and feeling low can feel much lower. Both can switch extremely quick, from hour to hour. In the end, I do feel like my life intensifies, so much, which gives me the power to go all through it.
I wish you experiencing the same today.
Go well!

 

[Al the optimist]

May the support of your fellow forum members and the presence of fellow pilgrims help you make the correct decision each day. Whatever you do remember how weird and wonderful it has been so far. May the thought of what vistas, events and people you have yet to meet sustain you. Whenever you decide whatever, no one and nothing will ever remove what you have achieved and experienced. For this very reason nobody's Camino is wasted time and no Camino is a failure. Buen Camino. My prayer's, and I am sure those of others are with you.

 

[lettinggo]

Hola

So many good advices and comforting and reflective responses to your current thoughts.
One thing I have come to know and which helps me at difficult situations is, that all emotions are temporary.
Which ever emotion you are experiencing it is only a matter of time before it will change into a new.
So when I feel low I take a break. Sit and focus on being at the present.
Let some time pass by and normally it results in having a clearer view on my present situation.
As it has been said, the Camino is not a test nor something which should be continued if one feels it is time to do something different.
But patience is one action which can result in overcoming obstacles as well as creating renewed perspective.
It sounds to me that your camino is giving you new knowledge about yourself and can thus never be a failure.

Buen Camino!
Lettinggo

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Derwin,
I am glad you woke up able to walk on, at least for today. The Camino can have times when you have to confront yourself in loneliness- and maybe in hindsight you will be glad for these painful insights. Whatever you decide, whether to continue walking, or to stop, I wish you all the best. Buen Camino- and maybe the feet of the millions of pilgrims who have walked before you will urge you on a little longer.
Margaret

 

[Derwen Rhys]

I have taken something from all of you today. The weather has been good Welsh weather and I just walked off the Brierly. I am in Villafranca. I feel I have broken through an old pattern. I have never completed a journey in my life. Today I did dig deeper and I feel more of a man than I have in years.

Strange it is overcast here and the villages I walked through today have been overcast... a palpable sense of poverty and stress. Many of the towns would shame Britain with its dirt and rubbish but today a layer came off and I saw a bit deeper. I do feel I have been here for weeks. Time has no real meaning. I have taken my watch off and it's just so freeing. I have found a wonderful lady with rooms..spread the wealth... and I will walk again tomorrow.

As I left this morning at 6am the receptionist unlocked the door for me . "Where is the Camino?" I asked him. "Right outside. Just keep going" was his answer. Thanks all of you. I'm sure it's not the last time I will call for help. Derwen

 

[ksam]

"Where is the Camino?" I asked him. "Right outside. Just keep going" was his answer.

Love that one line there!! Derwen, you and all the pilgrims on the way are thought of by all the Pilgrims who've gone before you. And the ones waiting in the wings, yet to walk. I know that connectedness helped me on some of "those" days. Pilgrims really are never alone out there on the way. Buen Camino.

 

[xin loi]

Always kept telling myself, "If Neil Armstrong could walk to the moon, I can walk the Camino". Gets much easier as you go along! Another vote for stopping at Granon--best people on the Camino. Hope you are not staying in Hotels every day; get into habit of meeting people in Albergues. Trip is easier with friends and if you even possess minimum humanoid features and can speak like Tarzan , you will find friends walking the Camino.

 

[amorfati1]

One can meet plenty of people, loner or non-loner, on the Camino. But most of all and surely: you meet yourself.
Hurray for you to keep on going outwardly and inwardly ... one step at a time. It is helpful to view whatever state one is in, not as an absolute.
It all passes.... And, as I often told myself in life: Everything has an expiration date, just like yoghurt -

and indeed: "the Camino is right outside - just keep going."

 

[t2andreo]

"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be GLAD...Oy!"

Last year, I lifted this from Psalms 118 as my marching "ditty." The "Oy" at the end is to complete the 8-count when you are hiking left, right, left, right. It got me through many a wet, rainy, snowy and muddy day, both last year and this.

I took the filler as the first part of an old Yiddish phrase that goes like this (phonetically): "Oy vey iz meer." Translated (and correctly spelled) it means something like "Oh woe is me!" So the "Oy" bit is just the filler word "oh."

Anyway, I suffer from life-long depression and it (with complications) eventually cost me my professional career - I had to retire early. But, it ended up with me on Camino for the first time last year, and again this year. So, it is all good!

You are experiencing the same, EXACT, feelings that many, MANY other pilgrims have felt and do feel. I felt that way for the first two weeks on both my Camino Frances pilgrimages.

I have just a few suggestions:
1. Continue to rely on all of us here to support you, albeit from a distance.
2. Talk to other pilgrims. As appropriate, share your feelings. You will find you are NOT alone and others share your angst.
3. Take one day at a time, and do not plan more than a couple of days in advance.
4. Open yourself to new people, new ideas, and new experiences. You will have the time of your life.
5. Just put one foot in front of the other each day, repeat as needed. Stop when you reach the Cathedral in Santiago.

Also, if you are Catholic, Christian, or just curious, DO try to attend a nightly pilgrim Mass at any local church, in any village or town. They are usually celebrated at 20:00 (general rule) and are in Spanish. Ask at the albergue or check for a sign or notice on the church door.

You can FEEL the comradeship and compassion. I have met many non-Christians on Camino who tell me they feel much better after attending. No one is trying to convert or change you. Simply being in the presence of others with a shared situation and a common goal - Santiago - makes a huge difference in one's spirit.

Plus, people have been walking this pilgrimage for over 1,200 YEARS! there is a lot of history and splendid art and architecture in most of these tiny churches. Many people do not know, or forget that in the 16th century (1500 - 1599) Spain was the most powerful nation on Earth. It produced the riches to demonstrate it, and much of it ended up in these churches.

I wish you fair weather and a gentle breeze. I hope this helps. Be well!

 

[indyinmaine]

From Stuart M -
"The Camino is sneaky, the next was possibly one of the most uplifting days I have experienced.
You never know what is round the corner."

Listen to the Camino. It will tell you amazing things. Go to Granon at your own pace. It's a very peaceful place.

 

[Mary Enright]

I can recommend staying at Granon - and you are so close right now. Maybe have a short day tomorrow, stay at Granon and see how you feel. Trust the camino and trust yourself.

I also was miserable 8 days into my camino. Granon was a healing place.

 

[Steeltown Pilgrim]

Try to hang in there. There will be many fabulous days coming your way.
Best of luck, my friend.

 

[CatherineAnn]

I have taken something from all of you today. The weather has been good Welsh weather and I just walked off the Brierly. I am in Villafranca. I feel I have broken through an old pattern. I have never completed a journey in my life. Today I did dig deeper and I feel more of a man than I have in years.

Strange it is overcast here and the villages I walked through today have been overcast... a palpable sense of poverty and stress. Many of the towns would shame Britain with its dirt and rubbish but today a layer came off and I saw a bit deeper. I do feel I have been here for weeks. Time has no real meaning. I have taken my watch off and it's just so freeing. I have found a wonderful lady with rooms..spread the wealth... and I will walk again tomorrow.

As I left this morning at 6am the receptionist unlocked the door for me . "Where is the Camino?" I asked him. "Right outside. Just keep going" was his answer. Thanks all of you. I'm sure it's not the last time I will call for help. Derwen

I got teary eyed when I read your first paragraph. So happy you kept going and made it another day. I was just thinking this morning as I was tending my garden that I wish I could recreate the blissful feeling I had while on the Camino. It's possible, if you keep going, that you will have the greatest adventure of you Life! Whatever you decide, you will always have the feeling of today.

 

[staciesthings]

About 7 - 10 days in....I was ready to give up.... After a while it became part of my life. Waking up, putting my backpack on and going for it...All the way to Santiago. I completely had a meltdown in carrion and the next day I met the most wonderful person.... right place right time. I walked alone most of the time. Know that there are many who have had very similar feelings. You are not alone.

 

[paddycreaven]

I am lying in a hotel bed 9 days out from St Jean. I have reached San Domingo. It has been weird and wonderful. I am a bit of a loner normally; I have been talking to myself a lot as I go along. I wanted to go home 15 minutes out from St Jean. Then when I crossed the Pyrenees I felt great. In these few days which seem like weeks already I have started to feel things I didn't expect. Saying im a loner is different to admitting you're actually lonely. I have walked and been overwhelmed by the flowers and birds; heartbroken with the strays. I wake up every morning and think "Okay I'll go another day." Today I felt OK. Very thoughtful and to be honest a bit tearful. Then this evening something happened which threw up a lot of old insecurities. I have tried to book a ferry from Santander for Wednesday and now I am lying here feeling crap. Perhaps some people just don't make it. Perhaps people like me.

Derwen, I walked April 2013, for the first week I walked with a huge silly grin on my face, loving every minute. By the time I hit the Meseta I was quite low, feeling very alone at times and separated from the world. I came to realise that this was OK too and was part of life/Camino. I came to accept and rejoice in this time... An opportunity to be with my insecurities and loneliness, and not avoid them as I normally would. By the time I got to Galicia, things had really improved but my Camino ended abruptly in O'Cebreiro in excruciating agony. I lay on a floor for three nights and days hoping my back spasms would improve to no avail, so I left for home.
A lot of people sympathised that I had not finished the Camino, and I didn't really want to belabour the fact that I was OK with my journey... this was the way my Camino was meant to be.
Be with the flowers and the birds.... Give time to your thoughts and insecurities ... Don't stop the tears.... You are exactly where you are supposed to be at this moment... And if you are in an airport tomorrow heading home, then that's where you are supposed to be .... There are friends, help, support from whatever or whoever you believe in, all around you... Open your heart to them,,,,
Buen Camino my friend

 

[jennie]

Nothing wrong with being a loner if that's what you want , better to be alone and content than be with a person or people that make you feel bad, however on the Camino you are likely to meet people that are good for your heart and soul. Try to be open for chats knowing you can move on if it s not comfortable for you, best of luck from me in Ireland keep us posted. I am hoping to travel in September.

 

[CelWilliams]

I am lying in a hotel bed 9 days out from St Jean. I have reached San Domingo. It has been weird and wonderful. I am a bit of a loner normally; I have been talking to myself a lot as I go along. I wanted to go home 15 minutes out from St Jean. Then when I crossed the Pyrenees I felt great. In these few days which seem like weeks already I have started to feel things I didn't expect. Saying im a loner is different to admitting you're actually lonely. I have walked and been overwhelmed by the flowers and birds; heartbroken with the strays. I wake up every morning and think "Okay I'll go another day." Today I felt OK. Very thoughtful and to be honest a bit tearful. Then this evening something happened which threw up a lot of old insecurities. I have tried to book a ferry from Santander for Wednesday and now I am lying here feeling crap. Perhaps some people just don't make it. Perhaps people like me.

On my first Camino in September 2013 I quit 22 times the FIRST day. The second day I only quit 14 times. I quit numerous but fewer times for the first 7 days. I would tell myself that when I arrived at my hotel that afternoon (for medical reasons I did not stay in the albergues) I would go online and make airline reservations to fly to London for a week, then a week in Berlin, a third week in Athens, and a final week in St. Petersburg, Russia, looking at great works of art in air conditioned comfort until I had to fly back to Madrid to catch my flight home. After showering and resting for a few hours I would pick up the map to see where I was walking to the next day. I have always considered myself a loner but on the 8th day I met my Camino family. Having people to walk with or to meet for dinner in the evening made it easier for me to continue each day thereafter and I did make it to Santiago. I am going to walk the Portuguese route next year. I expect that I will quit many times the first week or so. And that's okay. If I finish. Great. I will do my best and decide each day whether to continue. It's worth it to me just to take the first step.

 

[Marita L]

I remember a couple of crises on the Camino when I just did not want to be there. And I remember talking to my nephew the first time I reached Santiago and he told me it was impressive I had been able to motivate my self to walk such a long distance. Not until then did I realized my only goal had been to walk to the next village, until I reached the point where I stopped thinking about it. I just took my backpack and my boots and went on with it. The Camino is hard sometimes and just wonderful other times and I'm going back for the third time in September . Just remember we are all walking our own Camino. It is your Camino whether you walk 8 or 80 kilometres of the way to Santiago. And you made it! Buen Camino

 

[Danielle Fisher]

I have been walking a month in 2 days, last night was the first time I cooked with other people. I mostly walk solo, and I have spent the last week crying to myself.....then I got to Leon....I said screw you budget and I had gelato, a non pilgrim dinner and a cocktail....then as I walked the next day I walked with someone for almost a whole day (first time on the whole camino) we talked and talked..... I came across an Albergue in Hospital De Orbigo (Albergue Verde) that reminded me of home.....next I found my first Aussies who were staying in the same Albergue, I felt I could have a proper in depth convo.....now I feel a lot better!!! The Camino provides.....I'm a loner, I was never lonely.....if you're stoked on nature (like I was) you'll see some awesome stuff, don't race and don't worry if you're not making BFFs for life....sometimes the loners are having a better time being true to themselves than those who are the life of the party and everyone's best friend.....Buen Camino xx

 

[mauveglass]

I walked the Camino in 2012. I continue to realize that the lows were absolutely just as important as the highs, even though it didn't feel that way at the time. Both taught me so much about myself.

 

[StuartM]

I feel miserable, and foolish...

That's a feeling I got familiar with. People, guys especially, always worry about making a fuss of themselves. It took me a long time to learn it but what you're really doing is looking after yourself and asking for help and there is nothing to feel foolish about.

On my first Camino in September 2013 I quit 22 times the FIRST day. The second day I only quit 14 times. I quit numerous but fewer times for the first 7 days. I would tell myself that when I arrived at my hotel that afternoon (for medical reasons I did not stay in the albergues) I would go online and make airline reservations to fly to London for a week, then a week in Berlin, a third week in Athens, and a final week in St. Petersburg, Russia, looking at great works of art in air conditioned comfort until I had to fly back to Madrid to catch my flight home. After showering and resting for a few hours I would pick up the map to see where I was walking to the next day. I have always considered myself a loner but on the 8th day I met my Camino family. Having people to walk with or to meet for dinner in the evening made it easier for me to continue each day thereafter and I did make it to Santiago.

Not dissimilar to my experience. I remember walking up the hill to O Cebreiro thinking "what the hell am I doing this for? I could be on a beach in Ibiza or partying myself silly in Barcelona...". And in the back of my mind was the answer, "yea, and you'll never make it to Santiago". I never knew why but making it to the end suddenly became important to me. Everything else will always be there, the Camino at that particular moment in time only exists for as long as you're walking. I never met a family as such (and to be honest, I'm really glad I didn't, the idea makes me feel claustrophobic) but I did make a hell of a lot of good friends and we drifted in and out of each other's lives along the way.

At one stage I was wondering what the point of it all was. I'd met a lot of great people who had really put me back on my feet again (excuse the pun) but I was feeling a bit down because I didn't feel like I was making a difference to anyone else. I'd spent a lot of time with a girl I'd met somewhere around O Cebreiro, she really wasn't into it at all and every day was talking about quitting and hitching home. I lost touch with her for a while (kind of deliberately, we were falling for each other and I was technically still married) but I saw her again in Santiago. She thanked me because she said if it hadn't been for our talks she'd never have continued. So... just when you think there is no point in being there if you're lucky then you get to find out why. Even if you don't ever find out, that buen camino that you said or bar of chocolate you donated or whatever may have had monumental significance to the other person.

I'm glad you're continuing and probably at least one other person along the Camino will be glad of it too. You just may never get to know.

 

[MoniRose]

On day ten I froze on the path and could not take one more step. Tears streaming, I asked God "Why!? This is too hard to do and not know why!"
The response? "Just take one more step." It was my most difficult step on the Camino. I didn't know where it would lead, but I took it. Then another, then another.
So I say to you, just one more step. Don't worry about where it will take you; maybe Santiago, maybe home. It doesn't matter. But just take one more.
You are not alone. -Monica

 

[GITA7759]

Derwen, I want to offer my support. Your questions are the questions of every true pilgrim and I hope you continue to choose each new day from the heart of your inner most truth. Buen Camino y Ultreia...

 

[StuartM]

Reminded me of an article I read a while ago... doubts happen to the best of us: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/oct/19/andrew-mccarthy-camino-de-santiago

 

[Jnlee99]

I am lying in a hotel bed 9 days out from St Jean....

Hope you ride though the peak and valleys of Camino, both mentally and physically. Good luck, and I pray that your walk becomes an awesome memory of your life's milestone.

 

[Metropolly]

What a lovely thread! What started with a cry of despair seems to have brought out the very best pilgrim spirit in so many on this forum. It makes me want to fly out there right now and revel in it all over again!

 

[bystander]

Reminded me of an article I read a while ago... doubts happen to the best of us: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/oct/19/andrew-mccarthy-camino-de-santiago

What a great link,
What a great article.

 

[sriyantra]

What a great link,
What a great article.

"I needed no validation, no outside approval – I was myself, fully alive and satisfied in simply being." I love that line. I feel like that when I set out on a training walk in full gear, with backpack and staff !

 

[Roger B]

Hi bless you, maybe it is all part of a process you needed to go through to make you stronger. There are no right and wrongs just people walking with themselves and meeting others along the way. Stay strong and take care of you.

 

[vgen5122]

I am lying in a hotel bed 9 days out from St Jean. I have reached San Domingo. It has been weird and wonderful. I am a bit of a loner normally; I have been talking to myself a lot as I go along. I wanted to go home 15 minutes out from St Jean. Then when I crossed the Pyrenees I felt great. In these few days which seem like weeks already I have started to feel things I didn't expect. Saying im a loner is different to admitting you're actually lonely. I have walked and been overwhelmed by the flowers and birds; heartbroken with the strays. I wake up every morning and think "Okay I'll go another day." Today I felt OK. Very thoughtful and to be honest a bit tearful. Then this evening something happened which threw up a lot of old insecurities. I have tried to book a ferry from Santander for Wednesday and now I am lying here feeling crap. Perhaps some people just don't make it. Perhaps people like me.

I hope that you have kept on going. If you open up just a little bit you will find your Camino family. Everybody says "buen camino". You may find out that you are walking with interesting people from all over the world. You may also find out that some people may be feeling just like you. i walked the Camino in Sept 2013, and there were many times i wanted to quit, but i felt that i had come too far to quit. I was an old, overweight person, that had only walked in the park before doing the Camino. My feet started to give out on me while on the Camino, but I just kept going from one town to the next. I felt the Camino had something to teach me and i was going to find out what it was. On the Camino Pilgrims are never truly alone. I hope you hang in there. Experience your journey that you were meant to walk. See the beauty of the countryside. Enjoy the friendliness of the people. They are there waiting to reach out to you. Thanks for sharing.

 

[cecelia]

Hi from me too Derwen,
Here we all are - strangers to you and each other - but we feel such a common bond because of our experiences on the camino. It seems like we all had our times of feeling, to the depth of our being, that we wanted to quit and can all tell you at least one story about that. We're all in our separate countries, feeling your pain and cheering you on. Really cheering you on... Although many, including me, hope you continue to continue, we have no right of course to think that's what best for you. Blast forward!
Warm wishes for a buen camino.

 

[Jodipup]

5.15am and I am going to walk. Thank you, each and every one of you for all your thoughts. I feel miserable, and foolish...but I'm going to walk. I usually crash about at times like this, dramatic and then regretful. So I will walk today and see where I go.
Thanks again, Derwen

Thanks Derwen for sharing. For those of us still to walk this is helpful. Most posts are always so positive. I think your post will be helpful to me if I feel like giving up. I will remember your post and all the replies and know that it is all part of the Camino experience, that others also felt this way.
Buen Camino.

 

[pjlopey]

I found a quote last night from Spanish poet Antonio Machado 'traveler, there is no path, the path must be forged as you walk'
I hope you're still going ok.
Buen Camino

 

[Querencia]

Dear Derwen,
I am still planning my Camino, but sending my 19 year old daughter off to Spain on her own to walk September/October. I was so touched by your honesty and the kind support and shared experiences offered by previous Pelegrinos. You have touched many hearts and maybe would not have been so honest if you hadn't reached your low point. Reading this thread has been so much more inspiring than another rant on the weight of a tea bag tag. Thank you.