What makes you come back to the Camino?

[Kimmy]

I randomly read about the Camino in a book in spring 2006 and jumped on to walk to Santiago de Compostela and onwards to Finisterre without any preparations or knowledge about the route what so ever. I had the most wonderful time of my life in so many ways I can not even describe, going from having my cup of live half empty to always being at least half full. Ever since I have longed to come back, but because of creating a family with a husband and two twin girls I haven't had the chance. This fall I will finally have the time to walk a short Camino (10 days from SJPP) and I am sooooo happy! People keep asking me why I would want to go back and walk the same route again, when there are so many beautiful places in the world. I try to explain that walking the Camino differs from a normal hike, but have difficulties to put words on why my heart is aching to return.

So, I thought I would ask you guys. What makes you come back to the Camino over and over again and how do you think your second camino differed from your first one?

I am so eager to go that on one hand I would like to read all books there are about the Camino, but at the same time I just want to go with the flow and let the Camino guide me. Last time I had so much frustration and things to work on that I think there were days I did not even notice the beautiful countryside I rushed through . This time I just feel relaxed and happy, and thrilled of course. Any advise?

Thanks a lot for any input.

/Camilla

 

[Kanga]

Go Camilla! On this forum so many of us feel the same way. Don't feel weird that you are walking the same route - I walked the Frances 3 times end to end before branching out, and each walk was wonderful and quite different.
What was different about the second time? I was much more relaxed. My goals were simpler (just to walk). I was confident that whatever happened I could cope. I looked at things, instead of rushing past. I took the detours. I let companionship happen but I was not afraid to let it go and to be alone.
I also walked at 3 different times of the year and the weather changes the physical features of the camino quite dramatically.
The bookend to my wanderings is always the longing for my family - after about six weeks I want to go home.

 

[Kiwi-family]

One of our kids let slip to an aunty who does not know about our plans that we'd love to go back to Spain. Her response was an emphatic, "No, you'd have to do something new, you've already been there"
How can you even think you've "done" a place in three weeks?!
We intentionally walked just the small portion from Astorga to Santiago so that there was "enough" left in case we wanted to go back and do the whole thing and to see if we loved walking as much as we thought we would. We did. And we've discovered since then (we went very unprepared and ill-educated about the Camino) that there are many routes......and every season will be different. So there are many walks ahead I hope.
(Although we have other plans too for other parts of the world, other hiking trails closer to home)

 

[mspath]

"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

From 2004 through 2012 I have walked the Camino Frances in its entirety eight times. The terrain may have been the same but the realities greatly varied. Although each Camino began with both anticipation and trepidation as I wondered how it all would go, each pilgrimage developed its own rich mix of old friends and new, fickleness of weather, stamina and health and, of course, philosophical musings and thanksgiving.

Indeed. "You have to start the journey anew. Always".

Margaret Meredith

 

[carriedavey]

An interesting thread. Good on anyone who can do this walk for a second time. We did it once, it was ENOUGH!
Buen Camino!
Dave

 

[Olivares]

Have you consider the Camino Aragones starting in Somport and merging with Camino Frances in Puente la Reina or Obanos (more traditional merge)?

I am doing the Camino Frances in sections and I have no doubts that will always will continue walking to Santiago if God gives me health and the means to, even if coming in from different directions.

 

[pattymo97206]

What makes me "need" to do the Camino a second time? I'm not really sure, but I do know I will do it again in May 2014 and it will be an entirely new experience. Last Fall I walked 230 miles on the Camino. I'm at the older end of the spectrum of ages that post here, but there is still so much to see, do, smell, touch, taste..and so much more. There are the friends to be made, lessons to learn and ...the freedom of "all I need do every day is to get up and walk". I"ll be connected only by an inexpensive, simple phone I bought last year in Spain for calls to my family to let them know I am still alive and the occasional FB post.

That still doesn't really explain the "what makes you come back to the Camino". When I have the definitive answer to that, I'll let you know.

 

[Pieces]

when I was just slightly younger I was one of those people going to a new country every time, never reading a book twice (even though I always bought them and kept them after reading them), never watching a movie twice.

Sometimes I wondered, as when I was a child I would read the same book a zillion times, watch the same movie again and again and go to the same countries again again.

So what changed? Why did life become too short for repetition? I don't know. I do know however that it changed back. I now watch the same movies over and over, go to the same places over and over and I am even beginning to read the same books again.

Maybe now it is the comfort. The pleasure of going back, even though there is no such thing as really going back.

The small details one forgot or missed the first time round. The urge to recreate the past as the future gets ever increasingly near. I don't know...

One of my favorite quotes used to be "Hell is repetition" (Andre Linoge - Storm of the century).

But not anymore. Repetition is comfort, a way of reliving and holding on, at least when we are talking about the things that gives me pleasure.

After I walked my first Camino(s) (I walked in Portugal but had time left over so went and walked the French for a bit) I just knew that I would be coming back the next year. But I couldn't repeat and I screwed it up for myself.

For this reason I decided that this year I would not go, but go to Galapagos as a treat on finishing an education 2 weeks ago. However, I didn't have the energy to plan while writing my thesis and ended up booking 2 weeks in Lisbon instead.

Everyday I find myself wondering should I have gone back walking, reading the forum and longing, thinking this time repeating is about correcting a "wrong" but I won't. I will be on my plane to Lisbon as planned, but maybe next year.

Probably next year...

Everything in life is circular, not a line as I firstly assumed, and much to my surprise I am increasingly enjoying the circles, except when it comes to fashion...

but that wasn't what you asked was it? Why go back on the Camino?

Because the entire concept is unique. Everyone can join. No questions asked. No relating to nothing. You have what you have and life is simple. You get up, walk, eat, talk, laugh, contemplate, look for a bed and do you laundry, and the next day everything starts over.

There is no other place I know of that in such a way takes me back to the basics, is so nonjudgmental and so undemanding and at the same time so all-inclusive.

Nowhere....

 

[carriedavey]

"nowhere" Pieces? I'm lucky enough to have found such a place and it's called "home". I did the camino from April 11th through May 21st this year, and could NEVER shake the longing to get back here to our family and friends. It was an unforgettable experience (for many and varied reasons) but "do it again"? not in this lifetime.

 

[Pieces]

good for you...

 

[carriedavey]

Thanks Pieces, appreciate that

 

[Kimmy]

Thanks for all your great replies to my question. I think maybe it is the basics of the basics that is drawing me back to the Camino, the routines, the change of not having any musts but walking, eating and sleeping. No bills to pay, no work to hasten off to, no kids to put to sleep and no meals to prepare.Just doing the miles and carry my light backpack. Nothing else must be done. But that is not all of course. I love how the Camino makes us all equal, how the first question to each other has nothing to do with what you do with your life (as in profession) but who you are and why you are here, how less luggage is rewarding you with less burdens, the companionship, kindness and pure love that is somehow lingering above the Camino. I suppose the Camino could be situated anywhere in the world and I would still want to go, but being in Spain makes it of course even better.

Last time I sort of rushed through the Camino and I have to admit that I was stressed if I overslept and was one of the late ones to leave. I was proud of my speedy walking. This time I hope I know better. I hope I will take my time to do the detours, look around, smell the flowers and the wet grass in the morning, drink lots of coffee and just be in the moment. I have read that some people book their albergues in advance, but I really want to feel free and se what happens. Let the day and the camino show the way. I really feel no need to walk all the other routes yet. That day will come I am sure, but now I am eager to go back with my eyes, nostrils and sences open to whatever will be served.

 

[carriedavey]

Sending best wishes and hopes for your next camino Camillis! ENJOY! You make out a great case for it! An opportunity to drop out of the rat race of life should always be taken, and I found it to be great not to hear all the bad news on TV/radio, however, I missed my family so much and felt so homesick for OZ. The fact that we were able to complete the camino in spite of this has given me the motivation to put more into my life and my friends and family HERE. As for booking in advance for accomodation? well do yourself a favour and consider that option, there is a LOT of competition for limited albergue space (unless you also want to stay in small hotels/pensions/private albergues. Have fun, and be safe, enjoy your camino!
Dave

 

[katiawt]

"nowhere" Pieces? I'm lucky enough to have found such a place and it's called "home". I did the camino from April 11th through May 21st this year, and could NEVER shake the longing to get back here to our family and friends. It was an unforgettable experience (for many and varied reasons) but "do it again"? not in this lifetime.

I can understand that, unlike me, some people does not want to go back The one thing I can´t understand is why stay connected to this board if you don´t feel like ever going back to the camino... Maybe deep inside you are not sooooooooooo sure...

 

[Kimmy]

I think one little piece of me is always on the Camino ever since I left it seven years ago.

 

[clearskiescamino]

As far as I'm concerned, I am part of the camino and have unfinished business. Back three days and preparing for 2014.

 

[carriedavey]

Hi katiawt! I may have given the impression that I'm "anti-camino" or trying to discourage folk from doing it, I'm not. I'd never for a second ever try to discourage anybody from taking it on. I simply said that the camino was a one-off for ME, it was WAY too tough on me emotionally. I'm staying connected on the board because I'm interested in what folk think. Hope that sheds a wee bit more light on my reasons for posting a point of view other than the rest of the thread.
Buen Camino!
Dave

 

[billbennettoz]

Coming from Australia, it's both expensive (airfares) and a long haul. From door to door last time, my home town in central NSW to the albergue in SJPP, I totalled 45 hrs!

But... I can't wait to do it again.

Why? It's hard to articulate. But it filled me up with an energy that I just want to bottle!

 

[katiawt]

Hi katiawt! I may have given the impression that I'm "anti-camino" or trying to discourage folk from doing it, I'm not. I'd never for a second ever try to discourage anybody from taking it on. I simply said that the camino was a one-off for ME, it was WAY too tough on me emotionally. I'm staying connected on the board because I'm interested in what folk think. Hope that sheds a wee bit more light on my reasons for posting a point of view other than the rest of the thread.
Buen Camino!
Dave

Maybe you will have to go back to discover why you don´t want to go back

 

[Kiwi-family]

I can certainly understand this being a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some people. This surely does not preclude them from participating on the forum, and sharing their experience. In fact, such people are likely to bring quite a different perspective to those who love every minute and yearn to return. Although no-one has said explicitly that you are a lesser pilgrim if you have completed your journey and feel no desire to repeat it, I sense that sentiment coming through and would like to empty the clouds of Galicia onto the idea! I appreciate the "naysayers" telling it like it was for them, because it may well help others prepare.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Camino is completely optional. There is no mandatory reason to do it once, much less repeat it. No one should feel negatively about not going back, and it is great to hear from those who found it difficult, persisted, and are happy to talk about it. I am sustained each day walking by the sure and certain knowledge that I can quit on the merest whim!

 

[carriedavey]

The Camino had been on my "to do" list since 1992 when a dear poet friend of mine read out a piece he'd written about his experiences as a pilgrim back in the late sixties/early seventies. I will die happy knowing that I completed the pilgrimage, though the 227kms from Fromista to Ponferrada were courtesy of Spanish railways! :lol: (a L-O-N-G story that one! ) I would NEVER ever tell anyone contemplating the journey not to do it, on the other hand, if asked about MY personal take on the Camino I would answer honestly and say that I would not do it again. My reasons for this are numerous, but chiefly that it became a battle to maintain morale in the face of the enormous distance to walk, and being away from family for almost 10 weeks. I found the reality of the camino as opposed to the popular "concept" depicted in the media etc quite confronting, maybe I was naive? To see the trash lining the path became a source of sadness, I still find it incredible that folk can simply drop their trash and move on without a thought for others. The stress of wondering if we were going to find a place to sleep each night also got to me. My dear wife suffered from shin splints and soldiered on bravely despite feeling low about the separation from her kids and grandkids...this got to me as well (you get the picture?)
Having said all that, we simply dug-in and got on with it and when I received my compostela I found tears in my eyes! I met wonderful folk along the way, and it was a joy to spend time with them. I also encountered some "pilgrims" who perhaps I would not wish to meet again? such is life.
The Camino remains an enigma to me, and I find no reason to do it again.
I wish those who contemplate it and those who have completed it nothing but joy and good health, Buen Camino to you all!
Dave xx

 

[Kimmy]

I can fully understand why one does not want to walk the camino more than once and also think it should not even be questioned. The Camino is hard work, for some harder than for others. And not all people are crazy about walking, as I am (who can walk 20 kilometer after lunch just for the fun of it)

For me the Camino was an eye-opener - before it I was living a speedy life with lots of work, expensive clothing, party and friends. I thought I was happy, but something dark, an emptiness I could not handle even to look at, was nagging within. During my long hours of walking alone on the Camino my system started to slow down and I came home as a more grounded person. For me the Camino was my first real home-coming, meeting myself as I was, with no judging and no idiotic ideas about how things "should" be. In the end of the camino I was able to be present in each step and moment, something that I had almost never been before, always planning what was ahead and dwelling things that had been.

So... I think I long for getting the time to do more of that home-coming. Of course I have been practicing it quite a lot at home the past few years, but only for short moments at the time. I really look forward to those long days of just taking one step before another and let my mind and thoughts wander wherever they want to go.

Finally - I just want to say that I fully respect and understand those of you that does not want to walk a second (or more) camino, but this thread was about why you want to do it again, despite the hard work, uncomfortable beds, blisters, sleepless nights, painful thoughts and mediocre pilgrim menus, or whatever not so fun parts of the camino there is - what is making you want to come back - and do you many-timers have any advise as I go for my second Camino?

 

[Pieces]

I find this topic stranger and stranger as the demeaning comments were not initiated by the ones explaining why they DID want come back

but maybe that is just me...

:|

 

[Vigdis]

I am doing the Frances again, in stages.
Did that the first time too.
Finished it in october 2009, walked Roncesvalles-Burgos last october. Hope to continue in springtime.
Why? Don't know really.
It is a longing. Something that is hard to explain. Back to Peace and freedom I Guess. To good People.

 

[LTfit]

I have not read any demeaning comments and commend carriedavey for sharing his opinion, especially in light of the majority of us posting on the Forum. And Camillis you have a lot of company here. You ask for advise but I think that you have all the answers, they lie within - you are going back and already know why.

Personally I never sleep well in albergues but it never seems to stop me from walking. That is just the way it is. I figure that I can always sleep when I return home.

I experienced awful blisters on 2 of my past Caminos but never for once thought to stop. At one point you just don't feel them any more.

Yes, there are tough days. Anyone who has walked knows this but...

I feel so at home on the Camino. Just being there physically puts a smile on my face. And as long as I feel that way I return. I have experienced such genuine kindness and feel an enormous sense of gratitude for all that the Camino has given me. It continues to play an important role in my life. And I hope to give a bit back to the Camino.

 

[carriedavey]

Thanks for that LTfit, I hope that my comments here were not seen as "demeaning" and if any of them were, then I am sorry, it was never my intention to offend/demean anyone, just offer another point of view.
Buen Camino!
Dave

 

[robhay60]

I was on my Camino for just over a month last July/August. It was incredible, amazing, challenging, painful , joyful and mysterious all at once.. When i finished in Santago i swore that i would never return , never walk it again . I was so sure that once was enough now move on!
However i soon discovered all was not as it seemed! Although physically i had finished my journey on the "Camino" on other levels of my "Being" i was still on it.... It stays with me, it is within me. Its in my blood, its become a part of my "DNA" I am sure!
Yes i am returning , always i am ....No question , how could i not? Possibly i couldnt even give you a rational reason, let me say its just a kind of knowing....
For myself i can tell you that nowhere had i found such freedom as when i was on my "Camino" Perhaps that might be it .... Such freedom , living each day , moment to moment with just our basic needs to worry about..
I do know that for me the "Camino" will always be first and foremost " A Journey of the Heart"..This is what makes it so special and this is why one day i will return, one day...Buen Camino :arrow:

 

[amourier]

For me it is a calling; I can't explain why I must return, I just know I must. Last year from the moment I boarded the return flight I knew I needed to return. Maybe it was the peace I found; maybe the beauty of nature and the people I encountered; maybe it was the freedom of simplicity; or might just be the person I found myself to be. But whatever it is, I know I must return. So, with airline tickets in hand, I say......see you in September !
Buen Camino!

 

[MKalcolm M]

I walked the North route this spring and found it a life changing experience, which helped resolve the difficulties left behind from a traumatic divorce and custody battle, and it completely restored my faith in human nature. I would walk the camino again, and am hoping do see a different route, either the Primitivo or if time and money allow, the route from Seville. As Saint Augustine said; Solvitur ambulado - it is solved by walking.

 

[wayfarer]

I don't know why I want to walk it again, maybe its all the positive energy from all those who have walked it before has hooked me but It's definately on the agenda for me GW. It's part of me now, I know that sounds a bit hairy fairy but thats the way it is.

 

[Pygar]

When I was In Santiago people asked me if I would walk the Camino again. I said "No way". On the plane ride home, and since then, all I wanted to do was be on the Camino again. Next week is the first anniversary of starting my Camino. Hopefully next year I will do it again.

 

[pilgrim b]

As Saint Augustine said; Solvitur ambulado - it is solved by walking.

And for me walking the Camino, begins to solve, "but pilgrim it's a long way to find out who you are" (Enya)
So I too must return again and walk again " A Journey of the Heart"!!!

 

[Thengel1]

I could think of lots of reasons to go back: the people I met, the fact that there was so much that I didn't see for one reason or another, but what really draws me back is... well, I don't think I can do better than to reuse a quote from a blog I wrote at the time.

"
The life of a pilgrim is very simple. You get up, you walk, you find shelter, you find food, you clean yourself and your clothes, you sleep. The complexities and excesses of modern life are stripped away. A comfortable bed, a meal, good walking weather, a tolerant body, these are the things that matter to a pilgrim. After awhile, it begins to feel like there is nothing else to the world than to cross the next hill, find the next village. You would perhaps be surprised how good it can feel. "

 

[Wanderer64]

Obviously this is one of those highly subjective questions, to which there is no wrong answer. I am a secular pilgrim thus am not compelled by any sort religious "calling" to return. I get a sense that most CF returnees feel deeply compelled, spiritually, to return. To each their own Camino(s).

I would love to return to do favourite sections of the CF, but I will never walk the entire route again for the following reasons:

Cost -- just too expensive to make repeat trips from my native Canada.

Pavement -- CF has way too much paved path for my knees and shins to handle again. After 500km, I was cursing every paved section I encountered, especially after developing shin splints.

Time -- There are so many other walks around the world I'd like to try, yet so little time left in my life.

Further, sometimes the first impressions are the best ones. I feel some of the Camino magic I experienced might diminish if I do it again. I've experienced this kind of diminishment when I've repeated other treks or travel destinations.

 

[suekenney]

I love walking and meeting people from all over the world to share ideas, philosophies and insights mostly about how each of us can contribute to the greater good.

 

[stevenjarvis]

I love walking and meeting people from all over the world to share ideas, philosophies and insights mostly about how each of us can contribute to the greater good.[/quote]

Brilliant Sue ! I hope you don't mind my emboldening your quote. I applaud your outlook. Your phrase brings to mind another used by an old friend who classifiedpeople as drains and raidiators and that she tries to avoid the drains . You're clearly a radiator ! It is exactly this spirit, amongst other things, that has made the Camin0 part of my thinking for over twenty years. I am less good at maintaining this spirit on a day to day basis , essentially realising life is the Camino....

 

[jennyb]

Hello All. Doing the Camino the first time took me completely out of my comfort zone! I read an article in a magazine about it and the idea of doing it grew until it occupied my mind 24/7. So...I finally started walking on 26 April 2012 from SJPDP and reached Santiago on 1 June 2012.
I found it difficult in a number of ways and kept a diary of my thoughts and feelings. I wondered every day whose stupid idea it was to do this and was very explicit in my diary about my feelings. When I got to Santiago, I was ecstatic! and relieved that it was over. Having hurt my knee by falling down some stairs in the dark on the last day ( I somehow managed to walk the 28km to Santiago), I decided not to go to Finnisterre.
The human mind is a strange creature. Over the past year and a half, I only remember the good times I had - my Camino friends, the beautiful scenery, the food and the people of Spain. I have to read my diary to be reminded of the bad times - sore feet, missing my family and having to get up in the morning when you really don't feel like it! having to share toilets, showers and beds in strange places.
I can now say that the longing to go back is so strong - I DON'T know WHY! I just want to do it again- the same route - and I just know that I will be more relaxed and less in a hurry to get a bed! I am planning to go next year in September (so a different season) and I will continue on to Finisterre! Then I will plan the next Camino on a different route perhaps........

 

[stevenjarvis]

Hello All. Doing the Camino the first time took me completely out of my comfort zone!I DON'T know WHY! I just want to do it again- the same route - and I just know that I will be more relaxed and less in a hurry to get a bed! I am planning to go next year in September (so a different season) and I will continue on to Finisterre! Then I will plan the next Camino on a different route perhaps........

Jenny , I think your point about the comfort zone is key. We are stimulated by new experiences, and by success. On Camino we give ourselves credit for "just" putting one foot in front of the other, for following the path. Enjoyed your post, all the best with your 2014 plans !

 

[Pilegrim69]

I think that what makes a huge part of the camino are the people you meet. Therefor you will have a different experience each time you do it.
Nevertheless, just do it! Buen camino

 

[mikevasey]

I go back for the walking, friendships chance meetings, laughter, the beauty of an unexpected scene, the feeling of connection to my body after an exhausting but rewarding day. And there is what i used to think of as unwanted feelings, loniliness, doubt-why am i doing this again when it can hurt so much. I dont know if i can use the word enjoyment as a major reason anymore, its in there at moments but not all the time. The Camino draws me back beacause somthing inside of me recognises it is a special experience however it goes.

 

[jl]

Further, sometimes the first impressions are the best ones. I feel some of the Camino magic I experienced might diminish if I do it again. I've experienced this kind of diminishment when I've repeated other treks or travel destinations.

I know that somewhere on the forum I have said this before. The Camino is one way (but not the only way) that I, as a single middle aged woman, can safely have an "adventure". It is a place where I can meet and share with other like minded people - young and old, a place where I can see a culture very different to mine, a place where there is an amazing sense of history, and it is a journey of a powerful spiritual nature. I have walked the Camino three times, and last year walked the VF. As Wanderer64 said, first impressions are the best ones, but I have always gone with an open mind the second time round, and felt the Camino - whichever path I was on - has always given me "first time experiences". I deliberately make an effort each time to try and put to the back of my mind the other experiences so that I can enjoy the newest ones to the full. For me, each time is different - different weather, different sounds, different people - all leading to a different experience - no more or less important than what has gone before. Janet

 

[nellpilgrim]

... there is no other feeling like setting back into that familiar rhythm of walking, eating and sleeping, of only having a single simple goal-to reach the shrine of the saint-and the delight in achieving that end.... and then there's the greatest joy of all returning to the harbour of home and family.

 

[Thomas1962]

People keep asking me why I would want to go back and walk the same route again, when there are so many beautiful places in the world. I try to explain that walking the Camino differs from a normal hike, but have difficulties to put words on why my heart is aching to return.
Camilla

I hear in the way the question is asked an implicit assumptions. The person who answers needs to think about a contrast which doesn't need to be there for this person. The other question is why there is an urge for new places while there is still so much to discover on the places visited before... I myself really love to discover new places, I often ask myself why I need that!

I don't think I ever heard a more beautiful answer then you gave to the original question Kimmy: 'because my heart is aching to return'.
You gave words to way I feel at this very moment. I do want to go back because there is so much to discover and to experience. A 2nd, 3th or more times makes it more complete and forces me to look again around me, to make contact again with the way and it's people. (so now I still find myself giving an answer to the question...) There might be thousands of other beautiful places but at this moment I really don't care... There will be future times that I long again for other beautiful places I suppose. And if not...not.

 

[alexwalker]

People keep asking me why I would want to go back and walk the same route again, when there are so many beautiful places in the world. I try to explain that walking the Camino differs from a normal hike, but have difficulties to put words on why my heart is aching to return./Camilla

That makes it two of us. I understand you perfectly.

...but at the same time I just want to go with the flow and let the Camino guide me. Last time I had so much frustration and things to work on that I think there were days I did not even notice the beautiful countryside I rushed through . This time I just feel relaxed and happy, and thrilled of course. /Camilla

Indeed. I rushed it too. But this time: I will do as you are planning. And I will spend 2 months finishing the Frances. No rush, and detours if needed. Especially here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_of_Norway,_Infanta_of_Castile

Why return? I really don't know. But what I do know, is that the Camino impacted me in a big way. I started thinking completely differently about life and concerns. I think I belong there, in some strange way. It's like I hear the tempting, calling whispers inside my mind from the Camino, wanting me to come back, paired with my own longing to go back, and I know we shall meet again. I am sure I will learn more. The Camino is a great teacher.

Some people talk about the Camino being a "living" thing, getting at you gently but firmly. I am beginning to wonder if it is correct, after all. What I know, is that the Camino has taught me a lot about mindset, view of life, and values. I am very thankful for all lessons learned on my Caminos. I sincerely hope that many more will learn equal lessons (Karen; push that button).

PS: I should confess that I am highly educated in technology, computers (software) and math, and thoroughly trained in all aspects of logic in these fields. I have come to the conclusion that there is no logic in the Camino, and yet it's more logical and real than my fields of expertise. I still have a lot to learn. I am going back. DS.

 

[TheTinkerBell]

...PS: I should confess that I am highly educated in technology, computers (software) and math, and thoroughly trained in all aspects of logic in these fields...

What about setting up and running a booking website specifically for all the private albergues on the Frances?

 

[LTfit]

I think I belong there, in some strange way.

Amazing how so many of us feel this way. As I mentioned above, I see an arrow and feel at home.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no logic in the Camino, and yet it's more logical and real than my fields of expertise. I still have a lot to learn. I am going back. DS.

The Camino helps us develop the wisdom of the heart. It may be because we finally allow ourselves to listen to what it has to say.
The most powerful lessons learnt resulted when that which I believed to be true intellectually reached "home" in my heart.

 

[Cejanus]

Oh I can't wait to go back and will do so next year to walk the Via de la Plata. Why the Camino, why this journey?- I did it to say thanks for a life well lived and for my grandchildren and for my faith and for what I found out about myself and for the people I met. What a blessed world we live in. The time out for me enabled me to think about where I am heading, why I want to head there and about how the world around me has been helping me all this time and that I had not recognized this until I walked. I stepped out of my busy world to have time to think it all through and to give thanks and praise for it all.
It's not everyones cup of tea, but it's mine. (Although it has turned me into an avid coffee drinker.)
I'd love to share this journey with my loved one including the grandchildren. However I recognize that they need to make their own decisions and journeys with or without me.

 

[Alena]

I started thinking about going back there the moment I was home. Why? Because for the first time, I appreciated the siplicity of life and it was a beautiful feeling. As someone said earlier - back to basics, it felt so good.

 

[wayfarer]

I started thinking about going back there the moment I was home. Why? Because for the first time, I appreciated the siplicity of life and it was a beautiful feeling. As someone said earlier - back to basics, it felt so good.

Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.

 

[sempervivum]

I walked the Camino Frances and then all the Way to Finisterre and Muxia this year and I can't stop myself thinking of going back.
I'll come back to the Camino mainly because I feel I must give something back. Every single day on the Camino I felt I was safe, I was looked after, and I belonged there. Being my first time on the Camino I know how important these things are. I also know that they were possible due to the people I've met there.
I feel I can be among those people who provide what the first timers (but not only) need.

S

 

[suekenney]

Brilliant Sue ! I hope you don't mind my emboldening your quote. I applaud your outlook. Your phrase brings to mind another used by an old friend who classifiedpeople as drains and raidiators and that she tries to avoid the drains . You're clearly a radiator ! It is exactly this spirit, amongst other things, that has made the Camin0 part of my thinking for over twenty years. I am less good at maintaining this spirit on a day to day basis , essentially realising life is the Camino....

Thanks Steven. I agree that life is the Camino and I am living the virtues of being a pilgrim everyday. There are still things I'm learning all the time!

 

[pilgrim b]

Put simply I miss the Camino all the time a world of kindness', giving, speaking to strangers who become friends, landscapes and helpful locals. "It is a world of simplicity". No wonder the pilgrim numbers grow we can't help ourselves, telling others the treasure we have found!

 

[skilsaw]

I've walked to Santiago 3 times on the Camino Frances and the Via de la Plata. (2004, 2006, 2010)
I thought when my third Camino was finished, I was finished. But today I just watched an amazing slide show of the CF on youtube and am inspired to go again. Previously, watching slide shows on the net, I recognized every town and knew their name. Today I couldn't remember the names of the villages.

My plans are to go to the Canadian War Memorial in Vimy Ridge, France, at Easter, 2017, the centenial of the battle. Like all WWI battlefields, it was the site of terrible human carnage. It was the first time the Canadian Army fought under their own leadership, as opposed to being part of a Commonwealth Brigade, or British Expeditionary Force. In a grim and horrible way, it was Canada's comming of age. I get a lump in my throat, just thinking of it.

After Vimy, I will need some way to unwind. The Camino may just be it. The CF again, to remember the villages, or the Norte to see somthing new. I won't decide until then. The Camino is in some ways the opposite of war, embracing human diversity, having a common objective...

A big hug to past and future pilgrims here, for keeping my Camino experience alive.

Buen Camino,
David, Victoria, Canada

 

[jl]

[QUOTEMy plans are to go to the Canadian War Memorial in Vimy Ridge, France, /QUOTE]

David, last year I walked down through the Western Front so that I could end at our national war memorial in Villers Brettoneux. On the way I went to most of the National Memorials - including the Canadian. To stand at these memorials is truely moving. As I looked at "Mother Canada" mourning the dead I couldn't help but think of the women - the women who never had a husband or a son, the mother's who never saw their sons again, and the children who never knew their father. What a tragic waste! There is the South African Memorial where you can stand in front of the only tree of a forest that was left standing, and the Newfoundland memorial where of the 780 men who went into battle in the morning, only 68 were there to answer the roll call that night. We lost tens of thousands too - many more than at Gallipoli, which is considered our coming of age.

The CF will be a change of pace after that, and a time of regroup. On my journey I continued on the Via Francigena. Janet

 

[skilsaw]

It's part of the beauty of the fellowship of the Camino. Share your heart and you will be understood.
Thank you Janet,

David, Victoria, Canada

 

[suekenney]

It's a place of peace. People are more open on the Camino and the act of walking and talking and sharing I find very fulfilling. I walk almost everyday at home as it has become a way of living. I've been back many times. Each time it is magic. Suseya!

 

[debandrodgrainger]

Reading the posts has been wonderful. I walked Camino Frances in 2011 with my husband and we are planning to repeat the journey. What still surprises me is that despite that the majority of days I hauled my sorry feet in the albergue door, just wanting to remove my pack and boots, inwardly groaning that I had to climb some stairs to do so, and despite the memorable times when I cried and swore my way down a particularly difficult track, I am itching to do it again. Every day provided many opportunities that were real and vital. It stands out as one of the best events and accomplishments of my life. I need to add that I have diabetes type 1 so am insulin dependant and am currently aged 58. We recall the Camino many times, a week seldom goes past without some mention of it. We have photos circulating on the laptop. I am still wearing the same boots and I hope there is a molecule of Spanish dust in them. It was a powerful journey and now it is just a matter of which route and when.