Leaving the Way..☹

[Walking Mad]

Hi all
Done two weeks from st Jean to Burgos and now home and back at work..had the best time ever and really enjoyed it..but so fed up now and missing the lovely weather and amazing pilgrims from every corner of world I had a common goal with..thinking alot about those I met who had the time and freedom to reach Santiago in the next two or three weeks or so...hoping they all get there safely..is this normal?

 

[OzAnnie]

Yes yes yes, that yen for connection..to the whole .
I hope you have contact to keep in touch.
You will more than likely ‘re-offend’

Buen Camino
Annie

 

[Mark Barnes]

Work hard and save your money and invest wisely then in a few years you can go and stay on the Camino as much as you like. Easier said than done!!!! I was on the Camino last year for 43 days and I missed it after I left.

 

[Kitsambler]

..is this normal?

Well, it is quite normal for pilgrims. Welcome to the community of the pilgrim-mind!

 

[Anamya]

It is normal, but it does not make it easier to deal with.

Maybe start planning the next one, Burgos-onwards?

That's how I deal with boring work days (there are good ones, don't get me wrong): "today I earned $$$ and some of it goes to the Camino Saving Account. Next camino is closer now". And browsing the trail maps, accomodation options, reading this forum. So good!

 

[t2andreo]

You WILL Be back... See you then...

 

[John Crawford Howell]

When I finished the Camino Frances last year, I said to myself, "okay, what's next?" I thought it strange some folks would want to do the Camino over and over again. I was clearly in my 'been there done that' mode as I luxuriated in the splendor of Santaigo wearing a "T" shirt sporting invisible ink that read, Mission Accomplished! while drinking an ice cold beer. Then a funny thing happened: a year passed, and I got the itch...again. I now understand the deep attraction that draws people back to the Camino life. I'm looking forward to going back.

 

[Dave C.]

When I finished the Camino Frances last year, I said to myself, "okay, what's next?" I thought it strange some folks would want to do the Camino over and over again. I was clearly in my 'been there done that' mode as I luxuriated in the splendor of Santaigo wearing a "T" shirt sporting invisible ink that read, Mission Accomplished! while drinking an ice cold beer. Then a funny thing happened: a year passed, and I got the itch...again. I now understand the deep attraction that draws people back to the Camino life. I'm looking forward to going back.

 

[Dave C.]

View attachment 46895

Me finishing the Francis in 2016.
The magnitude of the moment is starting to sink in. Also, not yet knowing the Camino Addiction was already in me.

 

[t2andreo]

Dave has the '1000-meter stare...' Yup, he's 'infected.' Similar to what combat soldiers obtain after seeing the trauma of combat, long distance pilgrims also get an analogous stare. I think, personally, that they and I are simply focused the horizon, both the literal and figurative horizon.

This facial expression also evinces the sheer weariness that most long distance pilgrims have after living out of their rucksacks for a one month or more. They are tired, physically and mentally. For many, walking into a city such as Santiago comes as a HUGE shock.

After a few weeks, looking ahead to the next hill, village, or other physical landmark, becomes your fixation... It's like this...'see that church on the distant hill? Yup. Well son, that is where you are headed. No way! Way..!.' If it is a Church in a village at the top of a distant hill, 5 will get you 10 that is where your Camino is headed. It is just the way of the Camino...

Most of us get used to looking towards the horizon, including our personal horizons. I see this facial expression frequently when I am volunteering at the Pilgrim Office at Santiago each summer.

In my experience, the only folks who do not have it are the 'short walkers.' While it is hard to put a precise number of days to it, IMHO the '1000-meter stare' seems to evince at about three weeks on a Camino.

Hope this helps the dialog

 

[camino07]

Haha! On the Primitivo its the windmills on top of the next mountain, you know you have to cross beside them.

 

[t2andreo]

Yup, same paradigm...up and over every hill in front of you...