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I remember it well, a hot day, the scent of cystus like incense, the cool of the chestnut forest just before dropping steeply into the valley and an incomprehensible conversation with a farmer, he no English me no Spanish but much smiling and waving of arms.
Don't overthink it, when you know what distance you are happy to walk it will, sort of, fall into place. Stay easy during the walk and stop when tired or at a place that is interesting.
We spend thousands on kit, thousands on air fares, and, in some cases hundreds on paradors and restaurants but complain about a few extra euros in a cake shop. Wake up and smell the coffee, a little perspective is needed here.
You won't regret training on hills WITH your loaded pack particularly in the first week of the camino. I live and trained in East Anglia and did regret not doing much more on the hills. Unfortunately they are in short supply here. Good luck.
It is never arrogant to question a theory no matter how eminent the proposer. Maslows' theory results from his observations and is, of course, coloured by the time in which he lived, personal prejudices etc. It is only part of the story and does not explain figures who go for, say, self...
Of course the idea of "enough", in economic terms, was discussed by E F Schumacher in "Small is Beautiful" in 1973. A link to a PDF download is attached. Unfortunately it didn't gain as much traction as it should have done.
Small Is Beautiful - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › Small_Is_Beautiful
in my case it usually ends up as "listen you sniveling sack of jelly you got us into this, there is no food here, there is no where to sleep here and no water so shut up and keep moving" followed by the reply "But, but, I hurt" and so the conversation goes.
@janejanie, It is not as bleak as some here have painted it. Yes it is busier than the rest of the Francis but you can find solitude in any crowd if you want to. It is up to you. You can walk faster than the group you want to avoid or slower than them, some of it is about relative pace.
I...
I will refrain from recommendations except that, one of the delights of walking lies in serendipity, the accidental finding of things, letting small wonders reveal themselves shyly at the speed of travel, a human speed. Too much research spoils the mystery of what lies around the next corner.
Those making such comments as the OP suggest and have walked any camino have missed the point of the exercise.
Post Sarria was a shock but by the time I got there I could outpace many of those just starting or slow down to miss them. Simples.
The best serviced camino is arguably the Francis but even there you will likely need to walk up to 17kM on some days. Most days much less is possible. For the longer stretches you can take a taxi for all or part of the day. So distance should not be a huge problem. Booking ahead in the evening...
The physical start, whether we fly, drive or teleport, is from our front door, the Camino is the whole journey just as it was when medieval pilgrims walked, sailed or rode donkeys. The actual start of the camino is however in our heads. It starts as an idea, grows through planning, possibly...
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