• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Camino Reflections

lbpierce

Linda Breen Pierce
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
I had planned to walk the Camino Frances this summer for the fifth time but instead I developed a tear in the plantar plate in my foot. As many have commented, there will always be another Camino. My brother walked form SJPP to Santiago this year and shared with me his reflections on completing the Camino. I think it is wonderful and thought I would share it with you. Here tis.

"The Camino Provides" by Joseph Breen

Taking the path beside the path, the grass like carpet beneath my aching feet.
Poppies amaze in all their grandeur, but it is the petite wildflowers that tickle the beauty bone.
Reminding myself, “heel to toe, heel to toe”, form matters when pushing limits of the body.
A place to sit, a place to eat, a place to live, the Camino provides.

Forgetting about toe cramps while dancing with pilgrims on a mountain top in the fog.
Facing your fears and coming out the other side of the thunderstorm.
Chocolate more than once a day and being just fine with that.
The way teaches you to truly live and to let go, the Camino provides.

Cathedral bells ring as the swallows dart to and fro, creating longing in the heart.
Not thinking ahead to the end of the week, next week does not exist.
So what if you butchered your Spanish today, tomorrow is another town, another start.
Seated at a large table, silent, surrounded by joyous accents, the Camino Provides.

The path knows when to seek the community of friends and when to go it alone.
It challenges the body, stirs the mind and opens the heart.
Never again will there be a place you will share so much, with those you know so little.
The pilgrims that meet your eye and smile, “buen Camino”, the Camino provides.

What is left in the months after returning from the Camino I ponder?
Can we hold onto the long periods of uninterrupted thought, I fear not.
More than an accomplishment… like life, the Camino is something shared, but walked alone.
The hardships are short while the memories are long, the Camino provides.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
"So what if you butchered your Spanish today" Love that line. I've recently adopted the view that each morning brings with it a new language lesson and a country of unsuspecting and uknowing (but usually very helpful) tutors.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I had planned to walk the Camino Frances this summer for the fifth time but instead I developed a tear in the plantar plate in my foot. As many have commented, there will always be another Camino. My brother walked form SJPP to Santiago this year and shared with me his reflections on completing the Camino. I think it is wonderful and thought I would share it with you. Here tis.

"The Camino Provides" by Joseph Breen

Taking the path beside the path, the grass like carpet beneath my aching feet.
Poppies amaze in all their grandeur, but it is the petite wildflowers that tickle the beauty bone.
Reminding myself, “heel to toe, heel to toe”, form matters when pushing limits of the body.
A place to sit, a place to eat, a place to live, the Camino provides.

Forgetting about toe cramps while dancing with pilgrims on a mountain top in the fog.
Facing your fears and coming out the other side of the thunderstorm.
Chocolate more than once a day and being just fine with that.
The way teaches you to truly live and to let go, the Camino provides.

Cathedral bells ring as the swallows dart to and fro, creating longing in the heart.
Not thinking ahead to the end of the week, next week does not exist.
So what if you butchered your Spanish today, tomorrow is another town, another start.
Seated at a large table, silent, surrounded by joyous accents, the Camino Provides.

The path knows when to seek the community of friends and when to go it alone.
It challenges the body, stirs the mind and opens the heart.
Never again will there be a place you will share so much, with those you know so little.
The pilgrims that meet your eye and smile, “buen Camino”, the Camino provides.

What is left in the months after returning from the Camino I ponder?
Can we hold onto the long periods of uninterrupted thought, I fear not.
More than an accomplishment… like life, the Camino is something shared, but walked alone.
The hardships are short while the memories are long, the Camino provides.


What beautiful writing and sentiments, I will share with others also. Buen camino
 

Most read last week in this forum

La Voz de Galicia has reported the death of a 65 year old pilgrim from the United States this afternoon near Castromaior. The likely cause appears to be a heart attack. The pilgrim was walking the...
Just reading this thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/news-from-the-camino.86228/ and the OP mentions people being fined €12000. I knew that you cannot do the Napoleon in...
I’m heading to the Frances shortly and was going to be a bit spontaneous with rooms. I booked the first week just to make sure and was surprised at how tight reservations were. As I started making...
This is my first posting but as I look at the Camino, I worry about 'lack of solitude' given the number of people on the trail. I am looking to do the France route....as I want to have the...
My first SPRINGTIME days on the Camino Francés 🎉 A couple of interesting tidbits. I just left Foncebadón yesterday. See photo. By the way, it's really not busy at all on my "wave". Plenty of...
I was reading somewhere that some of us are doing night walks. As a natural born night owl I would love to do such walk too. Of course I can choose stage by myself (CF). But was wondering if any...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top