- Time of past OR future Camino
- March/April 2015, Late April 2016, Sept/Oct 2017, April 2019.
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A great post Kellymac,My niece walked the Peace Walk a few years ago, and we were swapping walking stories, when she told me that she didn't carry her pack. The nice people in the towns offered to drive it to the next place for only $4, and she would have been stupid to torture herself and carry it. She's in her 20s, she's healthy, and honestly, her statement brought me up short. As I didn't want her to think I was belittling her, I didn't say anything at the time. But as I thought about it later, I realized how much I learned by carrying my own stuff.
Recently, on this forum, I've seen posts that take luggage transfer as a given part of the Camino. (I know it is necessary for some people who physically cannot carry their gear.)--
When I first walked the Camino, I didn't even know luggage transfer existed outside of tour companies.
So-- I want to give a shout out and say how much I learned from carrying my stuff. Please everyone-- add on to my list:
Stuff is heavy, it slows you down.
I don't need half of what I started out with. (And I need about 1/100th of what I own at home.)
I spend too much of my time at home thinking about shopping.
I spend too much of my time for the first week of walking thinking about buying stuff, and if an item will "go with" the rest of my stuff.
If I have to carry something for weeks, I stop even considering buying it.
The gift of a lead crystal block with the Leon Cathedral etched in it-- that I carried from Leon to Santiago became worth about 100 times more when I finally gave it to my husband as a gift back in New York State.
--Which led me to consider what a gift is.
--Which led me to reflect on what value is,
--Which led me to change what I valued.
(I wish I could have been able to give him the view walking down from the Cruz de Ferro to Molinesca.)
I learned that I don't need to dress up to impress people, to be liked, to be encouraged.
Carrying my own stuff gave me the freedom to decide where and when to stop,
It allowed me to to walk on into the evening.
I never worried about where my pack was (on my back).
Everything I needed was right with me.
You are so right. I used the pack transport when I injured my knee for a few days so I could keep on walking. I didn't have enough days to stop and rest. I used it from Viana, and was better by the time I got to Burgos. It does reduce your flexibility and spontaneity a lot.This has been such a liberating thread! It's a very important perspective to offer new pilgrims. What treasures you collected by normally carrying your packs! Unnecessary pack-shipping means I pay (loose) more than just money.
These days the culture & marketing of Camino activity (esp if it includes commercial assistance) increasingly signals it is 'natural' to use pack-shipping services. For a pilgrim who would not be able to walk without this helpful service, whether on a bad day or for the whole Way, a shipping service is a true blessing.
However, 'normalizing' it presses new pilgrims to make early, unconscious choices before they even know what they are giving up.
Other posters have so beautifully described their personal benefits from 'carrying their load', and lightening it accordingly. These are gifts we'd want new pilgrims to consider for themselves & also for those eventually walking with them. Shipping not only forces the pilgrim to book a destination/reservation, it sets up their close companions do likewise. This limits flexibilty as the day unfolds, especially if someone else encounters a need to stop early. Also, if I default to shipping 'because it's there' , doesn't it signal my companions might be 'smart' (or supportive) to do the same? If I prepare back home knowing I will not carry my pack far, the weight of some optional nice clothes & shoes for evening dinners might be worth it, along with remedies for other uncertainties or fears I am trying to control and decide to bring along. I end up with less fredom and more baggage (physical & mental). If I and others model these choices as 'normal', gradually they become the rule. Camino culture is the cumulative effect of individual free choices. How will each pilgrim want to re-define it?
I do not second-guess anyone who ships their pack. I surely know the day must come when I do it myself. Each pilgrim walks as they think is best, given their circumstances and motivations. The beauty of this thread has been to help new pilgrims make informed choices. Advertisements by pack-shipping services, and my culture's value of convenience, make it easy to see practical side of hiring these helpers. This thread alerts me to 'hidden costs' those other sources don't mention.
So thank you to the posters who are helping future pilgrims consciously balance the pros & cons.
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