Company & friendships

[Pammy]

Hi I'm walking part of the beginning of the Camino Frances next month on my own. I'm having my bag transferred each day between pre booked lodgings and just walking with a day pack.

I've been reading the comments on the Forum and am a bit concerned that it may be a bit lonely as most people seem to carry their own things and stay in the albergos and so make friendships that way.

I am recovering from cancer - surgery, chemo & radiotherapy, the whole deal - so I didn't think I was up to the strain of carrying a full pack & I wanted to stay places I could rest for a few days if I need. But I don't really want to explain why Im having my stuff transported as I don't really want to talk about cancer with people I meet, I want to move on from being "sick" and just be me. However now I wonder if it will be a bit isolating not staying in the hostels.

Can anyone tell me if there is companionship with those not staying in the albergos please? Otherwise I suppose I'll have lots of time to contemplate & enjoy the scenery.

 

[butter]

Company & friendships

I am walking with my mother furring late July. She will be carrying only a day pack and will likely stay in rooms where available. I believe and am hoping that the fellow walkers will not judge the way you choose to do your walk. We hope to meet others while walking and at stops along the way.
I hope and believe you will enjoy the same.

 

[Pammy]

Thanks for your encouraging reply Butter. I'm sure there will be friendly folk along the way, I guess I'll just take each day as it comes.
I do wish you and your mother a wonderful Camino. How very special to have such an adventure together. Hope the sun shines gently on you both along the way.
All the best

 

[Olivares]

If you are open and friendly, people will respond back. Those who don't most likely wouldn't have been open and friendly in any other setting anyways. Yes, it is likely that you will find the judgemental type that will look down on your pilgrimage. Their issue, don't make it yours. I recently read that many churches and villages along the Camino had young men that would help the pilgrims transport their belongings to the next village and from there on, sort of a "Jacotrans" early version. It made me smile to read that baggage transfer was actually a very common practice on the Camino for early on.

Have a great time! take it slow! Buen camino!!

 

[sergeantmajormammy]

We did just five days (StJ to Pamplona) as an extended family (5 adults, four 12 yr olds) in March - accommodation booked and bags carried - we met people in each of the little hotels we stayed in and wherever we stopped for breaks. You may not have the big albergue-party atmosphere that one hears of but even before we left, I had given up 'apologising' for organising accommodation and bag transport. If we were to do it with albergues and carrying our own packs, we would never have even got as far as booking a flight.
Each person does his/her own camino for personal reasons, in a personal way and who can say that the 'baggage' carried on one person's shoulders is not twenty times heavier than the backpack carried by another.

We met a girl on the flight on the way home who had walked the same distance alone and with a day pack - her comment was that she began and ended the day alone but had company during the day.

Buen Camino

 

[Pieces]

some private albergues will let you stay even if you have transport and also some will let you both book ahead and stay more than one night. Maybe someone can help with a list.

 

[Pammy]

Thank you all for your encouraging advice. I know it will be a wonderful experience if I meet fellow travellers like you along the way.
I don't think I'm really worried about the companionship, i think the concerns are just a spill over from all the well meaning concern of friends and family about me doing the Camino at all. You know, last minute jitters like " are they right? Am I really crazy to be dong this?"
I've walked lots of fairly long treks in the past so I know it's just a matter of pacing myself. Thanks again for the lovely support and advice.
Hope all your Caminos, past and future, are just perfect.

 

[Kanga]

Company & friendships

People who take a holier-than-thou approach to life are trying to cover up their own inadequacies. Sadly prejudice does exist but in my experience judgemental people on the Camino tend to shoot themselves in the foot.
May your walk be full of flowers, joy and lightness of heart.

 

[mralisn]

When I walked last year, I did so with the intention of the son of a fellow teacher and friend. The boy is in his teens. He was undergoing treatment for his cancer. He had to be isolated and was extremely weak for a long time.

Each day was dedicated to him. My morning prayers were all for him. I wore a special item of his each day in his honor. I hadn't told anyone.

During my stay in Grañon, something quite magical happened. After dinner, we were invited to a small prayer ceremony above overlooking the church below. We were invited to say aloud what we were praying for or we could have stayed quiet. I was one of the first to speak. I told of this boy. I was then followed by a Swedish mom who was walking because she lost her 19 year old daughter months early to cancer. A young Austrian girl lost her dad to earlier in the year, cancer. Another Swedish woman was battling for two years and a month before was cleared completely. The first thing she wanted to do was walk the Camino and celebrate her 50th birthday. Another woman from Germany was walking on behalf of her son who was to meet her in Portugal. He is also a teen. There were other I met along the Way as well.

My point is this horrible, horrible disease brought all of us closer together and made a every special bond. This happened in one night in a refugio. I've walked nearly 100 days on the Caminos, and this is one of the most memorable.

It is YOUR Camino, and I wish you the best of all journeys. If you were with us that night, you would have felt the care and support. I bet you would have provided the same in return. I hope you do stay in a refugio when you feel up to it. Give it a try.

The Camino will provide.
Simeon

 

[Deleted member 12253]

I agree with you mralsin, as somebody who walked the camino in memory of a very tragic victim , I can understand your concern, on my 2011 camino I walked for days with a group who had stickers on backpack saying " I battled cancer and won" , they carried day bags but walked 20 / 30 km daily for over a month, proud to have dinner with them in Santiago, gran non a very special albergue, stayed there 3 times. :arrow: :arrow:

 

[Icacos]

Hi I'm walking part of the beginning of the Camino Frances next month on my own. I'm having my bag transferred each day between pre booked lodgings and just walking with a day pack.

I've been reading the comments on the Forum and am a bit concerned that it may be a bit lonely as most people seem to carry their own things and stay in the albergos and so make friendships that way.

I am recovering from cancer - surgery, chemo & radiotherapy, the whole deal - so I didn't think I was up to the strain of carrying a full pack & I wanted to stay places I could rest for a few days if I need. But I don't really want to explain why Im having my stuff transported as I don't really want to talk about cancer with people I meet, I want to move on from being "sick" and just be me. However now I wonder if it will be a bit isolating not staying in the hostels.

Can anyone tell me if there is companionship with those not staying in the albergos please? Otherwise I suppose I'll have lots of time to contemplate & enjoy the scenery.

I just finished the Camino Frances on May 15 after after a 41 day trek. On Day 21 I developed tendinitis in my left shin, was advised by a doctor to take four days off to rest. Thankfully, I was able to resume my trek after that. However, because of the extreme discomfort of the tendinitis I was unable to carry my pack, and even after the tendinitis subsided I did not want to resume carrying my pack for fear of putting the remainder of my Camino at risk. I sent my pack ahead. Many pilgrims sent their packs ahead - simply because it was the only way they could hope to complete the Camino. I did not think it was necessary to give any explanation regarding this.

A word about the albergues: We found the private albergues will generally accept delivery of packs sent ahead (we found the backpack transport services extremely reliable), and many of the albergues have private rooms, with en suite or shared bathrooms, which can be booked in advance through the previous night's lodging. We stayed in all sorts of accommodation but we found, in general, the albergues had wonderful common areas (courtyards mostly) where lots of socializing took place. No one forces you to socialize, but the opportunity is there if you want it. I guess, in other words, when staying in albergues, the companionship after hours is more readily available. If you are staying in private rooms in hotels, there is still ample opportunity to form friendships - along the track, wandering around the villages in the evenings and in restaurants and bars along the way. You will keep running into the same people again and again. You will also have lots of time to contemplate and enjoy the scenery. Hope this helps.

I wish you the very best in your recovery, and hope you have a wonderful Camino. Charleen

 

[frasert]

Company & friendships

Also you can meet people at night in restaurants that have the pilgrim menu
It's a great bonding time.
For example the private albergue in Zubri had a restaurant that pilgrims staying at nearby pensions stayed at.
Also stop and picnic with people during the day is a great way to meet.

 

[Annie Little]

Hola

I was planning to just turn up or only book a day ahead for hotels etc..... did most people book ahead.. I just want to end each day where my feet take me ....not sure if my thinking makes sense

Annie

 

[Tia Valeria]

Each evening we looked at where we felt we could walk to next day and then booked ahead for that night. Some of the accomodation was recommended in our CSJ guidebook, other places were recommended by where we were at the time. This worked well for us on the Primitivo last year and especially on the Francés when we joined it at Palas de Rei. We stayed in a mix of hostales, private albergues and hotels. We found it best to ask about 'habitaciones' (rooms) as we then were given a greater variety of suggestions, rather than just hotels etc..

We can recommend the private albergue with also private rooms at Brea, mid-way between Arzua and Lavacola. A shared table, with our individual orders, at supper was a lovely friendly evening for all of us staying there.

 

[StuartM]

Re: Company & friendships

I walked alone last October. Friendships, I thought, got made during the day as you drift in and out of other people's journey and other people drift in and out of yours. In the evening two days out of three you will see someone you know. For the days you don't then it isn't that hard to find company. Some days you won't want any. Some days by the time you've got everything done then it's too late anyway or you're too tired. Some of the best evenings were spent alone in a village bar with just locals. Bizarrely, the best time was when I ended up alone in Santiago on my final night when everyone else had gone their separate ways.

I did a mishmash of albergues and hotels. Hotel rooms are a bit more isolating but only really when you are actually in the room. Sit in a cafe and it'll be a safe bet someone you know will walk by eventually.

People on the Camino are less judgemental than people at a keyboard. Most folk will take the view that if getting your bag transported means you can walk then there really is nothing to be snobbish about. The vast majority are concerned about getting themselves to their own destination rather than judging how anyone else does it.

Just walk and the rest happens by itself.