Hello everyone! I have spent the last few weeks reading a lot and preparing for my first Camino. Thank you for all the wonderful information on this Forum!!
I will be arriving at Paris CDG, taking the train to SJPDP and hopefully starting my walk on November 26 2016!
I sure hope I wont be the only one on the Camino on Christmas and New Years!!
Happy Holidays to all! I can't wait to complete the walk and come back to post about my experience and start planning for the next one!
Buen Camino, Rayo de Luna
Rayo de Luna, By now you're in or beyond Pamplona. As a recently returned first-time pilgrim, on the Camino Francés, I offer the following advice (with all due apologies to Steven R. Covey). I am not for a moment suggesting that I adhered to these habits; rather, these are the product of my experience.
The Seven Habits of the Highly Effective Pilgrim
1. Have a purpose. As Peace Pilgrim said, a pilgrim is a wanderer with purpose. And the Irish Pilgrim Passport quotes the 5th Century Book of Lismore: “Going on pilgrimage without change of heart brings no reward from God. For it is by practicing virtue and not mere motion of the feet that we will be brought to heaven”. Whether it be religious, spiritual, personal or merely physical, or any combination of these, having a purpose provides a solid foundation for undertaking the Camino.
2. Stay focussed. This doesn’t mean developing an intense look in the eyes and striding forward with great energy every morning at 5.30am, but a regular check-in with the original purpose of your Camino, identifying and necessary adjustments and reasserting your goal, keeps the mind fresh and engaged.
3. Stretch yourself. You may already be outside your comfort zone in multi-occupant unisex dormitory accommodation. Well, go a little further. Strike up a conversation with a fellow pilgrim who might not be someone you’d normally meet or interact with. You already share a common goal of reaching Santiago, some time, and what’s the worst that can happen?
4. Stretch yourself – physically, this time. Learn a set of stretches for the feet, legs and arms, and perform these rigorously and conscientiously morning, noon and night. Ignore the pitying or astonished (perhaps even admiring?) looks of fellow pilgrims. A routine, faithfully executed, could stave off the dreaded shin splints or tendinitis, allow you to keep your mind on the greater purpose of your Camino (see 1 above!) and relieve you of the need to worry about whether you’ll be able to finish or not.
5. Walk to the beat of your own drum. Don’t be dragged into a race for space. If you fall in with a group that’s walking too fast or too slow for you, return to your own pace. It’s your Camino, not anyone else’s.
6. Seek solitude, so that thoughts can arise, and you can open your mind to ideas, inspiration, challenges, and so that you can meet yourself. You can do this anywhere, but the broad skies of the Meseta can provide an ideal backdrop.
7. Seek company. To a significant degree, the Camino is the people you meet and the conversations you have, whether trivial or profound. It’s in the easy camaraderie of the mid-morning coffee-and-tortilla-española, of the queue outside the albergue, of the shared meal. It’s also the deeper conversations you can have as you walk with a complete stranger.
Buen Camino y feliz Navidad
