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First week / last week on the Camino

MichaelC

Active Member
Donating Member
Time of past OR future Camino
May 2023: Via Francigena, Lucca to Rome
This one is just for fun.

First week: Wow, I can't believe I just walked 100km!
Last week: Only 100 km to Compostela? That's so close!

First week: I can't survive on just toast and coffee in the morning. I need a big American breakfast.
Last week: That albergue offered us toast and coffee in the morning -what a treat!

First week: Gotta keep on walking walking walking 'til I get to my stop
Last week: Anyone want to stop for a slow lunch? I read that there's good pulpo in this town.

Feel free to add your own!
 
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First week: "Isn't it lovely how all the villages sit on top of hills...a church occupying the highest point looking over the surrounding countryside..."
Later weeks: "Why did they build all the villages on top of #@*! hills?! This thing is tiring enough! Didn't they know it would be easier building (& walking..) if they built them in valleys?!"

Actual excerpts from my emails home during my first Camino (& first long distance walk)...the CF in 2012.
Of course I knew why the villages are built on high points but that didn't help my demeanour on those exhausting days!
Great topic @MichaelC
 
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wisepilgrim said:
First week: Has everything that was packed when leaving home.
Last week: Has only the essentials, or less since the soap was left in the shower and the underwear was left on the drying line a few villages back.
Click to expand...
Yes - exactly this - no matter how ruthless you may be prior to day zero; you can always find something to dispense with by day 10. My pack always weighs less when checked in for the flight home than it did on the flight out.

Also first week ‘hello tree, hello flowers - let’s take the scenic detour; how horrible that every signpost is covered in taxi stickers’

Last week: ‘surely there’s a short cut’
 
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First week, thought when entering an albergue "I'll take a shower later after a siesta". (Unfortunately you fall sound asleep dirty and when you try to shower there is no hot water .)

Last week, thought when entering an albergue "I'll take my siesta later after a shower". (Probably you'll have hot water to shower and you can fall asleep clean.)
 
Last edited:
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Here is another:
First week (getting to the starting point): What train or bus do I take to get to my albergue or the starting point? And how many KM am I supposed to walk today/in the morning???
Last week (getting ready to go home): The albergue/airport is only 'x' kilometers away - may as well walk!

I seriously said to myself that the airport in Madrid was only 7 miles - it would be an easy walk - but better sense prevailed as airports are notoriously difficult to access by foot!
 
We actually tried this back in 2016 but were only about 1km away. Problem was the parking lot goes on forever before you even get close to the airport and we didn't know which way to walk. Luckily it was just a trial walk the night before our departure.
Ever since my first time on the Camino in 2013 I always guesstimate walking distances at roughly 15 minutes per km. Nothing seems so far anymore.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I'm always up for good pulpo.... what town was that?
 
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First week: Get back to the albergue by 10pm or you will be locked out.
Last week: Get back to the albergue by 10pm or you will be locked out.

(I am not very good at getting back to the albergue by 10pm .)
 
First Day: I didn't know it will be a life changing experience.
Last Day: I want to do it in reverse
 
Great thread idea!...and so many fun replies to read!
First Day: After a long travel day and a delicious dinner at Corazon Puro, I retired to my room. Stepping in the bathroom down the hall I wondered "Where are all the towels and soap?" Then it occurred to me "Oh yes, I have to dig in my backpack and use my own, starting today!"
Last Day: Upon seeing the Cathedral in Santiago; "I made it! I conquered! This amazing walk is now off my bucket list!"
 
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First week: Taking the bed way back in the corner, up against a wall, putting up my towel from the top bunk to hang down for sleeping privacy. (Very modest)
Last Week: dressing at the side of my bed without a care. Introducing myself to the man whose bed is about 12 inches away, with a “ since I see we are going to be sleeping together, we should probably introduce ourselves”.
 
First Week: I hope there is a restaurant next to the albergue. I don't think I can shuffle any further than that today.
Last Week: (in Ribadiso) I've heard there are some nice places to eat in Arzua. We can walk there in half an hour.
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
First day: "Oh look, it's another pilgrim!"
Last 100km: "OMG. Where did they all come from?!"

Also good where other Caminos feed into Frances.
 
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