- Time of past OR future Camino
- Oct 4 to Nov 5 2023 Camino Frances
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Do you even have to? What has been your experience?
Surely walking for 30-40 days will have a toll on the mind as well. I will be doing my first Camino from October to November 2023. All inputs will be appreciated. Thanks.
Do you even have to?
Believe in yourself; put your doubts away and walk!Do you even have to? What has been your experience?
I have walked three Caminos. The Frances with my sister in 2016, the Frances with my husband 2018 and just finished the Norte on June 22.Do you even have to? What has been your experience?
Surely walking for 30-40 daysg will have a toll on the mind as well. I will be doing my first Camino from October to November 2023. All inputs will be appreciated. Thanks.
Do you even have to? What has been your experience?
Surely walking for 30-40 days will have a toll on the mind as well. I will be doing my first Camino from October to November 2023. All inputs will be appreciated. Thanks.
That happens after you arrive!Do you even have to? What has been your experience?
Surely walking for 30-40 days will have a toll on the mind as well. I will be doing my first Camino from October to November 2023. All inputs will be appreciated. Thanks.
Personally, what I find most difficult to get rid of throughout the Camino is what I call "Negative Anticipation",
Thanks for sharing your insights Phil. IMHO these are things that can only be learned from experience. I may not have experienced them but I can appreciate and can learn from them.Thanks for the question! There are many good responses above, but I'd like to add my own take ...
Among the many mistakes I made on my first Camino in April-May 2019 (the Frances) was not preparing my mind enough. After about twelve days on the Camino I almost gave up. Fortunately, a friend suggested I try one more day ... and I continued on to walk the rest of the way, including on to Finisterre after Santiago, walking 760 kms overall.
For me, I found the first few days, over the Pyrenees, physically hard, and I ended up taking the bus from Zubiri to Pamplona. A day or two later, I got sick (just a cold) but I couldn't walk for a few days, and ended up taking the bus for those days too. Just so you know, I was in a group of four, and the other three continued to walk on the days I wasn't feeling up to it, so I caught the bus to meet them at the end of each day. After several days of this, I had taken the bus as many days as I had walked, and I was beginning to wonder whether the Camino was for me. Fortunately, the friend I telephoned was able to talk me out of it, and everything worked out.
I learned a number of lessons from this. Perhaps the most important was that it's not _how_ you walk the Camino, it's _whether_ you walk the Camino that's important. There are various support options along the Camino - buses (or taxis) being one of them, bag transport being another - which can help you when you need it most. My advice would be to prepare your mind to accept that help when it is needed. In my case, in addition to the buses I mentioned earlier, it turned out that I needed bag transport. My attitude at the time was like some of the people on this forum - I felt somehow diminished by needing bag transport (see any number of threads) - and really diminished by needing to take the bus. I felt like I had failed. But I realized that, if I stopped walking because I couldn't accept that I needed help, that would be a loss - mostly to me, but also there would be one less person walking the Camino.
After walking the Frances, my wife and myself have gone on to walk the Ingles, and we're planning another Camino for 2024. We would have lost all that if I had given up (or, at least, I would have lost all that!).
In reading this forum, and the responses above, it seems that a lot of people did not experience those difficulties - either mental or physical. My response is "good for them!" However, it seems to me that I'm not alone in needing support, and in making use of it. There also seem to be a lot of people in that camp.
So, enjoy your Camino! Take the time you need, accept the help you need, and, hopefully, you'll make it all the way! If not, you can always come back another time and continue from where you stopped.
Good luck!! and Buen Camino!
Frankly, for me this was more of an issue. Completely unexpected too. It's been christened the "Camino Blues " ( look for the excellent verse by @andonius . Expresses it far better than I ever could).the harder thing is how to prepare your mind for the end of your Camino and your re-entry
I've done a few big hikes if a few months and bike rides, including 2 Camino's. You sort of get into the mind thing. At first you feel like you're not getting anywhere, maybe you struggle physically too, which is a mental strain.Do you even have to? What has been your experience?
Surely walking for 30-40 days will have a toll on the mind as well. I will be doing my first Camino from October to November 2023. All inputs will be appreciated. Thanks.
@Jay Es, I am confused with this. In one sentence you suggest you don't prepare, but then go on the recommend that the OP be prepared for all eventualities, and follow this with some recommendations about how to go about that.Prepare your mind, I'm sure we are all different. I never do, things change as you go, just be prepared for all eventualities. Maybe do a bit of visualisation on how you could react to problems that crop up on a very typical day. That might help cope with issues, fears and life on the trail.
I think your recommendation to do some visualisations is a good one, and I did, and still do, something similar. What I would add is when doing this, reflect on whether your initial response is going to help get you to a better place, physically if that is required, as well as mentally and emotionally. Even if you think it does, take the next step and think about whether you can change that to get to a better result.I always feel a bit driven and striving for the first couple of weeks, then that fades away and you sort of just melt into the walk and it becomes you, you become it.
I have always enjoyed solo hiking but 3 or 4 day trips are not the same as the Camino. About six months before leaving I was given a copy ofDo you even have to? What has been your experience?
Surely walking for 30-40 days will have a toll on the mind as well. I will be doing my first Camino from October to November 2023. All inputs will be appreciated. Thanks.
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