GillianCelliers
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Unknown
I am 68 and walked solo Porto to Santiago. I got so much wrong, but so much right too. I had trained - somewhat.
I began 27 March in run up to Easter and walked into terrible weather on Coastal route. Poncho ripped in the 40 kms wind day one, wet clothes and wet feet every day. I had planned for sunny dry days and sitting on beautiful beaches. Bwah on my ideas!
There are no buts in this story. I made a plan when a plan was needed. I wore plastic bags in my trainers as I didn’t have hiking boots.
I saw a German lady wearing a black bin bag under her gear to stay dry. You go girl!
I wore the same leggings for 5 days straight as just didn’t have clothing for the bad weather.
T shirts became vests as needed. Some days same clothes got reused again. Layers mattered. A hostel hostess lent me dry clothes one really cold wet day and made us all dinner. That’s a big memory as you recognise your needs head on. She was brilliant.
I carried little- about 4 kgs as luggage service used to save hip and knee damage. I foraged as I found supermarkets. I wasn’t there to jol, I know how to feed myself. I met all nations, all hang ups, yes talked to all the dogs, fed my only apple to a horse, loved the chickens in the country villages, and the turkeys. Only the feathered kind in this.
My expectations were reasonable and I wasn’t disappointed. I had many lovely lovely hosts, an odd uncaring one, a place with no heating on one of the wettest days. I sat at a communal hostel table with 8 nationalities in 13 people. Wonderful hot water, limited hot water, the horror of upper bunks at my age, and I forgot the time, and the day. Tech got me all the way. Love it! When Portuguese sim card stopped working, bought a Spanish one. Make a plan- people help you. Here thanks goes to a little Peruvian nun who really was an Angel of tech support! When Spotify free stopped working googled it- time to pay. I ate out only 3 times in 17 days - once as needed energy fast, once as a little treat to sit in social space and feel who I was, and once because it was Sunday and supermarkets closed. And I didn’t go off the deep end. Economical and healthy. Except for all the pasta de nater- took many days to move on from them!
And then the sun shone - and at 11am on 12 April I walked into St James. Then I cried as the darling who spiritually walked with me was still and always will be dearly and deeply missed and I was finally here.
My walk was done, my sadness will never be.
I am happy with all that I experienced- from inadequate gear to what next can the weather and blisters do to me - I arrived unharmed, and glad with what I had been able to do.
If you have high expectations, if you feel the best gear matters- it can but it’s more than that, it’s what you need too. I don’t buy into the Camino will provide- it is hard and you have to step up. My walk could have collapsed for a million reasons,
With age and joints I probably will never do another Camino- and here’s the first but of my little story - but I did it.
In hindsight I enjoyed it.
The day after not getting up really early planning and packing and getting out walking was actually missed. I talked to animals, thought about family, listened to podcasts, or just listened to birds. There were few on this walk due to the weather. I lived a lot in the moment and the past, not much future to plan big at my age.
And I made it! It begins left foot right foot. Winna!
I began 27 March in run up to Easter and walked into terrible weather on Coastal route. Poncho ripped in the 40 kms wind day one, wet clothes and wet feet every day. I had planned for sunny dry days and sitting on beautiful beaches. Bwah on my ideas!
There are no buts in this story. I made a plan when a plan was needed. I wore plastic bags in my trainers as I didn’t have hiking boots.
I saw a German lady wearing a black bin bag under her gear to stay dry. You go girl!
I wore the same leggings for 5 days straight as just didn’t have clothing for the bad weather.
T shirts became vests as needed. Some days same clothes got reused again. Layers mattered. A hostel hostess lent me dry clothes one really cold wet day and made us all dinner. That’s a big memory as you recognise your needs head on. She was brilliant.
I carried little- about 4 kgs as luggage service used to save hip and knee damage. I foraged as I found supermarkets. I wasn’t there to jol, I know how to feed myself. I met all nations, all hang ups, yes talked to all the dogs, fed my only apple to a horse, loved the chickens in the country villages, and the turkeys. Only the feathered kind in this.
My expectations were reasonable and I wasn’t disappointed. I had many lovely lovely hosts, an odd uncaring one, a place with no heating on one of the wettest days. I sat at a communal hostel table with 8 nationalities in 13 people. Wonderful hot water, limited hot water, the horror of upper bunks at my age, and I forgot the time, and the day. Tech got me all the way. Love it! When Portuguese sim card stopped working, bought a Spanish one. Make a plan- people help you. Here thanks goes to a little Peruvian nun who really was an Angel of tech support! When Spotify free stopped working googled it- time to pay. I ate out only 3 times in 17 days - once as needed energy fast, once as a little treat to sit in social space and feel who I was, and once because it was Sunday and supermarkets closed. And I didn’t go off the deep end. Economical and healthy. Except for all the pasta de nater- took many days to move on from them!
And then the sun shone - and at 11am on 12 April I walked into St James. Then I cried as the darling who spiritually walked with me was still and always will be dearly and deeply missed and I was finally here.
My walk was done, my sadness will never be.
I am happy with all that I experienced- from inadequate gear to what next can the weather and blisters do to me - I arrived unharmed, and glad with what I had been able to do.
If you have high expectations, if you feel the best gear matters- it can but it’s more than that, it’s what you need too. I don’t buy into the Camino will provide- it is hard and you have to step up. My walk could have collapsed for a million reasons,
With age and joints I probably will never do another Camino- and here’s the first but of my little story - but I did it.
In hindsight I enjoyed it.
The day after not getting up really early planning and packing and getting out walking was actually missed. I talked to animals, thought about family, listened to podcasts, or just listened to birds. There were few on this walk due to the weather. I lived a lot in the moment and the past, not much future to plan big at my age.
And I made it! It begins left foot right foot. Winna!
