Just finished the Frances Camino

[jennifer greaney]

A few days ago I finished the 775 km from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and it was easily one of the highlights of my life so far. My credential and Compostela now my most prized possessions. It may seem a bit strange to be introducing myself at the end of the Camino instead of the beginning. I have been a member since April but until a few days ago I couldn't remember how to find the site!

I am a 61 year old Australian and this is my first time in Spain. I love the place! I love the Camino. I love it very much. I feel a little lost now! i have been staying in Santiago since I finished and on on Thursday will head off to Finisterre. I am wondering if other people feel this funny empty feeling when the Camino is over?

 

[mspath]

Indeed Jennifer many pilgrims do feel "that empty feeling" when our caminos are over. Thus we remember and hope to give back a part of what has been gleaned. Some may serve as hospitaleros offering physical assistance to fellow pilgrims. Others share their journeys anew offering tips/advice by writing to unknown readers as for example in blogs, books or on this Forum....
Every morning I wake and wonder how it might be walking the camino today in such heat or rain or snow. Every evening when offering silent thanks for the gift of the present day I give special thanks for personal camino memories and hope that I may "wear" a pilgrim shell until the end.

As a camino veteran you are definitely not alone!

 

[jennifer greaney]

Indeed Jennifer many pilgrims do feel "that empty feeling" when our caminos are over. Thus we remember and hope to give back a part of what has been gleaned. Some may serve as hospitaleros offering physical assistance to fellow pilgrims. Others share their journeys anew offering tips/advice by writing to unknown readers as for example in blogs, books or on this Forum....
Every morning I wake and wonder how it might be walking the camino today in such heat or rain or snow. Every evening when offering silent thanks for the gift of the present day I give special thanks for personal camino memories and hope that I may "wear" a pilgrim shell until the end.

As a camino veteran you are definitely not alone!

Thank you! It feels good to be talking with a fellow pilgrim.i walked the Camino alone and although I met many people along the way nearly all of them have moved on and I miss the connection with them. There is a place in Pieroz that I have thought of volunteering at next year. I have definitely got to travel bug. And I think I will be waking up and thinking about the Camino for the rest of my life too.

 

[marbuck]

I am wondering if other people feel this funny empty feeling when the Camino is over?

We all do, this is why we keep going back time after time. We thought our first Camino was a one off, but we are preparing to go back for our fourth next April. It is a lot more expensive from Australia than other country's but we somehow manage to find the funds each year. I would like to think that I will be walking Camino's for a long time to come.

 

[wayfarer]

Welcome to the forum and the club Jennifer. Most of us have felt this way after our Camino, that is why we end up still posting on this forum, its to stay connected to the experience and to those who share what we experienced.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Hi Jennifer and welcome!
I fell in love with the Spain of the Camino as well.
...and you describe a feeling that so many of us experience once the walking ends. The good news is - as you've discovered, your Camino does not. What form and where your onward journey will take you is a Camino in itself.

You'll find many fellow Aussies here on the Forum. Don't know which state you're from but most have Pilgrim groups that you may want to connect with once you're back home.
Check out the Australia and New Zealand section.

 

[Marion-SantiagoInLove]

Feeling empty to end a Way that is so full... like everyone said, it happens to... everyone.
Living a simple life, the heart wide open with awareness in present time, it's difficult to feel anything else than emptiness when going back to our old way of rushing around with our busy mind and heart...
To me, it's the toughest part of the Camino so far: holding its spirit in my heart and walking like a pilgrim every moment of my "normal" life. The Camino is a very special place, but the true magic is to find yourself walking "it" elsewhere... I believe it's a matter of heart!
Some say pilgrims never return from Santiago, that they are part of a great family, the Walkers of Eternity. I agree with the thought and love the picture... So:
Hi, Jennifer! Welcome in the Family! Don't worry, keep the Camino alive in your heart and you will feel "full" again, very soon

 

[Kate fowles]

Hi we are wanting to walk it. I am 43 and my husband is 45 and we will be walking with an old school friend who is 46. We are interested in the camino Français - from a nature perspective (we are avid hikers and hail from South Africa so we are mad about rugged unspoilt countryside) is it as beautiful as people make out? This is an expensive trip for us and I don't want to make an expensive mistake. I have one child in high school and one starting university next year. Please could you give me some feedback.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

While some of the countryside can be described as beautiful, there is a lot of ordinary farmland and urban sprawl. Only a part is unspoiled, most being developed as farmland. The Camino usually is an internal thing. The interaction with other pilgrims a secondary thing, and the scenic beauty tertiary. Of course, there are as many opinions on that as there are pilgrims. Everyone has a unique experience.

 

[C clearly]

(...we are mad about rugged unspoilt countryside) is it as beautiful as people make out?

No. You are much better off to visit other places if you are seeking rugged unspoilt countryside.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Hi Kate
Yes, it can be an expensive and long excursion from Australia.

@falcon269 is spot on with his overview. I'm an experienced and much travelled hiker and would describe my Camino Francés as a long pilgrimage walk through rural northern Spain, small villages and some historic cities with only sparse unspoilt countryside. Perhaps other routes may deliver a more nature based experience and forum members could assist with alternatives.

That said, it is first and foremost a pilgrimage and that is totally different to other great treks around the world.

You really need to decide on what your motivation and expectations are as the focus of the CF is not specifically nature based.

However, the Camino touched me in ways that no rugged unspoilt natural walk has before - and we've trekked extensively throughout Africa and many remote parts of the world.

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

A few days ago I finished the 775 km from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and it was easily one of the highlights of my life so far. My credential and Compostela now my most prized possessions. It may seem a bit strange to be introducing myself at the end of the Camino instead of the beginning. I have been a member since April but until a few days ago I couldn't remember how to find the site!

I am a 61 year old Australian and this is my first time in Spain. I love the place! I love the Camino. I love it very much. I feel a little lost now! i have been staying in Santiago since I finished and on on Thursday will head off to Finisterre. I am wondering if other people feel this funny empty feeling when the Camino is over?

Congratulations on your accomplishment, Jennifer!
of course people have that funny empty feeling, or no one would ever be online on this forum
I walked the last few km into SdC with a young woman who was going home 2 days later; we met for lunch the next day outside my hotel (the Parador) and she nearly burst into tears looking down at the yellow arrow on the sidewalk pointing the way to Finisterre. When I got home to Baltimore after 90 days, road crews working on the street had painted a large yellow arrow on the sidewalk in front of my rowhouse, pointing east. I did burst into tears.

 

[domigee]

A few days ago I finished the 775 km from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and it was easily one of the highlights of my life so far. My credential and Compostela now my most prized possessions. It may seem a bit strange to be introducing myself at the end of the Camino instead of the beginning. I have been a member since April but until a few days ago I couldn't remember how to find the site!

I am a 61 year old Australian and this is my first time in Spain. I love the place! I love the Camino. I love it very much. I feel a little lost now! i have been staying in Santiago since I finished and on on Thursday will head off to Finisterre. I am wondering if other people feel this funny empty feeling when the Camino is over?

Hi Jennifer! You're off to Finisterre today, buen camino and congratulations on reaching Santiago!
For me, walking to Finisterre and Muxia is the perfect way to end the Camino... Time to reflect, more solitude, sometimes meeting long lost pilgrims who also made it to 'the end of the world'
A time to unwind before returning home... I hope it'll be the same for you

This said, it is never 'finished' of course for some of us. Like you and many on this forum I experienced that 'funny empty feeling' after my first Camino. It is not something I could explain at the time, nor can I now. So I went back! And here I am barely home 4 weeks since my 4th Camino, hoping I can return again!

Ultreia!

Dominique

 

[domigee]

(...)it is first and foremost a pilgrimage and that is totally different to other great treks around the world.

You really need to decide on what your motivation and expectations are as the focus of the CF is not specifically nature based.

.

@Kate fowles , @Wokabaut_Meri is spot on with his above comments.
I have met quite a few disappointed 'pilgrims' whom of course you won't meet on this forum... In my simplistic way, I explained their disappointment because they weren't really after a pilgrimage and to me that is what the Camino is....
The complaints were various (all genuine!) :'countryside not that amazing (better in the Lake district), too much walking on tarmac, walking through boring uninteresting suburbs, not enough hot water in albergues, horrible unhealthy Spanish food, Santiago too touristy, too many people, not enough people'...My favourite was 'too many churches, why do they have to flaunt religion so much?' from a disgruntled walker who flew back home the next day ...

So no, the Camino is not for everyone. Only you can tell if it is for you

Dominique

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

My favourite was 'too many churches, why do they have to flaunt religion so much?'

OK, this is vying with Mark Lee's description of a Camino Hugh Hefner for best thing to make me laugh this week.

 

[Deleted member 56069]

My wife and I are hopelessly hooked on Camino's. 2017 will be our forth year in a row. 2017 will be the Portuguese Camino for us and out to Finistere and Muxia.
Likely we will do a Camino route every year as long as we are able.
We have done a lot of other travel and none of it has been as remotely memorable as our time in Spain.
Once we get really, really old, maybe a resort holiday will again be in the cards again.

 

[katie@camino]

Feeling empty to end a Way that is so full... like everyone said, it happens to... everyone.
Living a simple life, the heart wide open with awareness in present time, it's difficult to feel anything else than emptiness when going back to our old way of rushing around with our busy mind and heart...
To me, it's the toughest part of the Camino so far: holding its spirit in my heart and walking like a pilgrim every moment of my "normal" life. The Camino is a very special place, but the true magic is to find yourself walking "it" elsewhere... I believe it's a matter of heart!
Some say pilgrims never return from Santiago, that they are part of a great family, the Walkers of Eternity. I agree with the thought and love the picture... So:
Hi, Jennifer! Welcome in the Family! Don't worry, keep the Camino alive in your heart and you will feel "full" again, very soon

Wow this post perfectly sums up feelings since completing my first Camino in July. Thankyou, this is beautiful.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

A few days ago I finished the 775 km from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and it was easily one of the highlights of my life so far. My credential and Compostela now my most prized possessions. It may seem a bit strange to be introducing myself at the end of the Camino instead of the beginning. I have been a member since April but until a few days ago I couldn't remember how to find the site!

I am a 61 year old Australian and this is my first time in Spain. I love the place! I love the Camino. I love it very much. I feel a little lost now! i have been staying in Santiago since I finished and on on Thursday will head off to Finisterre. I am wondering if other people feel this funny empty feeling when the Camino is over?

Always.

 

[Marion-SantiagoInLove]

Wow this post perfectly sums up feelings since completing my first Camino in July. Thankyou, this is beautiful.

Thank you for your very nice comment...
Straight to the heart!

 

[Nick Bali]

A few days ago I finished the 775 km from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago and it was easily one of the highlights of my life so far. My credential and Compostela now my most prized possessions. It may seem a bit strange to be introducing myself at the end of the Camino instead of the beginning. I have been a member since April but until a few days ago I couldn't remember how to find the site!

I am a 61 year old Australian and this is my first time in Spain. I love the place! I love the Camino. I love it very much. I feel a little lost now! i have been staying in Santiago since I finished and on on Thursday will head off to Finisterre. I am wondering if other people feel this funny empty feeling when the Camino is over?

Why not start the Portuguese camino heading south? That's what I intend to do next year when I finish (hopefully ( the Camino del Norte ---- but first I might just get a ferry from Dover to Calais, turn right and head south down the French coast. Who knows now that I have caught the"Camino Bug; I have stopped working and started walking!!