KM 100 marker - Happy to see it, or sad?

[Aldy]

Greetings pilgrims,
I have a question I would like to address to pilgrims who have finished the Camino Frances...
When you reached km marker 100, what was your reaction? Were you happy to get into the double digits of km left, or were you sad that the journey was coming to an end?

I give you some background on my question - - I have come to the conclusion that my project to write a book on the Camino would mostly focus on the challenges of Life AFTER the Camino... How we re-integrate into our day to day lives and how we apply what we learned on the Camino.

I've spoken to many pilgrims, and expect to speak to many more on my second Camino trip which will begin April 23rd. I'm also hoping to be chosen to be a volunteer at new albergue that recently opened in Santiago where volunteers help pilgrims prepare for their journey back home.

It seems that many pilgrims felt a sense of sadness, and this most often at the km marker 100 - which is a pretty important one for many. Somehow, counting down from the two digit kms is a true measure of the closeness of Santiago, and for some, the end of their journey. Many have told me that they felt a sadness knowing that they were but days away from the conclusion of their journey, a journey many did not want to see end so soon.

How did YOU feel when you arrived at that marker? Happy? Elated? Anxious to finish? Sad?
I appreciate your thoughts and feedback
Pilgrim Sylvie who soon will be back on the Camino!

 

[KiwiNomad06]

To be honest, I'd walked all the way from Le Puy, my body was exhausted, and I felt a real sense of elation when I arrived on the top of O'Cebreiro and started seeing the countdown markers from 151km. The only real emotion I had at the 100km marker was disappointment. Somehow I had been expecting to see something a bit grander than the ordinary markers, and there was so much ugly graffiti on the 100km stone.

This isn't to say I found settling back at home easy. There is something about the simplicity of life on the Camino that took root inside me and some things have been changing in my life ever since. And I was a bit depressed for a while when I got home from my first Camino (though interestingly, not after the second time.)
Margaret

 

[newfydog]

We first were upset at about 270 km. The trip was going to end too soon, and we had to limit ourselves to shorter days to keep it going.

 

[nidarosa]

I actually can't remember seeing it and having any reaction - and it's no more than five months ago! So I can safely say the 100 km marker was not that important or memorable to me, but I do remember the 20 km one. I had my picture taken with it, smiling, knowing that I was going to get there sometime that same day. The reason I felt happy about it, was the sense of accomplishment, of all the hard work paying off. That all those steps had actually accumulated to get me to that point. And looking forward to beautiful Santiago! I think I was just *on* my Camino every step of it, I didn't think about after. The sadness didn't really hit me until I was on the square in front of the Cathedral and there were no fireworks or cheering crowds - only crowds. It felt a bit like an anticlimax, to be honest, and I totally understand the people who keep walking. I would have loved to go to Fisterra after, but my heel wasn't having any of it. Instead I had three days in Santiago with my Camino family, and went to the square every day to watch pilgrims coming in.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I actually can't remember seeing it and having any reaction - and it's no more than five months ago! .

Knowing Galicia, maybe the rain was so heavy you couldn't see it :shock:

 

[na2than]

I have a wonderful picture of the marker...it is so covered in graffiti and there is so much litter nearby it is almost camouflaged. There was a certain pathos that the trip was drawing to its end...but by 100 kms to go you are well into the rush for Santiago syndrome if walking in the summer.As waymarkers are ranked in a top 10...this one would barely scrape in.

some of top ten; Padron..seeing Roncevalles and knowing first day was almost complete...touring bougos cathederal as a pilgrim....the big O'Ceberio....the view coming into Samos....the view of arriving at Mont d'gozo and seeing Santiago....etc etc

whats your top ten points on the trip?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

My reaction: "I'll bet it's not really 100 km."

 

[fortview]

whats your top ten points on the trip?[/quote]

Maybe you should start this as a new topic ! Would be interesting....

 

[fortview]

Sad, really sad.... For so long it seemed the camino would never end, then all of a sudden we were down to the last 100 km .
I miss it so much, that as I'm retired I'm thinking of living on the caminos for a few years. Walk one route, then another. . Is it possible ? Does anyone know anyone who has done this ?

 

[wayfarer]

My reaction was both sadness because the journey was fast coming to an end and great joy as we met some of our camino family at the marker, some we had not seen for days.

 

[D.Matthew]

Just like many, my feelings were definitely a mixed bag. There was a lot of joy and excitement to know that Santiago was near. At the same time, it was sad to know that the end of such an incredible experience was drawing near.

 

[wawpdx]

Happy to see the marker.
Sad to see the graffiti.

 

[Tincatinker]

Deeply saddened by the graffiti and the litter, especially the litter which stretched up and down the lane and festooned the hedges.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

They clean it occasionally!

 

[Buckeroo]

That looks a lot better than when I saw it last October. Thanks for the photo.

 

[tyrrek]

I've never given the 100km marker much thought really. However I do remember feeling on my first Camino in particular that the Camino itself has a way of bringing you back into the 'real' world. After the relative solitude of the Meseta the number of pilgrims gradually increases, the number of bus tours and school groups increases after Sarria, and then just before arriving in Santiago you pass the airport to remind you that very soon there will be a life after the Camino. I welcome all these things. Buen Camino!

 

[KatWanderlust]

This is a really cool question!

It's always a bit of a surprise coming up to the 100km marker, you follow the trail, look to the right and wow there it is! How quickly the km go by...

I've had mixed emotions the 2 times i've passed it - happy to have made it so far and accomplished so much, but sad that it meant the journey was coming to an end and it was time to start preparing for "real life" again.

I think the 0km marker at Finisterre stirred more emotion, as it really sinks in that you cannot walk anymore with the cliff and ocean behind it! A completely overwhelming moment

 

[julie]

They clean it occasionally!

Thank you so much for the photo. Twice I've seen the marker and twice I've been distressed at all the graffiti. It smacked of a great deal of disrespect as the Camino has morphed, by that stage, from an adversary to be wrestled with into a dear, dear friend.

Or perhaps it was I who morphed from something fear-filled into something much gentler and accepting.

Either way it hurt to see that the marker was not being treated with the respect that it deserved.

There was also a sense of amazement that I was nearly there and a recognition that I was not ready to finish so Finisterre came into consideration for the first time. The 0km marker at Finisterre told me that my walking part of the journey was over.

 

[fortview]

QUOTE Julie "Twice I've seen the marker and twice I've been distressed at all the graffiti. It smacked of a great deal of disrespect as the Camino has morphed, by that stage, from an adversary to be wrestled with into a dear, dear friend."

Love this so much ! It really resonates

 

[nellpilgrim]

I think by this stage I was beginning to get a sort of Camino high. Certainly by the time I arrived into Porto Marin, and from then on, I was like an eejit with a big smiley face at all times and 'the giggles' bubbling away just under the surface. There were others like me I know :lol: .
Actually the distance markers seemed to lose their previous significance for me the closer I came to SDC (maybe from the ones about 150km from SDC?) Looking back I seem to have shifted from macro to micro measures and I allowed myself to feel a sneaky little shot of jubilation at every step I took towards Santiago. There was definitely a whiff of permissiveness about this feeling especially when we came across pilgrims just starting their journey who were feeling a little jittery or anxious.
Of course there was a little sadness- at leaving 'old friends' and a daily discipline that one had mastered at some cost- but that feeling actually served as a leavening to the overall joy and happiness I felt on arrival.

 

[bimblingalong]

This is a really cool question!

It's always a bit of a surprise coming up to the 100km marker, you follow the trail, look to the right and wow there it is! How quickly the km go by...

I've had mixed emotions the 2 times i've passed it - happy to have made it so far and accomplished so much, but sad that it meant the journey was coming to an end and it was time to start preparing for "real life" again.

I think the 0km marker at Finisterre stirred more emotion, as it really sinks in that you cannot walk anymore with the cliff and ocean behind it! A completely overwhelming moment

This totally mirrors my emotion & feelings at the 100km....such a huge relief & recognition at my acheivement, but deep down a sadness that I would be having to go back to "reality" at some point....(little did I know that life & my outlook has been altered completely as a result!!)...tears, of course due to a wonderful reunion with a lost Camino sister & the Korean "boyz", a shared stale peanut butter sandwich as celebration & a reluctance to move on, so enthralled I was with watching other's reactions......

but this was nothing to the huge & incredible release/relief I felt at arriving at Finisterre....WOW!!...still has an impact, will be returning for more in Sept this year.

As for life post- Camino...EVERYTHING has changed...got the " nobody understands me, no one is interested in my walk, what-the-hell-am-I-doing-with-my-life?" syndrome & can't seem to find a decently fullfilling job ...oh yeah..things have been shaken up alright, but I know it's pulling me back for more of the same!
everything is wonderfully chaotic & I love it! :wink:

 

[Aldy]

Thanks for all your comments - I appreciate all your thoughts and points of view.
and I am VERY excited to see that the 100 km marker has been cleaned - let's hope it still is in good condition when I get to it this spring...

Cheers and buen camino to all who are heading out!
Aldy from Ottawa, Canada

 

[alexwalker]

As I understand it, the marker is cleaned every year. When I passed it, it was really ugly with graffiti. Very disappointing.

I didn't feel any sadness: I stll had several days ahead. My sadness struck when I stood in front of the cathedral, and suddenly realized that this was the end of an incredible journey.

Since then I have done the VdlP in two stages, and am now preparing for the Portuguese in May. I guess the Camino has fastened its grip on me...

I would like to live for a while on the camino, as one above mentioned. Being retired, it's doable. Must plan, but first: Walk in May :wink:

Maybe a new (long) Frances in the autumn. A big lesson has been not to rush it: Stop earlier, spend time on small things, like personal hygiene, feet, shoes (I wear army boots that need polishing now and then), sit outside a cafe with a cold beer and watch other pilgrims passing, plan afternoon's dinner, etc. etc. Especially the dinners propared together with camino friends. The little things that become so important when all you have is yourself and your backpack.

Oh well, seems I am in real Camino mode again... :lol:

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I am VERY excited to see that the 100 km marker has been cleaned

Don't count on it! I have passed it five times since, once just six months after the clean shot, and it has been completely covered each time. It doesn't take long to be marked, so maybe it is cleaned once a year. Your timing will need to be perfect to see a clean version.