For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Hi Moxy,When are you going?
Kahve,
You will have more friends than you know what to do with on the Porto - Portuguese or the Frances. Almost everyone you meet is an immediate friend before introductions because you have all traveled great distances at great expense and great time investment to experience something you have all been thinking about for a long time.
You will have a lot in common with everyone else so starting a conversation comes easy. Continuing the conversation is also easy because you are walking/exercising together in the freedom of the great outdoors and not stuck sitting across from each other in an uncomfortable blind date format. You will make new friends every day if not every hour and the friends you made yesterday you might not see again until tomorrow or next week or never. But they are still your friends and they still feel good about you as you do them. That's how the Camino works. People come in an out of your life and unlike the "real world", meeting each other is easy and natural as are the goodbyes...see you later. Both are happy experiences and both happen spontaneously.
You don't need to bring a friend and you don't need to set one up in advance. Why commit to one now ahead of time when you will have so many to enjoy once you arrive. The one you commit to now may not be a good match and you may part ways soon after the start making for an uncomfortable situation for both of you if you have some expectations of how this "particular friendship" it's all supposed to work out. Finding a friend now and setting it all up does not mean this person is staying with you for the whole hike. They too will want to spread their wings and enjoy meeting the great diversity of people from everywhere on this planet. Since I brought up "expectations" I will go one step further with some advice. Most people I've read about who did not LOVE their camino experience had some expectations prior to the trip that were not realized. If you can, go with NO expectations about anything and be mindful of being open to every new friendship and every new experience and just see where it takes you. And on those days or hours where you are challenged in one way or another remember this quote - the camino gives you what you need, not what you want. So dig below the surface to understand the message the camino/world is sending to you.
I may be wrong but I suspect your question/concern is based on some fear you are having about the Camino. Maybe it's just the fear of the unknown (we all have that to some degree on our first camino). Or maybe there is something more specific. If you can figure out the underlying fears you have please feel free to ask those more specific questions. Everyone here is helpful, compassionate and empathetic. Your fears or questions have already been expressed and answered multiple times and we are happy to answer them again for you. If you are uncomfortable divulging those specific fears or questions, you can find those previous discussions using the search function.
Welcome to the Forum and have a great Camino.