I agree,
there was a feeling of
"what now?"
the day I finished my first Camino.
And I agree,
you can never get back that first experience.
But to me,
it's a bit like the first time you have sex.
The first time
is a combination of fear and excitement
because you've never experienced this before.
You've heard people say how wonderful
(or horrible)
it is.
But you want to know for yourself.
You've heard certain "rules" about it,
how, when, and with whom it should be done,
and you've heard stories about
what happens when those rules are broken.
You wonder if those are just urban legends
or religious fairy tales.
You wonder how anything that calls you
so strongly
could be anything but the right thing to do.
Then it happens.
You either do it by your own rules
or by someone else's rules,
but you do it.
And...
you either love it
or you are completely disappointed
because your expectations were out of balance.
You go home,
and you think about it.
Then you decide to do it again.
But this time, you are wiser.
This time, you have experienced.
And because you learned
what did not work for you,
because you found out
what you did NOT like or want,
you now know
what you DO like or want.
For me, the Camino has been much like this.
Each walk
is a little better
because of what I learned the time before.
I'm no longer worried about
time,
finding lodging,
finding money,
finding food,
cooking it,
communicating,
having what I need for every single situation,
safety,
walking alone,
getting lost,
or feeling guilty
if I decide to bus a stage or two.
This freedom
has made the Camino
more enjoyable
and a much happier experience.
So..my advice is
to learn from the first time,
perhaps change your expectations.
Try having NONE
and see what happens.
You might be surprised!