NA/AA member walking in september

[vanessa21]

im a member of Na/AA who is walking the camino de santiago on about sept 15th with my partner who is a member as well. I know i would dearly love to meet up with other members, or hear about members experiences walking. Also, are there meetings along the way at any towns etc? Any info and support would be much appreciated!

 

[Hermanita]

Hello
I will be walking my first camino in September also. As well as many others. Can't wait.


Check out this thread in this forum called September starters:
pilgrim-introductions/topic5784.html

Good luck to you

 

[annakappa]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is Na/AA? We (Anne & Adriaan) will be starting our 2nd Camino leaving from Roncevalles on 16th September, hoping to arrive in Santiaga about 20th/21st October. Anne

 

[spursfan]

I guess, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, known for their 12-step programs and buddy system for recovering

I can't imagine that there will be meetings in anywhere except the biggest towns such as Burgos or Leon along the way; here the Spanish AA website http://www.alcoholicos-anonimos.org/

But the good news, I hope, is that there will be fewer temptations along the way as well

 

[kerrysean]

Hi as a long standing aa member I wish you the best of luck on the Camino, its a great experience,with the potential for real spiritual growth and is a great way to give thanks for the gift of sobriety, it is obvious throughout the rigours of the camino, that this would not be an activity that you would have been able to enjoy if still active in addiction. I completed it in late July having started in about mid-june. I brought the pocket version of the Big Book and started each day by handing the day over to the Higher power...and reading relevant prayers from the book. The fact that the Big Book was ever present in the thigh pocket of my shorts was strangely reassuring throughout the 5 weeks on the road
As for temptations, I must disagree with one poster, the pilgrim menus nearly all provide for a bottle of wine to come out with the meal, so be specific and ask for "agua" (water) before the order is completed.
Also it must be said that by no means are all pilgrims sober, indeed I encountered quite a number of people who I think were coping with problems, that on the evidence of post-walk rest and recreation antics may well have been on the camino to deal with issues which perhaps had their roots in an unhealthy relationship to alcohol. So choose your walking partners carefully, and don't feel any reluctance to detach from walking companions whose own behaviour may be leading you back into 'old behaviour' patterns. The bonds created on the walk are strong and especially if you are walking alone, it is easy to overlook your own best interests sometimes in order not to offend the feelings of a walking companion, who may be great during the day, but may wish to indulge regularly each afternoon/evening in a beer session...When you stumble into a place after a 30 km walk in 35 degrees c., the sight of someone slugging into an ice cold lager can only in my opinion be putting yourself under unnecessary pressure.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I think there is a poster for a meeting in Santiago on the notice board of the Pilgrims' Office.