...share their peace of mind after a month on the Camino how they adjusted to returning to work/business and family/friends. Was there a period of adjustment.
I walked for the month of May in 2011 with a friend from Leon to Santiago. My friend went on further and faster after a few days and I walked with a few different wonderful people, and had enough time to also walk from Logrono to Burgos. When I got home I not only had the Camino Blues bigtime, but I realized I was actually experiencing grief - for the loss of walking, the landscape, and my Camino friends and community. Ever since I was ten years old, I have traveled a lot by car and by bike in North America and in Europe, but my month on the Camino was like no other trip in my life. After a few weeks of strange, unexpected bouts of tears and flashbacks of special moments and the faces of new friends, I realized that I could go back! I returned to the Camino a few months later in October 2011 and walked the parts I had missed in May. The landscape and the friends I made this time were as wonderful as on my first trip. Then I realized I needed to walk the
Camino Frances from St. Jean to Santiago in one uninterrupted walk...and it was again an amazing trip. Fortunately, I am retired so I can just keep going back again...and again...and again.
How did your new reality affect you?
Each walk has been wonderful in its own way, with special memories of landscapes and experiences, and special people becoming part of my life each time. I don't grieve any more because I know I will return each year, as long as I am able, and I keep in touch with special Camino friends--and have reconnected with several in their country or mine. At home, I have a growing community of friends who have walked the Camino and we get together often; and it has been fun helping new friends plan their first Camino. To me, the joy of the Camino is the ability to connect - to the land, to new friends, and to myself - and to keep those connections alive at home. The Camino has
changed my life in terms of how I spend my time, but it has also
enriched my life. The Camino Blues are real. You may or may not experience it, but be aware that you may feel unsettled and out-of-sorts upon your return. If you can find ways to keep important Camino connections alive, then the return to your everyday life will be easier. The best plan is to just join the crowd--keep reading the Forum and keep going back! Good luck!