- Time of past OR future Camino
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I used to get the same feeling gawping at the Brierly diagrams, especially the gradient leading up to and beyond ORISSON ! The reality turned out to be WORSE according to my aching lungsA thread about taking a bus reminded me of something I've noticed every time I follow a Camino route on a bus or a train: it always looks way more long, difficult, intense, steep, or otherwise awful than it actually turns out to be.
Before I walked both the Vasco and Invierno, I'd taken the train in the same general areas and was thinking I would really suffer (in fact, it was the train journey from Monforte to Leon that put me off walking the Invierno for years). But on foot, neither were anything close to as intense as they appeared.
Likewise, exurbs seem more soulless, and rough places look more dismal than they ever do on foot.
Now I know not to be freaked out by perceptions from speeding vehicles. But I'm curious - am I the only one, or does this happen to you too?
And if you're a first-timer on the bus from Pamplona to SJPP and find yourself questioning your sanity - or like me think a camino is out of the question because it looked really gnarly from a train...maybe question that perception. It probably won't be that hard after all.
Well. So.much for that hypothesis. Not quite the same thing, though.The reality turned out to be WORSE
Not so sure about that. After walking from Canterbury to Rome in summer 2015 I met my wife there and we both returned to the UK by train. Passing through a number of familiar places on the way. I remember thinking that condensing a 66 day walk into less than 24 hours of train travel made it seem a fairly small business after all!A thread about taking a bus reminded me of something I've noticed every time I follow a Camino route on a bus or a train: it always looks way more long, difficult, intense, steep, or otherwise awful than it actually turns out to be.
I should note that misperception works after the fact too. I'm probably not the only person who's been on a train for hours, amazed that walking all that way is even possible. But I'd just done it.
It's bizarre.
But did the mountainous parts look more difficult than they had actually been?I remember thinking that condensing a 66 day walk into less than 24 hours of train travel made it seem a fairly small business after all
Yes. But in my experience they always do. And reputation plays a big part too. I walked the Camino Frances for the fourth time this January. On the day I walked from Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro I was very aware of some small anxiety about the upcoming "very hard" climb for the last few km. Which I had already walked three times and knew from personal experience was well within my own capabilities. But somehow I had still allowed all the hype about this infamous stage that I had read here and elsewhere to override what I knew to be reality.But did the mountainous parts look more difficult than they had actually been?
So it's not just me.But in my experience they always do
I scared myself shitless after volunteering to do a fire walk for charity some years ago. I was a nervous wreck when the day actually dawned. I mean, how do you do any previous training? The actual training on the day was mostly phycological with some tips thrown in. By the time the team had finished with me I would have thrown momma off the train! When I actually did the walk , I looked at the fire pit behind and started to laugh . Asking " was that it ? "So it's not just me.
That's what I find so interesting: a landscape can look absolutely hair-raising from a speeding vehicle. But step by step it's not that big a deal.
For me this is aside from reputation. Some of the worst misperceptions in my experience have been in places where few pilgrims go. But yes, hype can definitely get lodged sideways in one's psyche. For me it was the Alto del Perdòn. On the other side I thought, "That was it?"
For me it was Cruz de Ferro.For me this is aside from reputation. Some of the worst misperceptions in my experience have been in places where few pilgrims go. But yes, hype can definitely get lodged sideways in one's psyche. For me it was the Alto del Perdòn. On the other side I thought, "That was it?"
Yes. For me it seems to be a sense of familiarity and removal of anticipation/anxiety time. Once I am there, on the ground, placing one foot in front of the other, it is familiar and seeable and do-able. My decisions are reduced to practicalities. (Of course, that can also be hazardous, as you go step-by-step into unknown territory, so one does need to carry some information and common sense. That is what I try to prepare for, on routes where I am likely to be alone.)it always looks way more long, difficult, intense, steep, or otherwise awful than it actually turns out to be.
Sheesh. What a bummer.I was so annoyed that I had put myself in a situation where I would be retracing my hard earned steps with a 2 minute train ride when I was exhausted.
Alto del Perdòn
No one said anything about the downhill side of both of these, which (to me) felt vastly worse than the climb.Cruz de Ferro.
Maybe you're wiser than I.I wasn't focused on looking at what I was about to walk and seeing how hard it might be.
A thread about taking a bus reminded me of something I've noticed every time I follow a Camino route on a bus or a train: it always looks way more long, difficult, intense, steep, or otherwise awful than it actually turns out to be.
Likewise, exurbs seem more soulless, and rough places look more dismal than they ever do on foot.
About half way into the CF I stopped looking at profile maps of the next stage -- I found they always looked steeper on paper than in reality and were just needlessly making me worry.
Yes!!Once I am there, on the ground, placing one foot in front of the other, it is familiar and seeable and do-able
Me too, I got up early to walk, and then all of a sudden was there. I was expecting a peaceful contemplative place - the first time I walked to the Cruz de Ferro, a group of school kids were already there, throwing rocks at each other.For me it was Cruz de Ferro.
Wow, 66 days! I was expecting it would take me too long to fit into a Schengen schedule.Not so sure about that. After walking from Canterbury to Rome in summer 2015 I met my wife there and we both returned to the UK by train. Passing through a number of familiar places on the way. I remember thinking that condensing a 66 day walk into less than 24 hours of train travel made it seem a fairly small business after all!
That sounds more like my experience.
I do walk fairly long days. Most people aim for something closer to 80 or 90 days.Wow, 66 days! I was expecting it would take me too long to fit into a Schengen schedule.
No... I was just stupid and got on the train going the wrong direction! It was really stupid because I was told again and again that it was illegal to cross the tracks and to just get on the train - go one stop - and get off. Well... I had to cross that particular track to get on the train going the right direction... it was elsewhere where it was illegal to cross the track. I remember thinking - "I should be on the other side of the track but they say it is illegal to cross" LMAOSheesh. What a bummer.
I'm assuming it wasn't possible just to take the train in the other direction?
Now this is the kind of special experience I loved on the Camino! Those moments when a local goes above and beyond to make sure you get what you need out of the goodness of their heart. My moment like that was a cold dreary day when a bar owner snuck me upstairs trying not to let the others in the bar see me - to a closed restaurant room where his wife served me a lovely dinner. He then invited me back for breakfast to make sure I was ready to start my day. Love those unexpected moments are the best!This reminds me of the
pedestrian bridge which carries pilgrims high above the auto-route east of Leon.
When I got there in 2010 the wind was so terrific that at first I could NOT MOVE! Seeking help but seeing no other pilgrim I backed down the ramp and calmly walked into a nearby car showroom. After I explained that I needed assistance to cross the slightly astonished but very elegant manager put on his coat and took my arm. Eventually we both made it across, wind-blown and breathless! With a casual 'Adios' he noted that he had never walked the Camino and if it was all like that crossing he certainly never would!
...Later years whenever I successfully crossed that bridge I always smiled remembering my intense earlier relief!!
What a nice story!those unexpected moments are the best!
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