Returning on Foot

[Abby Killey]

It seems to me I should walk BACK after getting there....does any0ne ever do that? Wasn't that originally part of the deal? I was thinking of going out on the French trail and back on the northern route along the coast.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Wasn't that originally part of the deal?

Yes it was before modern transportation. However, it is rarely a part of the pilgrimage as revived in the late 20th century. There are reverse waymarks on the Camino Frances, but I do not know if the Camino del Norte has been marked in reverse.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I think arriving at Santiago or Finisterre is really the half-way mark.
Walking back home lets you process the whole experience properly. Jumping on a train or plane and suddenly plunging back into "real life" is SUCH a shock!
I think that´s why people sometimes feel out of sorts and disoriented when their camino is through. They only got to the center of the labyrinth.. they didn´t get to walk back out again!

 

[Metropolly]

You can do it, and plenty do, but it's not part of the 'deal'. The goal is to visit St James, and after that you're done. In ancient times before Easyjet (if one can imagine such an age) there was no choice but to turn around and walk back home. But once you have your Compostela your pilgrimage is complete, and anything you do after that is extra. I'm not saying there is no point walking any further - trudge on to Finisterra or Porto or Jerusalem or back home, as you please; but it is not expected or necessary

 

[David]

I've met a few walking back along the Camino. Three were very spaced out men, poor, ragged, seemed content; the fourth was a woman who had written a book on the Camino experience and did paid seminars on something or other, awareness I would guess; quite pleasant, tiny day-pack and perfect hair, handed out a lot of business cards along the way. She said that it was difficult going in reverse as the signage didn't work too well in the upstream direction.

 

[grayland]

Yes, you can stay in albergues walking back from Santiago.

You will still have your original credential (passport) and use it to go back on the same or another route. You can get additional passports at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.

I have walked in reverse on few days on the CF. I found it to be unmarked on the part of the CF I traveled. I know the way pretty well so was able to sort it out. The mornings are much easier with people coming toward you.

 

[mikevasey]

There is reverse marking on the Norte but it is very infrequent. I assume it is the blue spirally thingy, I saw more evidence of it in 2010 than 2012. The people who i met going the other way on the Norte are usually heading to some far flung place, one guy and his two dogs were going back to Amsterdam, an American was going to the pilgrimage place in Bosnia, a South African cyclist who started in Le Puy was coming back out to go to Copenhagen for a tall ships event. The albergue de peregrinos in Irun has a notice up saying no returnees, however I think the others I have seen are Ok with it.

 

[hecate105]

I returned as well. Started on the Portuguese route and went backwards on the Norte, then the Voie Litoral and other routes back to UK. At every albergue I was told it was perfectly acceptable to use the facilities on my way home. I was even given a fresh pilgrim's passport after mine was stolen. I stayed at the Irun albergue and didn't see the sign - the lady was very welcoming there. I had asked others about the return journey and had been told - it will be miserable, everyone's going the opposite way, don't do it! But I really enjoyed it. I knew I was on my way home - so my route is not going to be the same as others. I enjoyed meeting people - knowing that it was just the 'one' chance of a conversation with them. It adds immediacy and directness I think. It might not suit all, but, as Rebekah points out, it is YOUR way out of the labyrinth! Go for it...

 

[donjohannes]

Hi, I agree that walking home is a great way to do it. I chose to do it on my current pilgrimage (Jerusalem) taking a different route for the way back. Don´t know yet how it will feel when I get closer to home since I´m still on the road, but while walking through new places is great I sometimes wonder what it would be like to return the same way i came, say hello to the people I had met and share my experiences since I left them. In this way it might even more be a ¨work up¨ of the original camino, as someone suggested. God Bless, Fr Johannes - www.4kmh.com

 

[newfydog]

....does any0ne ever do that? Wasn't that originally part of the deal? .

Funny how that never comes up in the "true pilgrim" discussions!

 

[wayfarer]

In 2012 I met at least four walking back from Santiago, the first was near the pass on the Valcarlos route, I saw him coming out of a side path and heading towards us and assumed he had got turned around but when I pointed him in the "right" direction he told me he had left Bordeaux on 1st January, had walked to Finisterra and was now walking home. I also met a man (several times) who I first thought was walking back home from Santiago, but turned out he was walking the stages in reverse. The logistics alone boggle the mind.

 

[mikevasey]

So if he started in Castrojeriz and walked to Hornillos he would have to get to Fromista for the start of the next day so he could walk to Castrojeriz, its not just the logistics that boggle the mind.

 

[wayfarer]

So if he started in Castrojeriz and walked to Hornillos he would have to get to Fromista for the start of the next day so he could walk to Castrojeriz, its not just the logistics that boggle the mind.

Exactly, we met him walking against us for about one week around the same time each day. First day I thought he was just someone walking home, second day I thought it was deja vu, third day I thought I was seeing things and thank God I had it figured out by day four.

 

[lovingkindness]

, ... but while walking through new places is great I sometimes wonder what it would be like to return the same way i came, say hello to the people I had met and share my experiences since I left them.God Bless, Fr Johannes - www.4kmh.com

...that's what I'm doing now and the power of Return is fantastic. The excitement of greeting people who sheltered me along the way, the exhilaration of sharing and giving thanks for everything that has happened. It definitely helps. It took me years to get to Jerusalem. Leaving par avion left me dazed. Now I feel less so. I am too tired to walk the entire journey in reverse so I hike for a few weeks, sometimes in new places, sometimes where I've been before. I play the flute in the streets for a day or two when I've had enough of walking then I take the train. Heading back demands just as much faith and trust as setting off into the unknown.....is there really such a thing as Known?

 

[caminka]

walking back is a wonderful experience. I did CF in 2012 (I started from muxia) because it just felt the right thing to do (and I had an extra month I 'saved' up on the going-there part, somehow). it gave a special dimension to my trip, heading east, home. I never had any problems in albergues, many hospitaleros were delighted. the steady flow of morning pilgrims helped a lot in galicia where many local paths, roads and streets make spotting the waymarks sometimes difficult. the toughest was from muxia to hospital. otherwise I didn't have problems. (I like to think I know the camino so well. )

I still vividly remember the different feel of CF in different 'provinces', the excitement and expectation in galicia, the calmness and acceptance in castilla and leon, the indecision and searching in navarra.

I can't say I can really relate to all past pilgrims that had no other choice but to walk home (I only did a month out of five), but it certainly was an adventure in its own right. especially if the season wasn't as nice as for the going-there part.