Hi guys,
I’ve been suffering my way through the first two days of my Camino, and I walked 47km so far. I’m doing the Portuguese Littoral & Coastal way.
My shoes are hurting me, I picked Hoka Bondi 7 for women (which were praised by many on this forum). To help this situation I tried to find a new good pair of shoes in the town I am spending the night but it was unsuccessfull.
I have gigantic blisters even though I bought the right kind of socks specifically for this adventure. I brought special blisters long and after putting them it protected my blisters but created some next to them.
I am completely sunburn from walking with a tank top the first day. I now bought after sun care and I am willing to spend the next few days walking with a long sleeve shirt only to help my body recover. However I am sunburnt in my neck as the bag bumping against it isn’t helping. My bag was also too heavy so I shipped half of it to Santiago and today was better I must say.
I’m feeling quite lonely and I haven’t truly bonded with anyone on this journey yet. Which was something I was looking forward to do.
I’m quite slow paced and unable to do long distances like others. I struggle with all my willpower to reach 20km & above. When I do I’m just in pain all night.
I am not trying to compare myself to others, I just feel that everything is off and the enjoyment is quite small in return. I try to fix
every problem that I am facing, but today I really wonder if I should quit and if so when.
Help a fellow pilgrim out, I’m usually a super positive person but here I am defeated and confused on what to do next.
@KirstyNotKristy,
The respondents before me have given good practical advice & I'm sure you'll receive much more...so I'm going to take a different approach;
it's not the situation that shows us who we are, it's the way we respond to it.
You have a long list of what is wrong with your Camino, but what is right?
You're Canadian which means you've already invested a lot to be there both in time & money. So why are you where you are? A dream? A goal? A new adventure? Are you really willing to throw that away after just two days? You don't mention your walking experience or how much prep you put in prior but I'm guessing your situation is a classic 'rookie error' scenario.
You said you're normally a positive person so...prove it.
Look where you are...you're in PORTUGAL! How amazing & wonderful is that?! Especially after the world has been shut down for years.
Why do you have blisters?...because you walked one foot in front of the other to reach a destination...
...you WALKED...how many of your family or friends would do such a thing?
You're sunburnt...why? Because the sun
was shining on you..it wasn't raining, hailing, stormy or snowy. It was warm...warm enough for you to wear a no-sleeve top.
Your pack was too heavy...you've resolved that...so there's your start...now move on to the next most important issue; your feet. You've already attempted to rectify that so there's another step forward.
By now you can hopefully see where I'm going with all this...
Approach your issues as you would the walk itself; break it down into manageable components...one day/one problem at a time. At the moment you're overwhelmed by all that is 'wrong'...so flip that & start building on all that is right.
Most of all remember how lucky you are; I & many others would trade places with you in a heartbeat.
To finish off my tough(ish) love, Do Not Quit! Take a few days...get your head right & the rest will follow. We've all had trail lows..but we survived & so will you.
Truly best wishes to you Kirsty...I hope you'll keep us posted. I'll finish with one of my favourite mantras;
"This too shall pass"... It not only means the problems but so will your adventure if you don't grab on to it while you have the chance.
Sempre Avanti...Forever Forward!