Should I quit the Camino?

[KirstyNotKristy]

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.

 

[RJM]

Definitely sounds like you bought the wrong shoes and socks for you, but there's nothing you can do about that now. The blisters gotta heal. The sunburn going take a bit of time to heal, but for sure if you are fair skinned you got to cover up and wear a hat. You packed too much stuff and sent it ahead, so you solved hat issue. Your only real issue is replacement shoes and socks, or perhaps just the socks and the shoes are okay. If you're doing the double layer sock thing, switch to one sock layer. Double layering gets thrown around a lot on here, and it's not for everyone or every scenario.
As far as expecting bonding, that's nothing that has a time frame, schedule or can be forced.
Recover, regroup and try again, but of you truly are 100% miserable turn the trip into something else. Takes buses and explore cities.
Ultreia

 

[mspath]

KirstyNotKristy,

Sorry to read of you difficult 2 days and discomfort. Where are you now on the Portuguese coast?

Perhaps you might take the next day or two for real r&r. After resting you will be able to better decide what to do next.

Whatever you do, wherever you go, good luck and Carpe diem.

 

[Former member 94614]

i understand where you are coming from. i just returned home from the CF and had times like that with various injuries. if possible i recommend take some time to rest your feet and heal if possible and then return to the path. you will meet the people you need to meet soon enough. i threw away my shoes and tried keen newport hiking sandals and never looked back. they held up for over 500k and i never had a blister. just sayin in case you can get something like that. good luck and buen camino i hope you can make it!

 

[CAJohn]

There is no rule saying that you have to do more than 20 km per day. I worked my way up to those sorts of numbers and only exceeded 20 km some of the time when it was unavoidable. The advice above is all very good, but when or if you do go back to walking, deliberately walk slow and try to walk shorter distances and be proud of the distance that you go. This is your camino and you do not have to "keep up" like an army recruit in boot camp.

Make this your own camino. Take your time. If taking a few days off, explore your environment and be open to the adventure around you here and now. Don't worry about Santiago de Compostela. If that was all that was important, you could take a bus or train there.

For me, it was the small moments and experiences during the days and evenings that made the camino special. Those are more likely to happen when we quit worrying about doing well on the Camino and start to realize that we are doing fine on the Camino, no matter how slow that progress is. Because it is all just fine.

 

[Former member 94614]

There is no rule saying that you have to do more than 20 km per day. I worked my way up to those sorts of numbers and only exceeded 20 km some of the time when it was unavoidable. The advice above is all very good, but when or if you do go back to walking, deliberately walk slow and try to walk shorter distances and be proud of the distance that you go. This is your camino and you do not have to "keep up" like an army recruit in boot camp.

Make this your own camino. Take your time. If taking a few days off, explore your environment and be open to the adventure around you here and now. Don't worry about Santiago de Compostela. If that was all that was important, you could take a bus or train there.

For me, it was the small moments and experiences during the days and evenings that made the camino special. Those are more likely to happen when we quit worrying about doing well on the Camino and start to realize that we are doing fine on the Camino, no matter how slow that progress is. Because it is all just fine.

i agree- i ended up walking "only" 10-15k per day which worked for me. i could take my time, have enjoyable breaks, take lots of photos, enjoy surroundings... arrive at destination at lunch, do chores and then explore the area. i got tired of people saying "only 15k" as for me on some days that was all i could take and that felt like a lot. i had injuries and other limitations. so yes- go at whatever pace makes you happy- you will meet plenty of pilgrims doing the 15k (or less) day!

 

[J Willhaus]

Make it your Camino. If you need time, take it and cab ahead later.

 

[Kitsambler]

We're not all the same, and there is no "norm" for daily distance. Personally, 15-18km is *plenty* for me! I think 47km in two days is huge, and I'm not surprised your (very good) shoes and socks have not been able to prevent blisters.

Sometimes what the Camino provides us is opportunities to realize we are not in control, and opportunities to relish periods of silence and rest. Suppose the pilgrim "you're supposed to bond with" is 3 days behind you?

 

[J Willhaus]

We only walk about 10 miles (16 km) a day on average which works for us.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

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!

 

[KirstyNotKristy]

Thanks everyone for your insight. I read everything before heading out today and it gaves me the push I needed

Last night I decided to stay at an Hotel on the way which finally gave me my first full night of sleep in the past week. I was well rested, fed & really for another day of Camino. I took more small breaks along the way today and it got me to Fao.

According to my app I did a little over 18km
today and I plan to do 12km tomorrow as it supposed to rain.

My legs are slowly starting to get used to the Camino, I must say I didn’t train for this at all. It was an old dream of mine that got postponed due to covid and decided to do it spontaneously a month ago.

Today was a good day, physically, mentally, emotionally & spiritually

My top 3 moments were
- In the morning when it was just me and the sea
- A Portuguese gentleman tried to have a conversation with me and we did nothing but laugh because we couldn’t understand eachothers
- Finding a cute spot for snack with music in Apulia overlooking the sea after having walked in the gardens & dirt road for so long

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Good on you @KirstyNotKristy...you're out of the ditch & on your way! So lovely to read the positivity in the account of your day.
Of all the long distance walks I've done, the Portugues (Lisbon to SdC in 2015) is my second favourite...so enjoy & savour. I'm sure you'll be fine from now on.
Take care & Buen Caminho!