• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Such a long walk

Time of past OR future Camino
2017 Camino Frances,
2019 C. Portuguese (inland).
When we started the Camino it seemed impossible to walk so far, all the way to Santiago and then onto Finisterre. I couldn’t comprehend covering such a distance on foot. But we did. Some days tired from lack of sleep. Some days hungry. Some days sad because we argued. Some days lonely because we saw no one else, not even each other. Those days were few. We saw blue skies and walked through thunder storms. We saw wildflowers and fields of bright red poppies. We saw forests and factories. Cathedrals that lifted you to heaven because they spoke of human hope and of faith in something greater than us. We saw villages that spoke of generations of toil and celebration and ceremony. And towns built for men and women, not for cars and trains. We met people who talked of home but spoke of the world with their eyes. We were with pilgrims, themselves cathedrals of love and pain and grief and joy and humanity.. Touched by their smiles, their shyness, their delicate demeanor, I learnt from them how to live a better life. It was the people we met, the memory of them, that was the greatest gift of all. I wish I could remember all their names. Fortunately their smiles are still with me, their stories and their poems and songs. I’m sure that they know who they are. I hope they do and I hope too that they remember me as well.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
When we started the Camino it seemed impossible to walk so far, all the way to Santiago and then onto Finisterre. I couldn’t comprehend covering such a distance on foot. But we did. Some days tired from lack of sleep. Some days hungry. Some days sad because we argued. Some days lonely because we saw no one else, not even each other. Those days were few. We saw blue skies and walked through thunder storms. We saw wildflowers and fields of bright red poppies. We saw forests and factories. Cathedrals that lifted you to heaven because they spoke of human hope and of faith in something greater than us. We saw villages that spoke of generations of toil and celebration and ceremony. And towns built for men and women, not for cars and trains. We met people who talked of home but spoke of the world with their eyes. We were with pilgrims, themselves cathedrals of love and pain and grief and joy and humanity.. Touched by their smiles, their shyness, their delicate demeanor, I learnt from them how to live a better life. It was the people we met, the memory of them, that was the greatest gift of all. I wish I could remember all their names. Fortunately their smiles are still with me, their stories and their poems and songs. I’m sure that they know who they are. I hope they do and I hope too that they remember me as well.

Very nicely put.

Perhaps it's why so many of us continue to reflect on our journeys, what they meant to us, what we learnt from them and are drawn back over and over?

I often refer to the Camino Frances as my 800 km long Church...
 
Last edited:
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Next time you do it, light a candle for me.

I will.

I'm a very slow walker, partly because I tend to stop in almost every open Church along the way.
I pause to give thanks for being able to make the journey and light candles for those who have passed, those I love and those who may be suffering.

I look forward to the day when we can be back there....

I so miss the sense of peace and oneness with the World.
 
When we started the Camino it seemed impossible to walk so far, all the way to Santiago and then onto Finisterre. I couldn’t comprehend covering such a distance on foot. But we did. Some days tired from lack of sleep. Some days hungry. Some days sad because we argued. Some days lonely because we saw no one else, not even each other. Those days were few. We saw blue skies and walked through thunder storms. We saw wildflowers and fields of bright red poppies. We saw forests and factories. Cathedrals that lifted you to heaven because they spoke of human hope and of faith in something greater than us. We saw villages that spoke of generations of toil and celebration and ceremony. And towns built for men and women, not for cars and trains. We met people who talked of home but spoke of the world with their eyes. We were with pilgrims, themselves cathedrals of love and pain and grief and joy and humanity.. Touched by their smiles, their shyness, their delicate demeanor, I learnt from them how to live a better life. It was the people we met, the memory of them, that was the greatest gift of all. I wish I could remember all their names. Fortunately their smiles are still with me, their stories and their poems and songs. I’m sure that they know who they are. I hope they do and I hope too that they remember me as well.
We may forget the names of people and places...but we never forget they way they made us feel.
👣 🌏
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Reading the posts keeps me in touch with the single most impactful event in my life after becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. And the Camino has given me a purpose second to none!
I first did the CF in 2013 and ever since I have been been looking at my life with different eyes.i remember meeting all those wonderful people and taking pictures with them after long conversations as I speak Spanish. The next time I went in 2015 I took copies of them all and looked them up and gave them the pix.
That was great. Except where either someone had passed away or in the case of a couple that they had broken up!! In any event it brought me closer to the Camino and more connected to it.
I’m looking forward to returning and next year I want to volunteer at an Albergue.
meanwhile I pray for all the people along the Camino who have been effected by the virus.
Thanks to all of you who keep posting and keeping the Camino alive🙏
 
After several Caminos I think that anything that takes less than 3 weeks is not long enough...
I agree about this. I marvel at how people who because of circumstance can only walk a short time. It makes me a little jealous:). The shortest Camino I have walked was from Lisbon. Even after 5 caminos I need a couple of weeks to really "warm up" My next camino will be the VDLP. I will give myself about 8 weeks. I have learned how to walk myself into Camino shape. For me no matter how much training I do I can't recreate what I need to do to walk a camino. So now, at my age I keep my stages, especially the first couple of weeks shorter. I no longer care if I can only walk 14 or 15k so I do not have to walk 30K. I will force myself to take a day off after 7 or 8 days if it is at all possible. I am lucky in one way that I can do this as I am retired. But with retirement comes joints and muscles with more pain and uphills that get a little tougher and downhills that require more and more zig zags each year.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I’m sure that the joy you gain from walking with others gives you a renewed sense of youth. If so, I hope this transfers to your body. I never say or describe myself as ‘old’ or think of myself as old. I sincerely believe that youth is in the heart and in the mind. The ailments? They are mere inconveniences. Think about it. How many so called young people embark on a 900 km walk? We have discovered the fountain of youth my fellow pilgrims. Don’t tell anyone. Hush. Our secret.
 
When I walked the camino del Norte I ended up in a group of very nice fellow pilgrims who had an average age of 35 years, I think. I was 65 at the time and I've never felt like 30 before. Best of all, I was one of them and there was never a moment when my age came up for discussion. Full acceptance. Only when I walked past a shop window with these fellow pilgrims was I reminded that not "quite" was their age
 
When we started the Camino it seemed impossible to walk so far, all the way to Santiago and then onto Finisterre. I couldn’t comprehend covering such a distance on foot. But we did.

I prefer to think of the Camino (Frances) as a 25 km day walk, repeated 32 times....
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Thanks for all the great reflections coming from veteran Camino pilgrims...those of us who were planning our first this year (Sept 15th) really gain great inspiration that we can hold onto from your insights until we can begin our journey next year...I think of all these reflections during my daily practice walks, and I sometimes feel I have already begun my camino, even though I’m in Arizona😎
 
I prefer to think of the Camino (Frances) as a 25 km day walk, repeated 32 times....
Or a 20 km day walk, repeated 40 times... The possibilities are endless.

But, to be fair, as my body was telling me on the third day or so of my Camino Frances, there is a difference between a day walk and a day after day after day walk.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Or a 20 km day walk, repeated 40 times... The possibilities are endless.

But, to be fair, as my body was telling me on the third day or so of my Camino Frances, there is a difference between a day walk and a day after day after day walk.
That's why I always recommend that aspiring pilgrims do at least 3 (preferably more) consecutive days of at least 10 mile/16 km walks with gear that they will bring on the Camino - especially footwear, to determine that everything works for them. Those shoes that never gave you a blister before on a long hike on a weekend might seem like instruments of the devil after 3 or 4 consecutive days of long hikes in them.
 
That's why I always recommend that aspiring pilgrims do at least 3 (preferably more) consecutive days of at least 10 mile/16 km walks with gear that they will bring on the Camino - especially footwear, to determine that everything works for them. Those shoes that never gave you a blister before on a long hike on a weekend might seem like instruments of the devil after 3 or 4 consecutive days of long hikes in them.
In 2016, we started walking without any training. We completed the Camino, so I won't say it can't be done, but I learned my lesson. Before my next Camino a couple of years later, I did some training culminating in three consecutive days walking with all my gear, at least 20 km per day. It is one advantage of fall Caminos that it is easier to train in the summer lead up than in the winter lead up before a spring Camino (at least, where I am living).
 
Good preparation is essential, as is proper gear. Mental preparation equally important. The long practice walks prepare you for that part as well. We cover far greater distances within than we do without. And that’s the magic of it all. We cover such a vast distance, providing we are open to learning, listening and letting go of our ego and all the noise of the ‘modern’ world. It’s the antiquity of this route that makes it so wonderful. I hope it stays that way. You want to know that you are walking in the footsteps of others, through history. Unspoilt. Untouched. Walked through gently and respectfully. Not marked by our passing.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
While we are on the topic of preparations, here are mine, after 10 yrs of various Camino trails:

Physical: agree with above, I try to walk 5 consecutive days of 5 km, followed a few days later of 3 consecutive days of 10 to 13 kms, all with 15 pound pack. This helps sort out gear, shoes, energy level ...

Mental / spiritual: I try to get in the right headspace, check expectations, tie up loose ends at home

Practical: Try to increase my Spanish vocabulary

Alcohol consumption: Yes, I increase my alcohol intake. I don't normally have a drink everyday at home, but on Camino, yes, either wine and or beer, sometimes multiples of each (smily face)

All the best,
Eric
 
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
I’m sure that the joy you gain from walking with others gives you a renewed sense of youth. If so, I hope this transfers to your body. I never say or describe myself as ‘old’ or think of myself as old. I sincerely believe that youth is in the heart and in the mind. The ailments? They are mere inconveniences. Think about it. How many so called young people embark on a 900 km walk? We have discovered the fountain of youth my fellow pilgrims. Don’t tell anyone. Hush. Our secret.
I just noticed your post and you are right that age is a state of mind and my ailments are mere inconveniences. I am 66 and when I complain about something (and I know my daughters are proud of this fact) the say be quiet dad you just walked 8 or 900 kilometers, don't tell us you are too old for something.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Just keep on walking .....,
 

Attachments

  • 080BDC3C-35EB-48F0-A5A3-22BE61219B2E.jpeg
    080BDC3C-35EB-48F0-A5A3-22BE61219B2E.jpeg
    2.4 MB · Views: 5
  • F431A10D-4209-4869-B4A9-0E47CC0824A0.jpeg
    F431A10D-4209-4869-B4A9-0E47CC0824A0.jpeg
    2.4 MB · Views: 6
  • 2753DD7F-C9ED-4FA6-BFFA-FBF5399885B8.jpeg
    2753DD7F-C9ED-4FA6-BFFA-FBF5399885B8.jpeg
    3 MB · Views: 6
  • E814B18E-FB06-4818-BA48-E9B45682B8A6.jpeg
    E814B18E-FB06-4818-BA48-E9B45682B8A6.jpeg
    2.7 MB · Views: 6
And walking ......
 

Attachments

  • FA53DE9C-C786-4600-9B24-A51C49438B89.jpeg
    FA53DE9C-C786-4600-9B24-A51C49438B89.jpeg
    1.7 MB · Views: 4
  • 8FB4E9EE-EC62-4304-A232-9BC558722619.jpeg
    8FB4E9EE-EC62-4304-A232-9BC558722619.jpeg
    2.4 MB · Views: 4
  • 05ED64F2-764C-4134-8F41-6963FCB39492.jpeg
    05ED64F2-764C-4134-8F41-6963FCB39492.jpeg
    1.7 MB · Views: 4
  • A38FDFDA-6D97-4840-AD86-D4F5148B0274.jpeg
    A38FDFDA-6D97-4840-AD86-D4F5148B0274.jpeg
    1.8 MB · Views: 4

Most read last week in this forum

My name is Henrik and I will be coming down to SJPdP from Sweden on March 26 and start walking on March 27. I don't really have any experience and I'm not the best at planning and I'm a little...
When I hiked the Frances Route this happened. I was hiking in the afternoon just east of Arzua. I was reserved a bed at an albergue in Arzua, so I had already hiked all the way from San Xulien...
I'd like some recommendations about where to find the most current and up to date information about albergues that are actually open. I'm currently walking the camino Frances, and I can't even...
I am finalizing my packing list for Frances, and do not want to over pack. (I am 71) I will be starting at SJPdP on April 25th to Roncesvalles and forward. I was hoping on some advise as to...
First marker starting from Albergue Monasterio de la Magdalena in Sarria (113.460 km) Start: 2023.9.29 07:22 Arrival: 2023.9.30 13:18 walking time : 26 hours 47 minutes rest time : 3 hours 8...
A local Navarra website has posted a set of photos showing today's snowfall in the area around Roncesvalles. About 15cm of snow fell this morning surprising pilgrims on the way...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top