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The Call of the Camino

Rossco

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances 2015, Camino Portugues 2017, Camino Finisterre 2017, Le Puy Route (Sept. 2018)
I'm interested if anyone has had the same experience as me. I completed the Camino from SJPDP to Santiago in November 2015 and swore that I would hang up my boots and never do it again because it was quite brutal at times . . . my own fault because I pushed too hard doing a lot of 40 plus km days. One day I even walked 53km. After a few months back home I thought it wasn't so bad . . . forgetting the blisters, hills and mountains, lack of sleep due to snoring etc. I remember the great people I met and wonderful scenery. Now I start the Camino Portugues at the beginning of September from Lisbon to Finesterre and and already planning walking the Camino Santiago next year. What's wrong with me?
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I walked the Camino Frances in July and August 1990. Being younger, more clueless and even more stupid than I am now I walked too far, too fast, and in too much heat and sun. Heat exhaustion, sunburn that cracked my neck open from ear to ear, and what I can now see was probably a stress fracture in my foot. When I finally reached Santiago I was convinced that I would never again walk any further than from my own front door to the nearest pub or bus stop. So much for that idea....!

PS. This evening I leave home to fly to Gran Canaria for my second short camino so far this year - this time walking over volcanic mountains and ending up at a different church of Santiago. Addictive???
 
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Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
We cal it an addictian .
Welcome to the club, wish you well.
 
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The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
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"When I'm calling yooooooooooooooooo"


ala Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald

Fear not! from what I see around here. you are only sightly mad and it is mostly harmless.
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
What's wrong with you, you ask? Timing! You were one month behind me in 2015, and will be one month behind me this year! (and I thought *I* was slow!)
The Camino, once experienced, will never be out of your thoughts. It's in your blood now, like a tsetse fly bite to the psyche, you are infected with insight.
So Relax, sit down, take a load off, sip the wine and eat the bocadello.
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am.
Stuck in the middle with you.
 
Nothing at all is wrong with you.....you have just joined all of 'us addicts' already here......it would seem, that, once one has journeyed along the Camino (whichever route one has taken), that the Camino becomes a part of our Life and our Psyche......enjoy your walk and Buen Camino my friend. .... go well.
 
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Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
haha. It 'Gotcha' too

When I finished my first one I swore 'never again'. Only because it was 'perfect'. Everything I expected and needed. It would have been like remaking a great movie. Never as good as the Original.

But the call is too strong. Number three next year and I'm sure many more to come.

Just 'give in' to it. You can't win
 
I can relate to your feelings Rossco. Walked from SJPDP to Finisterre in 2015 with many blisters and much pain. At the time I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to do it again. But as soon as I got home to Canada I wanted the Camino experience again. So in 2016 I walked from Le Puy en Velay to SJPDP. At the end I took a taxi across the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles in order to catch the bus to Pamplona. Sitting in the bus waiting for it to leave, facing that sign "Santiago de Compostella 790" I became very emotional. All I wanted to do was get off that bus, shoulder my backpack, and set off again. The Camino was calling me back. Now I understand why people go back, and I know I will do it again. After this year though, when I will be walking from Geneva to Le Puy for a sense of completion - all of France and all of Spain.
 
That sounds wonderful Rowena!
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Hi Rowena, I can relate to your post. My husband & I walked Camino Frances in 2015 as well and we too have succumbed to the draw of the Camino. We have now decided to walk Le Puy en Velay to SJPDP in September this yea like you did. We are both of 'mature years' and I am not sure if we have taken on too big a task. I have been reading the guide & it appears to be a lot more demanding than the Camino Frances. How did you find it? Did you alter your walking pattern and any tips that can give me comfort for taking on this next challenge? All the best for your Geneva journey. Kind regards Anne
 

Anne, if you have walked the Camino Francés you can walk the Le Puy with no problems. The first week is quite strenuous, lots of ups and downs, but no mountains like crossing from St Jean to Roncesvalles. We took it slowly and walked quite short stages. After that it gets easier, and beyond Cahors is gentle rolling country (don't be frightened by the description of the walk out of Cahors, there is a very easy alternative).

It is beautiful all the way to SJPDP, with the prettiest villages and lovely countryside.
 
Hi Anne,
My partner and I are also of mature years. We walked from SJPDP to Santiago in 33 days but another year had gone by so we decided to take longer to walk the French route - 34 days from Le Puy to SJPDP. As Kanga says, the first week crossing the Massif Central was the most challenging. Our host on the first night told us to stay on the GR65 all the way and not to listen to locals who might suggest different routes. We did find, though, that the path takes the difficult route whenever possible so if you have good maps you can sometimes find an easier way (for example between Saint Come d'Olt and Espalion you could walk along the river instead of following the path up and down the same side of a steep hill!) We used hiking poles in France, something we had not done in Spain, which made all the ups and downs easier. Bon chemin! Rowena
 
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Exactly what I thought. although, I didn't say 'never again'; figured I'd need a solid 5-10 years before returning since mine was...perfect. In fact, that's my biggest fear, returning and being jaded in some way by changes (more commercialism perhaps?) and differences (well, of course, but some may not be good ones?). Have opted for returning as a trained hospitalero. But even now, the call is sooooo strong to return to that itinerant community of good and caring souls.

Addict? Guess I might be in your number.Loved this thread. Thanks for getting it started Rossco! Buen Camino a todos!
 

I am a Camino-addict / Caminoholic / Camino-junkie: in a fortnight's time, God willing, I will be starting out on my 6th Camino, this time on the del Norte.

Anyway, I am determined to walk as much as I can whilst I still can. There will come a day when physically I won't be able to do it anymore. When that day comes, I'll be (re)walking the Camino in my mind, seated in my armchair and reading the wonderful postings on this forum!

Live, laugh, love.......WALK!

Buen Camino Rossco.
 
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