Mark2012
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances (2012, 2014) Camino Finisterre (2012, 2013, 2014) Camino Portugues (2013), Camino del Norte (2015)
I walked the Camino Frances from St Jean in May/June 2012, and recently confirmed my flights for doing so again in July/August of this year.
I'll be flying into Biarritz on July 2, staying at Auberge du Pelerin in St Jean that night, starting my walk the next day, stopping at Orisson overnight before reaching Roncesvalles, and then letting the path take me where it will.
I wouldn't say that I feel anxious about the prospect of the walk, I've done it before, after all. But if I feel any anxiety at all, it relates directly to that very fact. I know it will be a mistake if I undertake the walk constantly in comparison mode, since so much of what makes the Camino so special is the people you meet along the way. I have many fond memories of moments and nights spent with the many wonderful people I met first time around, but I'm aware that it would be unwise to tell myself that I must stop in town X for the night because I had such a good time there in 2012. Generally speaking, after the first few days, my working plan is to try to stop at different albergues and/or different towns wherever feasible, so as to avoid the possible "curse of comparisons".
It seems to me that the tendency to compare is an occupational hazard with walking the Frances (or any other route) a second time, but I don't want to find myself spending too much time in 2014 thinking about 2012, as that would certainly defeat one of the purposes of the Camino - constantly being present in the moment and aware of your surroundings.
I know that walking the same path a second time will take away that sense of newness attached to the first experience, and that's unavoidable to a certain extent, though perhaps all it will take to make things seem new is slightly different weather and perhaps foliage appearing differently in high summer as opposed to early summer.
All in all, I'm sure I'll have another amazing experience, but I'm curious as to what advice long-time walkers would offer to avoid the tendency to compare one walking experience with another and if there are any common potential pitfalls associated with walking the same Camino a second time, and if so how to look to circumvent/pre-empt them?
Thanks in advance!
I'll be flying into Biarritz on July 2, staying at Auberge du Pelerin in St Jean that night, starting my walk the next day, stopping at Orisson overnight before reaching Roncesvalles, and then letting the path take me where it will.
I wouldn't say that I feel anxious about the prospect of the walk, I've done it before, after all. But if I feel any anxiety at all, it relates directly to that very fact. I know it will be a mistake if I undertake the walk constantly in comparison mode, since so much of what makes the Camino so special is the people you meet along the way. I have many fond memories of moments and nights spent with the many wonderful people I met first time around, but I'm aware that it would be unwise to tell myself that I must stop in town X for the night because I had such a good time there in 2012. Generally speaking, after the first few days, my working plan is to try to stop at different albergues and/or different towns wherever feasible, so as to avoid the possible "curse of comparisons".
It seems to me that the tendency to compare is an occupational hazard with walking the Frances (or any other route) a second time, but I don't want to find myself spending too much time in 2014 thinking about 2012, as that would certainly defeat one of the purposes of the Camino - constantly being present in the moment and aware of your surroundings.
I know that walking the same path a second time will take away that sense of newness attached to the first experience, and that's unavoidable to a certain extent, though perhaps all it will take to make things seem new is slightly different weather and perhaps foliage appearing differently in high summer as opposed to early summer.
All in all, I'm sure I'll have another amazing experience, but I'm curious as to what advice long-time walkers would offer to avoid the tendency to compare one walking experience with another and if there are any common potential pitfalls associated with walking the same Camino a second time, and if so how to look to circumvent/pre-empt them?
Thanks in advance!