The first few steps.

[tyrrek]

Hi All!

I love reading about the excitement of pilgrims setting off on their Caminos. However I worry that those first few steps might be a bit of a let down for some; there are no fireworks going off or crowds lining the street. It might feel a bit like 'OK, turn left out the door and keep walking past that dog playing with his whatnots'.

I think the start of my Camino involved trying to find somewhere to buy cigarettes and chewing gum.

Has anybody got a more inspiring way of setting out that would be a real celebration?

Buen Camino!

 

[dougfitz]

'fraid not. Turned left outside the front door of Refuge Le Chemin vers l'Etoile, walked out of SJPP and promptly got lost for an hour. One wrong turn and I was back on the road to Bayonne!

 

[tyrrek]

'fraid not. Turned left outside the front door of Refuge Le Chemin vers l'Etoile, walked out of SJPP and promptly got lost for an hour. One wrong turn and I was back on the road to Bayonne!

I like it! Start as you mean to go on!

I'm not sure whether or not the start should be 'celebrated' as such, but it should be memorable!

Buen Camino!

 

[fraluchi]

I think the start of my Camino involved trying to find somewhere to buy cigarettes and chewing gum. Has anybody got a more inspiring way of setting out that would be a real celebration?

You would waste your money with cigarettes, considering that in public places smoking is prohibited.
Get up in the morning with early pilgrims, take a deep breath of fresh air and walk! The benefits will show up much later in life.
Your dentist may have a financial benefit from you chewing as much gum as possible. On the Camino, energy is required from your stamina.
As far as inspiration is concerned, just start walking and you'll discover more than you can handle.
And after a long day's walk, you'll enjoy celebrating dinner with a nice bottle of Rioja.
The real celebration is at the end, not at the beginning, of your walk.
Ultreya!

 

[tyrrek]

Your dentist may have a financial benefit from you chewing as much gum as possible. On the Camino, energy is required from your stamina.

My dentist is deeply disapproving of my lifestyle, but has learned not to say anything unless it's in the most subtle terms. He's my Dad, after all.

Buen Camino!

 

[fraluchi]

My dentist is deeply disapproving of my lifestyle, but has learned not to say anything unless it's in the most subtle terms. He's my Dad, after all.

Life is in your own hands, and if you are considering a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, you will find it worthwhile to compare the experience to your "lifestyle". If you don't intend to make it a pilgrimage but rather a "walk", and at least spend some time and effort on the tracks, you'll find that at the end you are a different person. Nobody will judge you, nor force you to do anything: just decide to go and find your inner self. Quiet, no blabla, just feel, smell, listen, explore.
Ultreya!

 

[efdoucette]

Sitting on the sidewalk in SJPDP finishing a snack and just about to put on my pack for the walk up to Orrisson, a lady walks by with an airdale terrier, identical to my dog back home. She let me pat the dog and have a few minutes with him, I saw it as a sendoff from my training buddy back home. That's what I call a Camino Moment! The first few steps I will never forget.
Eric

 

[Sagalouts]

[ :roll:
when I took my first steps out of SJPP it was the end of my beginning and cause for some quite celebration on my part.
I had spent nearly one year of my life in preparation for this thing and here I was talking that first nervous step proper,I continued to celebrate, if not each step at least each day of the Camino and no doubt will reach the end at some point,till then I will continue to celebrate "Life's Rich Pageant"
Ian

 

[tyrrek]

when I took my first steps out of SJPP it was the end of my beginning and cause for some quite celebration on my part.

I agree Ian, and although I've been a bit flippant introducing this thread I think other people might feel the same way. The start has all the wonder and fear, but just getting there is an achievement for many of us.

We take a stone from home to leave at the Cross of Iron. Maybe we should take a second stone to exchange with someone as we leave our starting point with the promise of leaving it there too, if and when we reach it. Just an example of something that might help inspire us on our way. I know it would be extra weight, though!

Buen Camino!

 

[tyrrek]

Life is in your own hands, and if you are considering a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, you will find it worthwhile to compare the experience to your "lifestyle". If you don't intend to make it a pilgrimage but rather a "walk", and at least spend some time and effort on the tracks, you'll find that at the end you are a different person. Nobody will judge you, nor force you to do anything: just decide to go and find your inner self. Quiet, no blabla, just feel, smell, listen, explore.
Ultreya!

Just to confirm to anyone doubting the advice I've been giving over several months, I HAVE actually walked the Frances from SJPP to SdC. And the Ingles. Buen Camino!

 

[bromeliad]

The celebration is interior, and the fireworks go off right behind, not before, your eyes: in your head.
Fortunately what lines the streets and beyond is not crowds, is something far more pleasant. And it's more like 'OK, turn left out the door and keep walking past that yellow arrow, and on to the next one, and so on, for many days and weeks'.

 

[CaroleH]

Yes, it would be good to mark the beginning of your camino, before you take the first step to have a celebratory ritual..... but like most, we are usually stressed and tired from the preparations and jet lag... and fear of the unknown... and how our legs will perform... and whether we'll get blisters this time... and self doubts... :?

But, we usually visit the significant church or cathedral in the town where we are starting, the day before, and on the day, at the start, take a photo, all smiles ...... then 5 mins later, like DougF, proceed to get lost and have a little argument over the right direction!!! Almost our ritual!

It's always at the end of the first day of walking that I feel like celebrating, when a great sense of relief and knowing comes over me.... we are on the way and we can do this thing! Great feeling!

 

[letendre]

Hi All!

I love reading about the excitement of pilgrims setting off on their Caminos. However I worry that those first few steps might be a bit of a let down for some; there are no fireworks going off or crowds lining the street. It might feel a bit like 'OK, turn left out the door and keep walking past that dog playing with his whatnots'.

I think the start of my Camino involved trying to find somewhere to buy cigarettes and chewing gum.

Has anybody got a more inspiring way of setting out that would be a real celebration?

Buen Camino!

I look straight ahead faraway but my gaze does not see very well. In other words, I fixed my gaze far ahead in front of me but I look on the sides, I focus my mind on peripheral vision so I feel that I don't move but it's the sides that are moving. excuse me for my bad english.