To walk or not to walk??????? advise PLEASE

[flyingkiwi]

so walking the camino de santiago is my dream..... i'm in a place at the moment, i have just finished my job, 1200 euros, and nothing stopping me... but would it be wiser to wait until i have another job that i can take time off from? then i would have something to go back to, and more money so i'm not worrying about what i'm spending, and after i have done more long distance walking so i'm prepared??? what would be a better experience... being prepared, or throwing caution to the wind and just doing it? :arrow: :arrow:

 

[Sagalouts]

Hi
live your dream kid,there is never gonna be a better time,between jobs with enough cash in your pocket,a chance to reflect on future plans-go go go,why are you still thinking about it???
Ian

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Flyingkiwi - have you left for Spain yet?

Buen Camino - come back and tell us where it took you!

John

 

[grayland]

Book the cheapest and earliest ticket you can and get started.
A delay will likely mean a dream not realized.
Few are given the opportunity to fulfill a dream.
Go for it.!!!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Some of my favorite quotes:

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do." ---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
--Mark Twain

Earth and sky, woods and fields,
lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea,
are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us
more than we can never learn from books.
--John Lubbock

One of the most tragic things
I know about human nature
is that all of us tend to put off living.
We are all dreaming of some
magical rose garden over the horizon
instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming
outside our windows today.
--Dale Carnegie

The test of an adventure is that
when you're in the middle of it,
you say to yourself,
"Oh, now I've got myself into an awful mess
I wish I were sitting quietly at home."
And the sign that something's wrong with you
is when you sit quietly at home
wishing you were out having lots of adventure.
--Thornton

You will find something
more in woods than in books.
Trees and stones will teach you
that which you can never learn from masters.
--St. Bernard

A ship is safe in harbor,
but thats not what ships are built for. "
--John A. Shedd

Life is a fatal adventure.
It can only have one end.
So why not make it as far-ranging
and free as possible.
--Alexander Eliot

The world is a book
and those who do not travel
read only one page.
--St. Augustine

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony
which once existed between man and the universe.
--Anatole France

 

[Stephen-Belfast]

Do it now. When you get another job you might not have the time to walk your dream.
I've walked the first part of the camino, from SJPP to Estrella, and the last part from Sarria to Santiago. It was my dream to return some day and do the whole walk. But now I'm acting as a 'carer' for a family member and I think it's unlikely I'll ever set foot on the camino again.

 

[karennz2012]

from one kiwi to another......just do it.
you never know whats around the corner so throw caution to the wind.
I'll be following you next year which is the earliest I can because of family obligations. see, you never know whats going to happen next.

karen

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You regret the things you don't do. You just atone for the rest!

Keeping in mind that it is not easy, it will be rewarding.

 

[kaylfrazer]

and another Kiwi with the same advice! You will meet lots of other pilgrims who are also between jobs..it is a great way of getting some perspective as you make decisions. Many of my family (including my husband) and friends who thought I was mad the first time I walked the camino have now also made their own caminos.. I am so glad that I did it when I first felt the urge.
Kay

 

[dutchpilgrim]

Dream your dreams today.
They'll be here tomorrow,
you may not.


Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo.

 

[ksam]

Laughing to my self at the quick solid response to your query!! All I have to add...GO!!! It's fall, the grapes will be ripe, there are black berries along the way, sunsets to see, people to meet!! GO!! Enjoy, and if the chance allows...let us know how it goes! You will meet so many wonderful people...I just got an email this morning from a friend I'd lost along the way (and I lost her email address!) ... and it has made my day!

Buen Camino!!
Karin

 

[mmm042]

Pray about it, and see if you can discern God's answer. Or get on the Camino and see if you can figure it out. I'm taking a huge leap of faith now -- creating an app to the VDLP that is costing me thousands of dollars to make while all 3 of my kids are in college and could use that money. But from the moment I set foot on the trail and got lost, I knew I had to make a guide, and every time I get back on the Camino I know it's what I'm supposed to be doing.

During my last trip, I felt guilty again about being there because of the cost, and wondering if I was doing the right thing, so I prayed about it again. A few minutes later I looked in the sky and there was a picture of a huge "thumb's up" sign in the clouds!

O.K., now I've just convinced myself you should do it.

Buen Camino!
Melanie

 

[flyingkiwi]

wow, i'm Amazed! i really am, thank you all so much you super lovely people. how inspiring and encouraging it is to read so many beautiful things!
i booked my flight! leaving london on the 26th sep! i really cant thank you all enough for your support xxxxxx

 

[grayland]

:arrow: :arrow: All is now as it should be :arrow: :arrow:

Let us know how you are doing when you can.
Buen Camino.
Ed

 

[flyingkiwi]

thank you thank you thank you and i will!

 

[dutchpilgrim]

Ultreya et suseia.

Carli

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

In 2004 I had a dream to walk every year until the next Holy Year of 2010.

With the occasional struggle I managed every year till 2009.

Then came 2010. I could bore you to death with the frustrations, the abandoned plans and the heartache of 2010.

In the end I walked Sarria to Santiago in December. I could not financially afford it. My health was so poor that the single biggest bill was my health and travel insurance. I never reached more than 3km per hour even on the flat. I have gone back to part-time work in part to pay off the debt and to hopefully give me some money to return either in 2012 or 2013.

I'm glad to heat you're going for it because the frustration of not doing so would kill you.

See if you can borrow or hire equipment. Stay in municipal or church albergues whenever possible.

I only had one good meal a day; you can survive for 30-40 days on a low cost, high-carbohydrate diet. Don't skip breakfast. I carried cereal, a plastic bowl and spoon. Milk is cheap enough even if you don't use all of the carton. Fruit is cheap. Always have something when you finish walking. I find if you keep the hunger pangs at bay you spend less money as you don't then over eat. I say this an insulin dependent diabetic.

I have met pilgrims who lost their jobs and then came on the Camino to re-assess their lives. Everyone of them said it was the right decision. If we met on the Camino I bet I could add you to my list.

Buen Camino.

 

[Sansthing]

Now that you´ve made your decision, based no doubt on all the excellent advice you´ve received it only remains to wish you Bon Camino!
Sandra :arrow: