What “baggage” do you wish you had not brought on your second Camino?

[Northern Laurie]

I did the Norte in 2017. This set off a wild ride of changes in life - shifting many things.

I am now at a new plateau and it feels like the right time to do Camino #2, this time the Portuguese.

The last time, I met many people doing their second Camino that brought the expectations from their first. And they were disappointed.

So for those of you that have done two or more, what metaphorical or literal baggage did you bring the second time that you would suggest I drop?

In other words, how does one prepare for Camino #2? What is different about it?

 

[Bradypus]

I think it may depend on how long the gap is between your Caminos, and the choice of routes. I may be unusual here in that there was a gap of 12 years between my first and second Camino Frances walks and then another gap of 14 years until my third. For me the difficult mental jump to make was from my second Camino in 2002 to the experience of the 3rd in 2016. I had of course read about the massive expansion in numbers and infrastructure and commercialisation on the Camino Frances in the meantime but it still came as a shock to the system to see it for myself. A radically different type of experience. If I had not had memories of much earlier journeys in mind for constant comparisons then I think I might have been more open to the experience. In a way it did prove helpful in making very clear to me the sort of experience which I do enjoy and therefore planning future walks which suit my own style and preferences better.

 

[Northern Laurie]

I appreciate that - I chose to do a different route this time, partly because of time constraints and a lingering desire for “completing” the pilgrimage, partly to avoid expectations of places and people. The world has changed so much, i have to assume the Camino has as well. But I am not sure I want to override the memories of my first experience with my second one if that makes sense.

 

[woody66]

In other words, how does one prepare for Camino #2? What is different about it?

Same as Camino one ; be excited, be positive, forget your fears and what ever happens enjoy it!
Camino one was new !
So is number two !
Don't have expectations!
Finally for Camino number two; really really try not to bring things you MIGHT use only those you defo know you will!
My pack for number three is nearly 3kg lighter than my first walk! ( you can buy anything you want on the way)
Have a wonderful walk
Buen Camino
Woody

 

[Bradypus]

Don't have expectations!

I think that is a counsel of perfection - a good idea in principle but probably impossible to achieve in practice! I'm pretty sure that all of us who have walked a Camino approached it for the first time with some expectations even though they may have been hard to define or express. And which may have proved to be very wide of the mark in some cases. And why would we return for a second or later Camino if we did not expect to find something of the same essence on our next journey? Not an identical experience of course but something which shared part of the character of our previous journeys.

 

[lt56ny]

That is easy, my brain.

 

[Tincatinker]

"What “baggage” do you wish you had not brought on your second Camino?"

My first Camino

 

[Rita Flower]

For me it was the discovery that each Camino had its own feel and energy - and can never replicate that first Camino experience.

And the delight is that each Camino has its own feel and energy - and its own blessings to offer.
I will walk my fourth Camino with this in mind.
Do I revisit an old friend (Francés) and see how they have grown and changed, or will I explore a new Camino friend and get to know their uniqueness.

 

[JulieandPeter]

I brought new "metaphorical baggage" on our second walk and happily left it behind on the trail (same as the first walk). All these years later, that baggage has never crept back on my back.

For walk number three I carried a lot of extra actual baggage on my back, two dresses for our son's wedding in Italy with the hopes of losing enough weight along the trail to fit into the smaller dress (which did not pan out).

The fourth walk I brought questions and left with answers that were life altering. No baggage issues.

On walk number five, I brought all the weight I gained during the pandemic along with the knee pain caused by the 50 extra pounds. I found myself forced to focus on the physical struggle I had saddled my body with which was a very different experience than walks 1-4. It was so hot and challenging that we used a backpack transport service for the steep downhill portions.

If I am ever able to do another walk, I may never be able to carry my own pack again. I'm sure there is a metaphor in there somewhere.

 

[jsalt]

did the Norte in 2017. This set off a wild ride of changes in life - shifting many things.

I am now at a new plateau and it feels like the right time to do Camino #2, this time the Portuguese.

The Portuguese Camino is very different from the Norte. And 7 years on, after covid, even more is different on all the caminos. So no baggage, just a whole new experience. The Portuguese are lovely people and very different from the Spanish. Bom caminho!

 

[JillGat]

That is easy, my brain.

Claro!

 

[alexwalker]

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

Heraclitus

Or woman.

 

[JamesGeier]

I first walked the Camino Frances in the spring of 2016. I had another opportunity to take a break from work in the autumn of 2017 and return to Spain to walk a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela again.
In considering the route, I realized that for the first time, there was a good bit of anxiety, mostly subconscious: how difficult is the hill I see in the guidebook; how difficult is the downhill; will I find good places to eat today; will I find a good place to stay tonight; etc., etc. I came to believe that by walking the same route again, while I would not remember every detail, I would have a good idea of what each day would bring, allowing me more time to immerse myself in the beauty, the meditative, and the spiritual/religious aspects of the pilgrimage. And it was all that and a much deeper experience - as if I had more time to see and as if my eyes were more open allowing me to see more. The first is always special, but the second pilgrimage route on the same route was a very deep cerebral and religious experience for me.

Buen Camino!
--james--

 

[JabbaPapa]

A pair of insufficiently solid army boots from my 1993 that broke about 2 weeks from the end on my 1994 from Paris. I finished in espadrilles (2 pairs).

 

[FeatherG]

I did the Norte in 2017. This set off a wild ride of changes in life - shifting many things.

I am now at a new plateau and it feels like the right time to do Camino #2, this time the Portuguese.

The last time, I met many people doing their second Camino that brought the expectations from their first. And they were disappointed.

So for those of you that have done two or more, what metaphorical or literal baggage did you bring the second time that you would suggest I drop?

In other words, how does one prepare for Camino #2? What is different about it?

Have no expectations ... if possible.
I only do 1-week 'slots' on the Camino. My first was in 2011 & I returned every year bar 1 until Covid. I did 1 section 3 times & had different experiences each time. Don't over-plan; go with the flow & the Camino will provide. That's why everyone goes back (I'm hading back again this summer) ... it's never the same; it never disappoints & it's never boring. You'll love it just as much as the first, but for different reasons. Buen Camino!

 

[JillGat]

A pair of insufficiently solid army boots from my 1993 that broke about 2 weeks from the end on my 1994 from Paris. I finished in espadrilles (2 pairs).

What were you thinking??

 

[JabbaPapa]

What were you thinking??

It was my first pair of army boots, so that I was insufficiently aware of the potential of breaking. As to the espadrilles, they were the only shoes my size I could find in Spain in those 1990s.

 

[Roland49]

I did the Norte in 2017. This set off a wild ride of changes in life - shifting many things.
I am now at a new plateau and it feels like the right time to do Camino #2, this time the Portuguese.
The last time, I met many people doing their second Camino that brought the expectations from their first. And they were disappointed.
So for those of you that have done two or more, what metaphorical or literal baggage did you bring the second time that you would suggest I drop?
In other words, how does one prepare for Camino #2? What is different about it?

After the CF in 2019 I did my second Camino on the CP in 2023 and expected nothing, like in 2019!
This is after many lifechanges in the meantime (heart-attack, separation, moving, living alone).

It was not as eye-opening than my first Camino, but a pleasant and very humbling hike with some heartwarming encounters on the way.

I don't know how to set out for a Camino with some wild expectations.

 

[JillGat]

It was my first pair of army boots, so that I was insufficiently aware of the potential of breaking. As to the espadrilles, they were the only shoes my size I could find in Spain in those 1990s.

Pre-Crocs!