What surprised you the most?

[TheLaw14]

Hi All!... New member here, with my first camino just under two months away (del Norte from Irun starting September 18!)... Have been watching and reading posts for the last several months, but am really starting to get ramped up as the daily countdown dwindles, and thought I would ask previous walkers, "What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?" Whether spiritual, cultural, geographical or otherwise in nature, I'm curious as to what gave pilgrims the biggest pause during their treks...

 

[trecile]

How much I loved it!

 

[Anamiri]

How little I needed to be truly happy.
How strong I could be when needed.
How addicted to Camino walking I would become.

 

[Dani7]

I second those emotions.

I lived in the present moment with so much gratitude…my heart overflowed. Even on the hardest of days.

 

[Anamya]

How much my tiny body can endure, and how replenished it feels with only some food, a shower and sleep.

(And seconding all above who talk about gratitude. It's hard to explain)

 

[WalkinRon]

Before my Camino I thought I understood the "infrastructure". It made sense that I would find the goods and services that I needed along the way.

But there was so much more on the Camino. Sure there is good business. But most of the local folk were so very kind and thoughtful. I came to understand that they were sincerely happy to aid us on our journey.

There was grace.

 

[mspath]

Feeling while walking the secular transcendence akin to to what runners call 'the zone' . Your body can handle the task while your spirit glows with the effort. Neither easy, nor impossible; all simply is. ...Thus, thankfully you continue.

 

[VNwalking]

How the landscape unfolds in front of us and recedes into the distance.

Somewhere along the way, at the top of a hill: That I had walked from further than I could see, and that I was walking to a place further than I could see.

 

[Anne&Pat]

Also seconding everything already mentioned above.

How simple life can become on the Camino and how that simplicity was all that one needed to walk for such long distances.
How our aging bodies coped over several weeks and months and didn’t fail us.
How much we loved the experience and have kept returning for more!

 

[OZAJ]

The small stuff disappears.

 

[HeidiL]

That there are only two important things in the world: putting one foot in front of the other - and what's for lunch?

 

[David]

How what a ridiculous thing to do, walking 500 miles in a foreign land and living like a tramp, so quickly becomes a perfect life.

 

[efdoucette]

Great question and great answers, they all resonate. So many layers but for me it was the people, the deep friendships and camaraderie. And an old tune by Bob Dylan ... "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now".

 

[Bradypus]

I was surprised at how green Galicia was . My mental image of Spain before my first Camino was probably mostly based on books and films set in Andalusia. Lots of heat and dust!

 

[Bala]

The great generosity and thoughtfulness of total strangers.

 

[David Tallan]

That the sights between the sights are the most important and impactful.

 

[CTLawGal]

I recently completed my first Camino (Norte, Primitivo, Finisterre/Muxia) and as high as my expectations were (especially after reading so many wonderful posts here on this Forum in the months before I left), I was surprised that actually doing it was even more amazing than anything I had read or any pictures or videos I had seen had prepared me for. All the answers here are great and really resonate with my experience.

I'd like to add one thing to this wonderful list that really surprised me since I don't consider myself a religious person and for me the experience was more of a spiritual journey. At some point deep into the Primitivo as I crossed a point with an amazing vista after hours of walking uphill, somehow my mind went to a movie I had last watched years ago, Chariots of Fire, and the line (which I remembered imperfectly at the time and have since looked up) the Eric Liddell character speaks: "When I run, I feel His pleasure". Liddell, of course, was speaking about his speed, but I felt so strong, the vista so awe-inspiring, my heart so full, I was surprised to find myself thinking, When I walk, I feel His glory.

I really hope to return for many Caminos, each of which I hope will be wonderful, but I suspect there is nothing like your first Camino (maybe a topic for another time?).

So enjoy every minute, feel gratitude for this gift, even when you're so tired you're not sure how you're going to manage those last kilometers or make it over that last hill (that first week starting with Irun will be hard! Stay open to the gifts the Camino offers and embrace all that surprises you!

Buen Camino!!

 

[markie6]

How quickly you settle into the routine

 

[dougfitz]

The generosity of the Spanish people.

 

[Jodean]

How easy it was to sleep in a room full of strangers and then share the bathroom with them.
How Spain looked nothing like I expected it to look. (somehow, thought it would all look like a Clint Eastwood movie)
How stunning the landscapes were and how they changed from day to day. Just standing there, taking it all in, being awed and grateful that I got to see this, and be able to listen to all the happy birds (cuckcoo) and the noisy little crickets, and getting excited day after day of seeing another stork nest.

 

[CarolamS]

First time: that I actually could walk such a long way!

Subsequently: how much I enjoyed meeting other pilgrims. I am a true introvert and love walking alone etc. I had thought other people were something to avoid!! Meeting and talking with so many very different people, from so many different countries, has truly enriched my life.

 

[andonius]

How small are really the differences between all of us in this tiny world.
How people from all around the world, with very different cultural and social backgrounds, can perfectly understand one each other, make inmediate contact and relation and work and walk together having a common goal.
I had only seen that previously in Hollywood films about alien invensions to the earth!!!

 

[Tingeling]

How much I miss it. Even getting soaked - and arrive at the albergue, put on dry clothes and feel like the luckiest person on earth.
How wonderful and often heartwarming it is to hear buen Camino from locals, especially elder people - and other pilgrims.

 

[bullingtonce]

Hi All!... New member here, with my first camino just under two months away (del Norte from Irun starting September 18!)... Have been watching and reading posts for the last several months, but am really starting to get ramped up as the daily countdown dwindles, and thought I would ask previous walkers, "What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?" Whether spiritual, cultural, geographical or otherwise in nature, I'm curious as to what gave pilgrims the biggest pause during their treks...

Absolutely nothing at all. Since life itself always, without fail, has unexpected surprises around the corner then why would the Camino itself, since it is part of life, not have the same. A surprise, by its very life's nature, is not a surprise.
Oh wait . . . I just surprised myself by replying to the post!

 

[motero99]

1) How many older people like myself were doing a Camino.
2) That the Frances was like a moving Carnival from the first day in SJPdP to Santiago
3) How lonely the Portugues was between Lisbon and Porto

 

[Liam55]

The surprise was meeting such wonderful wonderful people!!!

 

[Gringazolana]

How unimportant are things like people’s names, occupations, and political or spiritual beliefs. In the end, you realize you have shared little time and deep conversations with “Brazil guy”, “the couple from Wales”, “German girl”, and “Virginia guy”. We are all the same: our needs are showers, clean clothes, and food. We all have achy feet. We all are touched by spiritual places on the Camino. We all suffer and rejoice at the end. We all want to do it again!

 

[Mahuri]

The therapeutic value - The Camino provides the perfect platform to get away from the grid, uncoil, purge and compartmentalize, and ultimately free up the mind and senses to fully appreciate the good, the pure and the positive.

 

[Christine Leneghan]

Hi All!... New member here, with my first camino just under two months away (del Norte from Irun starting September 18!)... Have been watching and reading posts for the last several months, but am really starting to get ramped up as the daily countdown dwindles, and thought I would ask previous walkers, "What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?" Whether spiritual, cultural, geographical or otherwise in nature, I'm curious as to what gave pilgrims the biggest pause during their treks...

I was surprised at how bad I truly was at estimating distances. Everything else stated by others is true and pretty wonderful even when experiencing discomfort, pain, thirst, hunger, and exhaustion. Planning on returning for my third next year and just training more to be better prepared.

 

[Silencio Por Favor]

How addictive, only walked for 5 days 5 years ago and planning to walk so many different routes in the future, mentally I never really left.

 

[Rickcrna]

Surprised at how much I enjoyed the Camino Portuguese (Porto to Santiago) as I am not much of a walker or hiker. The other pleasant surprise was how my mind would simply go into "neutral" and not think about anything....just hearing my footsteps and seeing the surroundings. Looking forward to the next Camino in the Spring.

 

[good_old_shoes]

To learn that I love people, and I love the heat and sun.

Before the Camino I was a bit of a misanthrope. Well, not really, but I basically had not only lost faith in humanity, I had never had it to begin with, plus a social anxiety disorder and being an introvert also.

Still an introvert, but witnessing how kind and "real" people were (pilgrims, hospitaleros and locals) was a truly humbling experience and totally has changed my life for the better. Social anxiety is mostly gone by now, and I now love to interact with people (most of the time), even changed my profession towards a more social one.

That and learning to love the heat. No idea how that happened. I had always hated heat and sun, didn't move at all when it was hot, and always stayed in the shade. I remember hot days in Andalucia, back when I was a kid visiting my grandparents, and how miserable I was, sleeping all day, only leaving the appartement to go to the beach, and at night. Now I even like to do extra long walking days on hot summer days, through the afternoon and into the evening. Weird.

 

[david g]

How differently time moves on the Camino. A day feels like a week and a week is a month. For nothing really happening all day (walk walk walk) its amazing how much does happen and how overflowingly full every day feels.

 

[WalkingInGers]

How unimportant are things like people’s names, occupations, and political or spiritual beliefs. In the end, you realize you have shared little time and deep conversations with “Brazil guy”, “the couple from Wales”, “German girl”, and “Virginia guy”. We are all the same: our needs are showers, clean clothes, and food. We all have achy feet. We all are touched by spiritual places on the Camino. We all suffer and rejoice at the end. We all want to do it again!

indeed.

 

[JabbaPapa]

"What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?"

Being converted to Christianity by divine interventions.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Feeling while walking the secular transcendence akin to to what runners call 'the zone'

Yes !! I had much of that on my 1994 ... I wouldn't call it "secular", though it is definitely of the body and mind more than the spirit.

 

[Bellbutt]

Hi All!... New member here, with my first camino just under two months away (del Norte from Irun starting September 18!)... Have been watching and reading posts for the last several months, but am really starting to get ramped up as the daily countdown dwindles, and thought I would ask previous walkers, "What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?" Whether spiritual, cultural, geographical or otherwise in nature, I'm curious as to what gave pilgrims the biggest pause during their treks...

the feeling of knowing that everyday was different, every town or city unique. I had 30 different Caminos in 30 days.

 

[p3nny]

Feeling while walking the secular transcendence akin to to what runners call 'the zone' . Your body can handle the task while your spirit glows with the effort. Neither easy, nor impossible; all simply is. ...Thus, thankfully you continue.

After three debilitating knee injuries over six Caminos (one that put me on crutches for 200 kms), my physiotherapist described a "walker's high" that enabled me to walk through the pain. She compared it to the "runner's high" or Zone. Interesting.

 

[Sha-Ron]

•the comaraderie between the pilgrims, despite language barriers
•how family orientated the Spanish people are
•the freedom I experienced

Buen camino!

 

[Hiking Joe]

How little I needed to be truly happy.
How strong I could be when needed.
How addicted to Camino walking I would become.

Amen to this

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

"What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?"

I was sitting outside sipping some wine when I read this question. I immediately thought that this was almost the favorite question Peg liked to ask visitors to the US. And then Peg came out and I asked her the question. She answered

I was surprised at how green Galicia was .

Yeah, almost word for word what @Bradypus wrote. A short while later as she went back into the house Peg voluntarily told of another surprise; she said that she was surprised that along the way there were villages and countryside but there weren't any houses in the countryside. That's different from home.

I have a difficult time answering questions like this but really it is as much of a question about a person as it is about a camino or country and so I thought I should come up with something. My mind went back to a surprise of Peg's she mentioned about me once, how social I was in Spain. I'm really like that with camping, backpacking and gardening too though. It's being outdoors with someone of like interests.

One more since really it's three Peg surprises. I would say this was more unexpected than a surprise since I like moderation but this guy raised with the outdoors being woods and forests really enjoyed the meseta.

 

[JustJack]

How quickly 40 days went by! Felt like it was all over too soon...

 

[GuyA]

How easy it was to interact with fellow walkers and how very meaningful friendships emerged out of the experience.

 

[Richard Smith]

How easily and quickly pilgrims shared really deep and personal stories.
How I can easily live and walk without planning where I am going to eat lunch or sleep tonight/tomorrow/etc ...
How little I actually need.
and thank you for the question.

 

[MethaV]

Hi All!... New member here, with my first camino just under two months away (del Norte from Irun starting September 18!)... Have been watching and reading posts for the last several months, but am really starting to get ramped up as the daily countdown dwindles, and thought I would ask previous walkers, "What was the one thing that surprised you the most about your camino?" Whether spiritual, cultural, geographical or otherwise in nature, I'm curious as to what gave pilgrims the biggest pause during their treks...

I thought I would meet some nice fellow pilgrims on the road sooner or later, but becoming like a family with a small group from the first day wasn't exactly what I'd expected. I love walking alone and at the end of the day having dinner with my "family".

 

[Damico Walking]

That it is easy to describe what we did, what we saw, the people we met, the places we went, the list goes on. But I am incapable of describing the feeling I have of the experience.

 

[debalr57]

To learn that I love people, and I love the heat and sun.

Before the Camino I was a bit of a misanthrope. Well, not really, but I basically had not only lost faith in humanity, I had never had it to begin with, plus a social anxiety disorder and being an introvert also.

Still an introvert, but witnessing how kind and "real" people were (pilgrims, hospitaleros and locals) was a truly humbling experience and totally has changed my life for the better. Social anxiety is mostly gone by now, and I now love to interact with people (most of the time), even changed my profession towards a more social one.

That and learning to love the heat. No idea how that happened. I had always hated heat and sun, didn't move at all when it was hot, and always stayed in the shade. I remember hot days in Andalucia, back when I was a kid visiting my grandparents, and how miserable I was, sleeping all day, only leaving the appartement to go to the beach, and at night. Now I even like to do extra long walking days on hot summer days, through the afternoon and into the evening. Weird.

Wow! Beautifully transformative and awesome!

 

[debalr57]

How little one needs while walking the Camino. How much stronger you are than ever realized and most importantly, the interaction of humanity, other pilgrims and the locals, that takes place daily. While recently walking del Norte, as I was passing through a small town I noticed a gentleman walking behind me and after a few moments I turned around, smiled and said Hola. He asked me if I’d like to see his favorite beach he takes daily swims at? Without hesitation I said Sure!
Just a few steps off the path, but hidden was this mind boggling beach, I shall never ever forget. The unexpected gifts along “the way” keep your eyes, ears and heart open.

 

[512]

How the landscape unfolds in front of us and recedes into the distance.

Somewhere along the way, at the top of a hill: That I had walked from further than I could see, and that I was walking to a place further than I could see.

Similar. When the reality of it suddenly hit; here we were, in the middle of Spain, having walked to where we were and now must continue walking to reach our destination.
Laughing and crying at the unlikeliness of it all (while enjoying an ice cream cone in Santillana del Mar). No one gave us a second look, maybe this is a common thing?

 

[Walkerooni]

How wonderfully freeing the simplicity of life feels with just the open path in front a few things on your back. How overwhelmed I was with gratitude at being able to do this special thing in this beautiful place. The amazing people I met along the way--pilgrims and locals alike.

 

[702Jenn]

The first 2-3 days I got pretty grumpy (14 days is going to be too long...I think I fractured my foot...my clothes stink...etc). What surprised me is how much I missed it when it was over!

Portugues, Porto to Santiago

 

[Silvermomma]

I was surprised and impressed by how eloquently pilgrims could express themselves in English as a second or third language. I heard so many deep conversations and testimonials between people from different countries in accented English. I speak a few languages, but I am not as expressive or personally insightful in any of them.

 

[TheLaw14]

Thanks to everybody who has shared their thoughts to this post so far, and keep 'em comiing! Insightful, full of grace and humbleness... your reflections have raised my anticipation to new levels... At a time in my life when the 'same old routine' has become indescribably monotonous, and being surrounded daily by some of the basest of human instincts, I really need a chance to break the spell of this little world I live in....

 

[Bob Howard]

Those China stores/bazars. They're incredible!

 

[Canche]

The Camino angels that appeared every day to help the peregrinos.

 

[efdoucette]

Thanks to everybody who has shared their thoughts to this post so far, and keep 'em comiing! Insightful, full of grace and humbleness... your reflections have raised my anticipation to new levels... At a time in my life when the 'same old routine' has become indescribably monotonous, and being surrounded daily by some of the basest of human instincts, I really need a chance to break the spell of this little world I live in....

I think it is important to manage your expectations though. Just walk with an open heart, be a friend and let the Camino do it's thing.

 

[DwainS]

How much I loved it!

I just finished my first my Camino in June and I want to buy a ticket already to go back. I really i'am surprised how much I loved it. I have never hugged so many people that I barley knew but felt like I've known them forever. Helped twice by local Spanish people when I had a problem with my back. While researching the Camino on this forum before I went, I always wondered why people walked more than one camino. Now I know!

 

[tomlynum]

How the landscape unfolds in front of us and recedes into the distance.

Somewhere along the way, at the top of a hill: That I had walked from further than I could see, and that I was walking to a place further than I could see.

Love this because it got me thinking. I never looked back. Literally. My focus was always on the trail ahead. I need to think about that more. . .

 

[Walkerooni]

Love this because it got me thinking. I never looked back. Literally. My focus was always on the trail ahead. I need to think about that more. . .

Do. Some of my most amazing photos were "behind" me.

 

[DwainS]

Do. Some of my most amazing photos were "behind" me.

yes, I have some beautiful photos from behind me

 

[OTH86]

I agree, @Walkerooni ! Those lavendar layered mountains I'd walked over some days before...

 

[Zuleika]

Agree with lots of the above.
but I liked how very little material stuff I needed. it really simplifies life.