Dutchwalk53
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF 2015 with son #1, CF 2016 alone, CF 2017 with son #2 and husband , CF Sept 2018 with daughter
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Thanks Laurie, As a newbie to "the walking alone" I actually picked June. Just feels right for this year. I will indeed try to stay at different towns/Albergues/Hostels then last year. Your post encourages me for future walks (and I plan on doing as many as I canHi, Dutchwalk,
The first four or five times I walked a Camino I walked with a very dear college friend. Then one year, after I had already booked my ticket, she had to cancel. I walked alone and since that time have walked alone on many different caminos, some so untravelled that I was totally alone and never met another pilgrim. If you had told me in the early years that I would wind up enjoying solitary walks, I would have told you no way. But I have found that it is a wonderful experience, and I relish it.
There are a lot of threads on the topic of walking alone that you can find by searching. Remember, too, that if you are walking in June on the Camino Francés, you will only be alone if you want to be. There will be lots of people all around you, in fact it may be hard to get some alone time! I think that everyone who goes back to repeat a Camino has to be careful about expectations and comparisons. Sounds like you know that it will be different, and different is frequently great! One way to make sure it's different is to do your stages differently so you don't stay in the same places. There is such an abundance of albergues and accommodation on the Camino Francés, so it's very easy to wind up in spending the evening and night in totally new places. Buen camino to you, and enjoy! Laurie
Thanks. Glad you did it (and again ha ha ) and enjoyed itWalked the first two weeks of my first camino with my son then went home and came back later in the year to finish on my own. Second camino on my own too. The two weeks with my son were very memorable the four weeks on my own memorable too but in a different way. At 64 at the time, I was way out of my comfort zone. Travelling for me up to that point was on cruise liners, not climbing muddy mountains. Did I have as you call them 'the jitters'. Of course I did but once I was on the trail they vanished like the morning mist
I had an AMAZING Camino last year with my son. I'm now going alone (just 2 weeks ) I never worried if it was going to be a "let down" after last years great time. I just wanted to go again no matter what. However...that being said... now all is coming closer ( leaving in 9 weeks) ...I'm getting a bit the jitters. I'm trying to mentally prep myself that it will just be a different Camino. It's not that I'm afraid to be alone or so ....just a tad nervous how all will go down
Because those few days from SJPdP to Logrono were the happiest days I've ever spent with my mom as I remember. So much laughter, just a short glance into each others eyes and everything was clear, understandable. Maybe we were connected so close only once before, when she was breast-feeding me I guess.
I had an AMAZING Camino last year with my son. I'm now going alone (just 2 weeks ) I never worried if it was going to be a "let down" after last years great time. I just wanted to go again no matter what. However...that being said... now all is coming closer ( leaving in 9 weeks) ...I'm getting a bit the jitters. I'm trying to mentally prep myself that it will just be a different Camino. It's not that I'm afraid to be alone or so ....just a tad nervous how all will go down
That is the reason I am doing the CF again AND in JuneI walked in 2012 with my son. Went back last year alone and walked the Norte and I have to admit I was pretty lonely. There just weren't any other walkers (or very few in the albuergues at night but none during the day while I walked.) But I am going back this month to walk the CF alone and looking forward to it hugely.
Thanks ! The planning is for me a big part of the reason why this is so fun for me. It just keeps me motivatedJust as spending a year planning is part of the camino, in my experience anyway so are the jitters beforehand....
Ha I just read your GREAT blog last weekend. It certainly got me even more in the moodI'm doing it the other way around ......... last year I walked alone for 40 days and loved it.
This year just 10 days, with my wife
I'm sure it will be an equally rewarding experience.Yes Dear. It will be !
It will certainly be different
Thank you so much for your long reply. It is appreciated. Many wise wordsIn 2012 I walked the camino with a friend. We had to skip forward and missed some stages as we had a flight to catch and were not walking as far as we had expected to each day. It bothered me that I hadn't done the whole camino, so in 2015 I went back by myself and started again at SJPP and walked all the way to Santiago by myself. I enjoyed the first trip and I too wondered about doing it again. But the second time was easier because I knew what to expect. It was interesting to see the changes and growth in the communities along the way. The mornings were easier as I didn't have to wait for my friend to be ready to go. Every day I could do my own thing, at my own pace. But sometimes I missed having my friend there to share my day with.
On the second camino I tried new places to stay, but sometimes stayed where we had a fabulous time together. It was nice to have the memories from the earlier camino and I felt they added to my second camino rather than feeling like I was comparing one to the other. It is like hearing a song on the radio for the first time and loving it, but then hearing it years later and loving it more because now it brings up the memories from when you heard it before.
So you are right to be thinking it will be different. But you can never do the "first time" again. The camino would be so boring if the experiences were all the same as last time. You created an amazing camino last year, so know that you will do it again. To give an example, on day nine of my second camino I walked up to the Hogar Albergue, in Villamayor De Monjardin and was I tired and I was considering quitting. I was wondering why I had wanted to do this walk again. While I was sitting and watching people arrive, I overheard a pilgrim say she couldn't afford dinner. I asked if I could pay for her dinner so she could eat the communal meal with everyone else. My reaching out to her seemed to create an amazing experience for the volunteers there and I left the next morning fired up and ready to rock my camino. I never again doubted my decision to walk. Also, on my second camino I met so many more people than on my first camino since I didn't have my friend to lean on.
So don't worry about repeating your camino. It can't be done. Look after yourself, and look after the pilgrims you meet. And let the camino give you new experiences.
Buen Camino!
Laurie has said it all, my friend. And she is so experienced, you can just go along with her comments.Thanks Laurie, As a newbie to "the walking alone" I actually picked June. Just feels right for this year. I will indeed try to stay at different towns/Albergues/Hostels then last year. Your post encourages me for future walks (and I plan on doing as many as I can) Thank you !
Thank you. Yay another blog to read for coming weekendLaurie has said it all, my friend. And she is so experienced, you can just go along with her comments.
I prefer to walk alone, and have chosen remote caminos up to now.
It's easier to stop and 'smell the roses'.
So .... have a super time in June. I know you will! I will just be finishing the Finisterre in June just as you are starting out.
By the way - you're right about "catching the camino bug". The Ebro route was suposed to be my last. Now I'm thinking of the Primitivo for next year ...
Blessings from East Anglia, UK.
Your day will come Rachel.A solo camino is a little dream I secretly cherish;-)
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