After the camino

[Damien Reynolds]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another walk.

Anyone have a better solution?

 

[trecile]

Nope, it's the only solution. Unfortunately, I don't have the money or EU passport to spend more time than I do on the Camino.
I have been feeling very blahhh since returning home in early July.

 

[Robo]

I wish there was a solution I've been searching for one for the last 9 years.
I often say the Camino needs to come with a warning! (Seriously)

There are so many wonderful things about walking a Camino, but for some Pilgrims, it just leaves a big hole post Camino.
.
We often hear that "your Camino starts after you finish the Camino"
I believed that after my first Camino, and I wanted to believe it after my last one.

But the reality for many I think, is not the case.
It can just leave a 'longing'.

Some buy Albergues.
Some volunteer in Albergues.
Some walk as many Caminos as they can.
Some talk endlessly about the Camino on YouTube...

But for many of us, funds and geography are a big barrier to frequent Caminos.

What's the answer?
I have no idea.

I just know that my heart is not here..............it's there.
And the pieces can't be put back together again.

 

[Bedspring]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another

Possibly one needs to take the lessons of the Camino on into life. I am at the stage of working out how to do this. Keeping doing Caminos, is in my opinion, is not the answer for me. For me to keep doing Camino is a trap, to be aware of.

 

[Robo]

Possibly one needs to take the lessons of the Camino on into life. I am at the stage of working out how to do this. Keeping doing Caminos, is in my opinion, is not the answer for me. For me to keep doing Camino is a trap, to be aware of.

I came to the same conclusion at the end of my last Camino.

I tried to put it into words in my final video of the journey.

This clip is just the last couple of minutes, about what I learned on the last day of a 60 day Camino.
It was a bit of a surprise to me at the time!

But the yearning has returned...............
The next one might be next year, with Pat.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Realising that I don't want to be there ALL the time was really helpful for me. It allows me to enjoy what caminos I can walk, and enjoy being home too and all the good things that come with that (reading, writing, creating, relationships, making sourdough bread, a fluffy towel, a warm body in the bed next to me, washing machine) - there is a season for everything.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Ahh. You guys are my friends. It is nice to know I am not the only one who feels this way.. It also confirms, again, for the millionth time, that the people you meet are special, even just if it is on some forum like this.

The "take lessons from the Camino into life" one is now into my brain.

 

[Robo]

Realising that I don't want to be there ALL the time was really helpful for me. It allows me to enjoy what caminos I can walk, and enjoy being home too and all the good things that come with that (reading, writing, creating, relationships, making sourdough bread, a fluffy towel, a warm body in the bed next to me, washing machine) - there is a season for everything.

I think that's a great perspective.

We were seriously looked at buying an Albergue last year.
Went through the books, budgets etc.

And are still considering living in Spain.
But maybe just for a few months.

'Visiting' a place and living there are two totally different things!
We are lucky that we get to live in Thailand now and again. Family home is there.

But do we want to live there all the time? No. And Pat is Thai!

So we recognise that we love visiting Spain, but being there full time probably not.

We need to understand that the Camino is also rather a special place and environment.
It's great for a few weeks, but might be a challenge in larger doses.
The Roses might not smell so good.

At the end of my last one I was ready to go home.

But now I'm ready for a Camino again

 

[BarbaraW]

I think it helps to allow time to absorb and reflect at the end of a Camino, before travelling home. Good people at both the Pilgrim Office and Pilgrim House can support that. It's hard for those who are time pressured and live a long way away. Maybe planning some specific time or activities after returning home would help.

Wise words from posters above. We carry our experience within ourselves. And the sense of community, and simplicity of life that many treasure on Camino can be brought more into our daily lives at home. We can connect with our local pilgrim association, walk, volunteer, live more simply.

For anyone in Europe, who is not desperately short of time I'd recommend overland travel home as the perfect buffer between Camino and home. There's nothing quite like being on a train between Santiago and Burgos thinking "I walked this"!

Meanwhile, I am of course planning another Camino.........

 

[Bedspring]

Maybe listen to this http://castbox.fm/app/castbox/feed/...rack/1aff62b456658ed05564dcccf3c6c2db83c37f61

 

[davejsy]

I always loved those word in @NadineK video "The Camino starts when you end, the Camino never ends" or something like that.

For me I came home a changed person, but normal life quickly changed me back as much as I fought against it. But that doesn't mean the above quote isn't true, because I think it is true in many ways we probably don't appreciate.

For several weeks we had the experience of a different way, a more simple way and for most a more beautiful way. Sometimes that feeling might knaw away at us making us sad, much like the memory of someone you lost - but ultimately, like grief, we learn it's a privilage to have had something that we now miss so much.

Don't get me wrong there are still many things from my Camino that remain. But short of the usual advice of washing your under crackers in the kitchen sink and hanging them outside your bedroom window at home to recreate the Camino vibe the only real way is to walk again, and again and probably again after that - because the Camino never ends. . .

 

[J Willhaus]

We are almost done with our 75 day driving/camping trip to Alaska and back. I haven't had as much time to think about the Camino. We've gotten lots of exercise and lived with nature almost every day. We've met a lot of cool people. It has been a remedy to my Camino longing. Now that I'm almost done, I am wondering if my Camino longings will also turn into Alaska road trip longings.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

always loved those word in @NadineK video "The Camino starts when you end, the Camino never ends" or something like that.

Close.

" The camino begins when the walking ends
The camino never ends
This is the Camino."

That short 5 minute little video just absolutely nails it

 

[Dani7]

It can just leave a 'longing

That’s the best word to describe what I’ve been feeling since last year when I came back…longing. This continues to amaze me as there were many moments and days on the camino where I was thinking I would not repeat the experience.

Living a minimalistic lifestyle, freedom from day to day responsibilities coupled with being outdoors every single day made me live with such gratitude. This feeling of gratitude remains and that is a blessing…hence the plans to go back.

 

[Silencio Por Favor]

Volunteering? Okay, maybe taking this lighthearted subject to seriously.
A positive sense of helping someone and ideally being appreciated for it.

Of course just time killing until the next Camino.

 

[SEB2]

'Sometimes that feeling might knaw away at us making us sad, much like the memory of someone you lost - but ultimately, like grief, we learn it's a privilage to have had something that we now miss so much.'

Thank you @davejsy that is beautifully expressed and so true.

My passport expired in June and won't be renewed, my savings no longer exist, I am in my 76th year and despite being fit there will be no return to walking a Camino for me. My feelings about this are not ones of sadness rather of gratitude for being able to spend a month of my life walking from SJPDP to SDC. I was fortunate that the alignment of good health, sufficient funds, and the support of family who took care of our animals and plants, freed me to make that journey in 2015. It is an experience that has informed almost every day of my life since returning home and the words quoted above by @Peterexpatkiwi that
" The camino begins when the walking ends
The camino never ends
This is the Camino." really hits the mark.

 

[AllisonMarie]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another walk.

Anyone have a better solution?

I wish I did! I have walked once, and rather than satisfying me it left me only wanting more. I am going back this coming spring and already it’s all I seem to think about. I tell everyone I know that since walking I am Camino-haunted.

 

[MARSKA]

Nope, it's the only solution. Unfortunately, I don't have the money or EU passport to spend more time than I do on the Camino.
I have been feeling very blahhh since returning home in early July.

Ahhh me too ....

 

[dbier]

Hmm. Mixed thoughts on this. I'm quite empathetic with the desire to get back on a physical Camino. Buuuut.....

Many years ago, after a particular spiritual experience, I was lamenting over my inability to maintain that particular "high", that particular spiritual clarity, back in the "real world."

My mentor basically said, "That experience planted a seed in you, which, if you let it grow, will grow and change you. Trying to relive that high is like trying to grow a plant from a seed by continuously digging the seed up. Focus on growing the plant, instead."

Later, in marriage, I learned that the plant of lasting love wasn't grown by chasing the highs of infatuation, but about choosing to rely on and support my husband. What I experience today is so much more profound than I could have guessed 37 years ago....

I may be able to grow my soul by watering and feeding it with an additional Camino, as time and funds allow.

I *should* allow my soul to grow by implementing the lessons I'm still learning from Camino into the rest of my life.

Example. I own fewer possessions than I did before the Primitivo, and I keep cutting them back. A new pair of pants or shirt enters my closer? Two leave. Do I really need that triple backup medical kit? Away with it.

I fight to lighten my baggage, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That's why my Camino is ongoing, whether or not I ever make it back.

 

[davejsy]

Thank you @davejsy that is beautifully expressed and so true.

My passport expired in June and won't be renewed, my savings no longer exist, I am in my 76th year and despite being fit there will be no return to walking a Camino for me. My feelings about this are not ones of sadness rather of gratitude for being able to spend a month of my life walking from SJPDP to SDC. I was fortunate that the alignment of good health, sufficient funds, and the support of family who took care of our animals and plants, freed me to make that journey in 2015. It is an experience that has informed almost every day of my life since returning home and the words quoted above by @Peterexpatkiwi that
" The camino begins when the walking ends
The camino never ends
This is the Camino." really hits the mark.

I'm sorry you don't plan a return to the Camino, but glad you are at peace with that and that of course the Camino remains alive and well in you.

The quote I attempted to quote, and @Peterexpatkiwi kindly corrected is at the end of this wonderful Youtube video by @NadineK - give it a watch if you can, I'm sure it will evoke wonderful memories as it does for many:

 

[David Tallan]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another walk.

Anyone have a better solution?

Some also find getting involved with their local pilgrim community helps. Some look at how they can apply their learnings from the Camino to the "real" world. That can take different forms. Some declutter, having learned how little they really need in the way of "stuff" to be happy. I must admit that decluttering has not been my path. One approach I have taken is to have my daily life a mixture of simple routines and longer term projects that I can proceed along at my own pace, making gradual progress and knowing that, so long as I continue progressing, eventually I will get there.

None of that needs to get in the way of just doing another walk, though.

 

[Silencio Por Favor]

Hmm. Mixed thoughts on this. I'm quite empathetic with the desire to get back on a physical Camino. Buuuut.....

Many years ago, after a particular spiritual experience, I was lamenting over my inability to maintain that particular "high", that particular spiritual clarity, back in the "real world."

My mentor basically said, "That experience planted a seed in you, which, if you let it grow, will grow and change you. Trying to relive that high is like trying to grow a plant from a seed by continuously digging the seed up. Focus on growing the plant, instead."

Later, in marriage, I learned that the plant of lasting love wasn't grown by chasing the highs of infatuation, but about choosing to rely on and support my husband. What I experience today is so much more profound than I could have guessed 37 years ago....

I may be able to grow my soul by watering and feeding it with an additional Camino, as time and funds allow.

I *should* allow my soul to grow by implementing the lessons I'm still learning from Camino into the rest of my life.

Example. I own fewer possessions than I did before the Primitivo, and I keep cutting them back. A new pair of pants or shirt enters my closer? Two leave. Do I really need that triple backup medical kit? Away with it.

I fight to lighten my baggage, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That's why my Camino is ongoing, whether or not I ever make it back.

I like what you wrote. I certainly believe your/our Camino is ongoing simply by being on this forum community.

 

[bullingtonce]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another walk.

Anyone have a better solution?

Solution? No. A different perspective, perhaps. It seems that the Camino is often viewed as it is a specific period of time to do a pilgrim walk. This, perhaps, is not the case. It is possible a Camino does begin when the first trail step is taken and ending when the last trail step is taken. If the Camino was only a physical exercise then this might be the case but it is not. A Camino begins long before the frist step is taken as there is a 'leading up' to the Camino period--both mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Furthermore, a Camino continues even after the physical Camino ends. As such, to view a Camino as having a beginning and ending in whatever country the Camino is being done is perhaps erroneous. When you return home from dong a Camino the Camino continues, whether you acknowledge it or not; whether you accept it or not. As such, there is no after-the-Camino adjustment period as a person has been 'adjusting' their whole life to the spiritual aspect to a Camino--there is no beginning; there is no end. Therefore, why ascribe a beginning and an end to a Camino. Of course, this does not apply to one doing a Camino purely for the physical/trekking experience. Chuck

 

[Dani7]

This may sound odd to some. The camino last year was the first time I gifted myself “time”. It was not really possible before. Been back over a year now and part of my spirit never left those trails. I’m not living in the past but learning to incorporate this blessed experience into my daily life. Part of “me” will always be there and as such I just had an epiphany today as I’m washing my windows of all things…I will forever be on a camino in my heart. Forever and a day .

 

[Clycobb]

I think that's a great perspective.

We were seriously looked at buying an Albergue last year.
Went through the books, budgets etc.

And are still considering living in Spain.
But maybe just for a few months.

'Visiting' a place and living there are two totally different things!
We are lucky that we get to live in Thailand now and again. Family home is there.

But do we want to live there all the time? No. And Pat is Thai!

So we recognise that we love visiting Spain, but being there full time probably not.

We need to understand that the Camino is also rather a special place and environment.
It's great for a few weeks, but might be a challenge in larger doses.
The Roses might not smell so good.

At the end of my last one I was ready to go home.

But now I'm ready for a Camino again

I developed the opinion while I was on Camino that it might very well be a lot like summer camp when we were kids. Life changing, life affirming, a growth experience that you can't wait to get back to the next summer, but partly because it is not real life. There are cool people there, and you get to reinvent yourself if you want to. I think the only solution is to be planning your next Camino, even if it might not happen very soon.

 

[trecile]

I developed the opinion while I was on Camino that it might very well be a lot like summer camp when we were kids.

On my first Camino I felt exactly like I was at summer camp for adults.

 

[Clycobb]

Exactly! Which is why we must always be looking forward to our next Camino.

 

[NYSE]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another walk.

Anyone have a better solution?

I walk. I walk around my neighborhood, which is by the beach. 7.5 miles a day. 2000+ miles a year. Yes, I am retired. As I was telling a friend just the other day, when I walk, the world is mine. And, although I walk the same 7.5 miles, through the same neighborhood, down the same beach, my mind is always somewhere. And sometimes it’s like I’m on the Camino, if only in my dreams.

 

[Maurice Frank]

Incredible video! Thanks

 

[seematt]

Nope, it's the only solution. Unfortunately, I don't have the money or EU passport to spend more time than I do on the Camino.
I have been feeling very blahhh since returning home in early July.

Do you have a local chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino?

 

[trecile]

Do you have a local chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino?

Yes, I co-founded it!
I would really go crazy without my local Camino group.

 

[Robo]

I'm sorry you don't plan a return to the Camino, but glad you are at peace with that and that of course the Camino remains alive and well in you.

The quote I attempted to quote, and @Peterexpatkiwi kindly corrected is at the end of this wonderful Youtube video by @NadineK - give it a watch if you can, I'm sure it will evoke wonderful memories as it does for many:

What a great video. Loved it @NadineK

 

[trecile]

I'm sorry you don't plan a return to the Camino, but glad you are at peace with that and that of course the Camino remains alive and well in you.

The quote I attempted to quote, and @Peterexpatkiwi kindly corrected is at the end of this wonderful Youtube video by @NadineK - give it a watch if you can, I'm sure it will evoke wonderful memories as it does for many:

I don't recommend many YouTube Camino videos, but this one from @NadineK, and this one by @dwen capture the spirit of the Camino for me:

 

[Camino Chrissy]

At the end of my last one I was ready to go home.

But now I'm ready for a Camino again

I am always ready to go back home to those I love and care about, but eventually look forward to going on a Camino again, usually trying a new path. I like the excitement of what seems like a new adventure waiting to unfold.

 

[David Tallan]

OK, if we are recommending short videos to capture the spirit of the Camino, I can't resist adding this one. Less than 4 minutes of your time.

 

[MARSKA]

This may sound odd to some. The camino last year was the first time I gifted myself “time”. It was not really possible before. Been back over a year now and part of my spirit never left those trails. I’m not living in the past but learning to incorporate this blessed experience into my daily life. Part of “me” will always be there and as such I just had an epiphany today as I’m washing my windows of all things…I will forever be on a camino in my heart. Forever and a day .

Amen

 

[MARSKA]

OK, if we are recommending short videos to capture the spirit of the Camino, I can't resist adding this one. Less than 4 minutes of your time.

Thanks David. I love this- very moving- it brought tears to my eyes.

 

[MARSKA]

I don't recommend many YouTube Camino videos, but this one from @NadineK, and this one by @dwen capture the spirit of the Camino for me:

Oh! Trecile - beautiful. Lovely , moving video. Thanks for posting!

 

[MARSKA]

So like be careful. You've been out there for a while, met all these cool people, You probably exercised more than you ever have in your life. Your daily responsibilities were limited to waking up, eating, walking, eating again, walking more, finding a place to stay, eating, and then sleeping. Watch out... sometimes when you come back it is difficult to adjust to the "real" world. My solution: just do another walk.

Anyone have a better solution?

No.

 

[Purple Backpack]

“Anyone have a better solution?“ Until the next walk….pour a glass of wine and sit on the floor happily surrounded by maps and guidebooks.

 

[Robo]

“Anyone have a better solution?“ Until the next walk….pour a glass of wine and sit on the floor happily surrounded by maps and guidebooks.

I have done that most of the day.
And I'm supposed to be working

 

[DwainS]

On my first Camino I felt exactly like I was at summer camp for adults.

well I hadn't sleep in a dorm room room with bunkbeds since I was a kid. So at 65 it let me relive a little of my youth.

 

[JustOneGuy]

I may have written this elsewhere, but I want to try to tell my experience.

And sorry for the long post! I'm loggoroic...

Many years ago I spent a year on an Antarctic station, completely isolated from the rest of the world with my colleagues, but working most of the time alone in an observatory.

Much like walking, my life consisted of sleep/eat/go to my lab/work/go back to my station room/eat/sleep. An occasional satellite call to my wife and child. For a year.

No money, no bills to pay, no cars, no house to clean, no trips to the grocery store, no shopping, no clothes to choose from. Every single day, for a full year. I had colleagues who helped me from a distance, people who cooked my food. I just had to do my job. I remember that experience as a dream, as a trip to another universe, even though I had spent many summers on the continent.

Of course, I prepared a lot for this year. I had enormous expectations and fears, but everything went very well. Friends and colleagues were enchanted by my experiences and stories.

Until the last day of my experience. Then I went back home. And that is where the difficulties began.

Because I was no longer the center of attention. Then-okay, you spent a year in Antarctica, but... who cares? move on! our lives went on, too. Now you are just like us!

And then I realized that I had prepared so much for this year, but ... I had never prepared a single step in the ground for the day I would return home to "civilization".

I have read similar reflections in many books written by astronauts: you prepare like crazy, for years, for your mission. The whole world follows you, you're the center of attention... but you don't give a single thought to the day when - literally, in this case - you're back on Earth, along with the others, and you're back at the back of the line.

Having said that, I think one thing you can do is this: try to think hard about the aftermath. Schedule other activities as if it were a pipeline, with many things in various stages of preparation, as they say "first in first out", and reject the (wrong) idea that life ends the day you finish your "camino", whatever that may be.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@JustOneGuy, interesting points, and I certainly understand the similarities.

The major differences with the Camino are that:
1/ few of us get to walk for as long as a year
2/Most of us aren't getting paid for doing it ( rather the opposite)
3/the camino is a lot more accessible than Antarctica, let alone space
4/it's a heck of a lot easier to return to the Camino to repeat the experience
5/I strongly suspect that the training is a lot easier
6/ the consequences of forgetting something important are nowhere near as serious !

Joking aside, thanks for sharing - an interesting story with some very relevant parallels.

 

[davejsy]

OK, if we are recommending short videos to capture the spirit of the Camino, I can't resist adding this one. Less than 4 minutes of your time.

What a beautifully made video.