Isn't twice enough?

[MARSKA]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

 

[Sirage]

You obviously know the answer otherwise you would be gardening right now instead of on this forum

 

[Anamya]

No, it´s not enough. I think it will never be enough.
Three done here, currently dreaming of the fourth...

 

[OZAJ]

It can be hard to admit to addiction.

 

[TravellingMan22]

It can be hard to admit to addiction.

I watched a TV programme the other day and someone said ‘it’s only an addiction, if you can’t afford it!’. Not true of course buy I liked it and remembered the quote.

Two of the same Camino, would be enough for me (in the sense that would look for something ‘significantly different’) but that’s just me!

 

[BarbaraW]

I see that your very first post on this forum is headed "1st pilgrimage". Maybe you always felt there would be more!

 

[dick bird]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

No. My theory is that nobody does the Camino twice. Some people do it once, and that’s enough, they never do it again. Others do it a second time, then a third time, then a fourth and just keep going back. And you can guess which category most of your fellow members belong to.

 

[VNwalking]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

Obviously not.

 

[Anhalter]

Yeah, after my second Camino i was thinking this as well.
Not so much after my third and currently looking forward to number 4

 

[Pafayac]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

Yes, it is.
But I am planning my fourth...

 

[J Willhaus]

It's turned into a kind of expensive hobby!

 

[Dave2525]

Of course it is. With so many places in the world do your seeking in some new land.

 

[t2andreo]

Welcome to our "Magnificent Obsession!"

I plan to stop counting. Perhaps my new answer when asked how many times I have walked a camino will be "not enough."

 

[bullingtonce]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

If you asked this question, you already know the answer. Asking this question may indicate that the first Camino did not inculcate the value it should have. Chuck

 

[naplesdon]

After 8 years and more Caminos than I can count on two hands, I would go back in a heart beat if it weren't for the nerve damage in my feet.

 

[jrewins]

There is no “one size fits all” answer to this question. For me, once is not enough because of the diversity offered by the different routes; e.g. the Portuguese is an opportunity to experience the Camino in a country other than Spain. Having experienced the Francés, Portuguese, and Finisterre in previous years, I’m looking forward to my next trek on the Via de la Plata; the long est and one of the most physically challenging Caminos due to it’s lengthy stages and sparse support services.

For many of us, when the Camino calls, we have neither the will nor the desire to refuse it. The Camino provides…but it can also be a little demanding.

Buen Camino

 

[khiker9]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

I am here now about to finish up on the Frances for the 12th time (various routes). I come from the states & I do here what I can’t do there on our beautiful trails without backpacking & camping. You will know when you have done enough.

 

[RRat]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

First Camino was 2018, second 2023. So much has changed, and not for the better, over just those few years that I'm hesitant to do a third. Too many tour groups and dependence on technology.

 

[WayWalker]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

I wanted to experience different caminos. Haven't done the same one twice. 5 caminos in 10 years and thinking about other walks. I now consider myself a long distance walker.

 

[Martin-B]

What was the old adage that the late John Brierley quoted? "No man stands in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man. " Perhaps a suitable metaphor for multiple caminos ? I'm planning my 3rd Via Francigena, I also need to return to Spain to finish my 4th camino... So much to do, so little time...
What's even worse is my local training walk has been completed many hundreds of times...
Ok, I'll put my hands up, I'm addicted .

 

[Caomhin O Fearghaill]

You only live twice.

 

[alexwalker]

What was the old adage that the late John Brierley quoted? "No man stands in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man. " Perhaps a suitable metaphor for multiple caminos ? I'm planning my 3rd Via Francigena, I also need to return to Spain to finish my 4th camino... So much to do, so little time...
What's even worse is my local training walk has been completed many hundreds of times...
Ok, I'll put my hands up, I'm addicted .

Old Greek philosopher:

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/heraclitus_107157

 

[Stivandrer]

Even my wife has realised that it is not enough ( twelve years later...)

 

[ag811987]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

General question for repeat offenders. Do you do the same Camino or switch routes?

 

[sillydoll]

In “Journey to Portugal” Jose Saramago who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1998, said:

'The journey is never over. Only travellers come to an end. The end of one journey is simply the start of another. You have to see what you missed the first time, see again what you already saw, see in springtime what you saw in summer, in daylight what you saw at night, see the sun shining where you saw the rain falling, see the crops growing, the fruit ripen, the stone which has moved, the shadow that was not there before. You have to go back to the footsteps already taken, to go over them again or add fresh ones alongside them. You have to start the journey anew. Always. The traveller sets out once more."

 

[trecile]

For me, eight was not enough. I'll let you know next year if nine is the magic number. My guess is that it won't be.

General question for repeat offenders. Do you do the same Camino or switch routes?

I've walked a number of different routes, and have combined several into a long continuous Camino.

 

[Frankybaby66]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

Nope, you're only just getting started!

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

Yoe can you listen to a favourite piece of music time and time again. Or if you have read a wonderfull book would you question if you will ever read a book again

 

[naplesdon]

General question for repeat offenders. Do you do the same Camino or switch routes?

I have done many route and some of them several times. I have even found myself walking down the Canal de Castille to Valladolid and connecting to the Camino Madrid. Just walk.

 

[MARSKA]

It's turned into a kind of expensive hobby!

Yes, rather so. However, compared to other travels not so much. I spent on a long weekend trip to the Boundary Waters in MInnesota as much as a month cost on the CF.

 

[David Tallan]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

If once was not enough, you are not going to stop at two. There see to be three options: 0, 1, many.

 

[alexwalker]

I have 12 (I think) Caminos under my belt. Now only reflecting on when to start my 13th. I suppose May-25 could be a good time for this oldtimer at 70. Will be CF this time (also ).

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Dude, 26 isn't enough.

 

[Tincatinker]

Isnt twice enough?

 

[trecile]

People re-watch movies, spend summers at the same lakeside cabin, hike the same local trails over and over again, run multiple marathons, etc. If you love doing something healthy there's no harm in doing it repeatedly, or any reason to question your motivation.

 

[dbeatriceb]

General question for repeat offenders. Do you do the same Camino or switch routes?

I have done both, switched routes and also walked the same route more than once. I find it isn’t possible to “do the same Camino twice,” because things are always changing, as am I.

 

[bestfootforward]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

Everything in moderation........except Caminos! You can never do too many!

 

[Blue Tang]

Isn't twice enough?

Twice left me longing for thrice. The only similar longing I’ve experienced is homesickness as a young pup serving overseas in the US Navy. Perhaps the two are linked; perhaps it is the feeling of saudade that Julio Iglesias sings of in the version of Un Canto a Galicia (sung in Galician/Galego), linked here:

Un Canto a Galicia

In 2016, after 22 years of blessings from my primary avocation of scuba diving, I began to appreciate that changes accompanying my advancing age might be adversely affecting my ability to continue diving, so I began exploring options I hoped would be as interesting and life-affirming. After reading Shirley MacLaine’s Book, The Camino, my interest was piqued. That same year, I enjoyed several articles illustrated, memorably, by the yellow arrows and blue background, and I was led to this forum. By early 2017, my brother and I had completed plans to walk the Camino Francés from SJPdP to SdC. An emergency cholecystectomy prevented that, but after a year of recovery, in 2018, we walked the Caminho Português (central) from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. I was hooked. Due to the pandemic, we delayed our first Camino Francés until 2022–from SJPdP to Burgos. Afterwards, the Camino Francés called me to return, but I needed a year to recover. We walked it this June–from Burgos to SdC. I still scuba dive–my avatar reflects the Camino's yellow arrows and blue background metaphorized by the regal yellow and blue hues of the Blue Tang fish–but the Camino calls strongly and more persistently. I am planning another.

 

[Celi Anatrella]

N

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

No. Not enough!

 

[Lexicos]

Ask someone how many football matches they’ve watched, or how many golf games they’ve played.

I’m looking at my 6th in May, and I’m already counting the days.

Short answer: No.
Go for it.

 

[Rita Flower]

First Camino was 2018, second 2023. So much has changed, and not for the better, over just those few years that I'm hesitant to do a third. Too many tour groups and dependence on technology.

Choose a different route. The Francés is just one possibility. The Via de La Plata is still my favourite - quiet, well supported, and mysteriously always labeled as hard but I found my recent walk on the Francés much more challenging.

 

[dick bird]

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

from 'Little Gidding'

 

[MARSKA]

I am here now about to finish up on the Frances for the 12th time (various routes). I come from the states & I do here what I can’t do there on our beautiful trails without backpacking & camping. You will know when you have done enough.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

 

[MARSKA]

I've asked before, and I'll ask again- if one is from the US, travels solo, speaks very little of any language other than English ---- what are the alternatives to the CF? None really it seems.

I feel very fortunate when I have the opportunity to walk with other solo travelers who speak Spanish, French, or German along with English - if there were ONE thing I could change I'd take another language. So many doors open. Sigh.

----- Don't die before you're dead ------

 

[MARSKA]

You only live twice.

Or thrice.

 

[bestfootforward]

----- Don't die before you're dead ------

That's so true! There are a couple of other maxims I live by:
'You never want to die wondering' and
'On their deathbed, who says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office" No one. Ever.

Make the best of every day and what better way to do that than Camino as often as you can!

 

[trecile]

I've asked before, and I'll ask again- if one is from the US, travels solo, speaks very little of any language other than English ---- what are the alternatives to the CF?

The Norte or the Portuguese routes go through areas with enough tourism that there's usually some English speakers around. The Primitivo also has enough pilgrims on it that there should be someone available to translate when necessary.

I met a Taiwanese man on the Norte who spoke neither Spanish nor English who managed with Google Translate.

 

[LTfit]

General question for repeat offenders. Do you do the same Camino or switch routes?

14 or 15 routes to date, some twice or even more but there are still many more to go

 

[dick bird]

'On their deathbed, who says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office" No one. Ever.

I am not going to quote Sir John Betjeman´s supposed last words (or King George the Fifth´s).

 

[t2andreo]

Insanity, it is said, is repeating the same action, activity or experiment with the expectation of a different result. I believe the insanity part is, after realizing the same result, one repeats the cycle again and again. Thus, one is insane for doing so.

The Camino, writ large, draws many of us to repeat the same activity - walking Camino - again and again. But, the result is NEVER identical. Even for those who prefer to do a single route, like the CF, again and again, it is the same route, but a different experience each time you repeat it.

It is sort of like an onion. As you peel it, there is always another layer underneath.

But it is nice to know that I am not insane. I may be many other things, but insane - not yet.

Remarkable, really.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

if one is from the US, travels solo, speaks very little of any language other than English ---- what are the alternatives to the CF? None really it seems.

Oh gosh I really hope you don't believe that to be true. There's an entire world out there waiting to be discovered. This coming from someone from the US and who only travels solo.

 

[MARSKA]

The Norte or the Portuguese routes go through areas with enough tourism that there's usually some English speakers around. The Primitivo also has enough pilgrims on it that there should be someone available to translate when necessary.

I met a Taiwanese man on the Norte who spoke neither Spanish nor English who managed with Google Translate.

Yes, I

Oh gosh I really hope you don't believe that to be true. There's an entire world out there waiting to be discovered. This coming from someone from the US and who only travels solo.

Oh dear - I tripped over my words. Not what I meant at all. I'm thinking about camino routes, not the entire world.

 

[David Tallan]

I've asked before, and I'll ask again- if one is from the US, travels solo, speaks very little of any language other than English ---- what are the alternatives to the CF? None really it seems.

I feel very fortunate when I have the opportunity to walk with other solo travelers who speak Spanish, French, or German along with English - if there were ONE thing I could change I'd take another language. So many doors open. Sigh.

----- Don't die before you're dead ------

I met one of our forum members last year who was walking the Madrid solo with just English. He wasn't from the States, but I'm not sure how much of a difference that made. He was managing. I don't think I would walk the Madrid without Spanish (mine is intermediate at best), but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Portugues or Primitivo or Ingles. When I was hospitalero in Salamanca, there were few pilgrims managing the VDLP without Spanish.

Learning other languages certainly opens doors. But there is no need to limit yourself to the Frances if you don't want to.

 

[MARSKA]

Thanks David. Maybe the Primitivo.

 

[MARSKA]

The Norte or the Portuguese routes go through areas with enough tourism that there's usually some English speakers around. The Primitivo also has enough pilgrims on it that there should be someone available to translate when necessary.

I met a Taiwanese man on the Norte who spoke neither Spanish nor English who managed with Google Translate.

I am looking closely at the Primitivo.

 

[CWBuff]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

ask that of yourself after you start planning your 20th

Buen Camino Peregrina!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Learning other languages certainly opens doors. But there is no need to limit yourself to the Frances if you don't want to.

I have ventured into a few of the less traveled Camino routes in recent years without knowing Spanish, (French or Italian), but I always have walked with family members or girlfriends which helps. I doubt I would walk any of those routes alone without being able to converse with locals with the exception of the Frances, or Portuguese from Porto. Google translate has helped, but I know my experiences lack the special interactions and sometimes helpful suggestions from locals that many forum members get to enjoy. Even so, I have no interest in solo travel since I much prefer sharing new experiences with a partner. That said, I fully admire those who are able and confident, and prefer walking alone.
I've been seeing on the forum a few more of the truly remote, little traveled Caminos this past year, but am pretty sure they are "above my pay grade" so will not be inclined to add them to my little bucket list.
P.S. No need to suggest I learn more Spanish beyond the pleasantries I already know.

 

[Juspassinthru]

Why in the world am I planning another camino? Isnt twice enough?

Yeah, I thought so…apparently I was wrong . Oops.