At home now, and how crazy have I become?

[kelleymac]

Hello all-- My husband is telling me that I'm acting kind of crazy, and so I'm writing to find out if any one else out there is crazy like me. (My husband did not walk the camino with me.) Here is the situation--, I was at mass last week, and really couldn't focus or perhaps more accurately I couldn't stop focusing on housework, money, appointments, car repairs etc. So I thought back to the camino and the days of walking, and the next day I worked out how to walk to the church the following week. It's about 8.5 miles, so about 10km. I worked out the route -- it has some major hills, and I can walk through a number of parks, and I figure it should take me about 3 hours. I think it's a great idea! My husband thinks I'm crazy. (Hey, I'm repeating myself.) Has any one else done something like this after they get home? Or has anyone found other ways to bring the camino back home with them?

 

[MTtoCamino]

Yes it is post camino & it takes folks different amounts of time to settle down. It is normal. My wife pointed it out to me as well, took me a year. Yet I don't think it goes away, this forum is an outlet.
Keith

 

[Charles Johnson]

Totally agree with you. Having just come back from walking the Camino Frances myself, coming home is hard. While it's easy to show pictures and tell stories, it is completely different life experience to try to explain to someone, let alone adjust to myself.

 

[Martha567]

At this stage I am starting to wonder whether one can actually "recover" from the Camino experience. I walked for only two weeks, have been back home since late May and I look at this forum every single day. Needless to say, I'm already planning my next Camino. My family hasn't labeled it crazy, but they say I'm different. I guess we just have to keep walking.

 

[jrm]

I don't think you're crazy! I walk a lot more now that I'm home... and I don't go anywhere in particular. I just walk out on the country roads for 5 miles or so , and then turn around and walk home.

 

[evanlow]

Yes. One would start walking more initially. For me it took half a year before I got back to the old routine. After that it becomes an endless yearning to be back on the road.

Listen to what the Camino is telling you. It's more than just walking everywhere (which may not be very practical all the time in real life). Maybe is that you life can simpler? Less is more? Whatever it is, if you achieve that your real life will be on parity with the Camino life.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Aaahhhh.... Life after the Camino... without the yellow arrows to guide us and the simplicity and rhythm of everyday life on the Way - walk, eat, sleep, repeat.

I have found that still the Camino continues on long after my walking stopped which is unusual as I have hiked many amazing long walks around the world. Most linger for quite some time, all change me but there is just something about the Camino that seems to seep into your very bones...

If you're crazy, it's a healthy kind and you've a great deal of company

Readjusting back to 'normal' life is quite a challenge and perhaps the angst that you feel is because you have grown and no longer 'fit' the old version of you.

As for walking... oh yes! I take every opportunity to walk anywhere and everywhere. Besides, it keeps you fit and ready for that next Camino

 

[mspath]

Although we all may not be able to keep walking many do continue to remember and hope to give back a part of what has been gleaned. Some may serve as hospitaleros offering physical assistance to fellow pilgrims. Others share their journeys anew offering tips/advice by writing to unknown readers as for example in blogs, books or on this Forum.

...Every morning begins wondering how it might be walking that day on the camino in such heat or rain or snow. Every evening when offering silent thanks for the gift of the day I give special thanks for years of camino memories and hope that I may wear a pilgrim shell until eternity.

 

[onwayhome]

Hello all-- My husband is telling me that I'm acting kind of crazy, and so I'm writing to find out if any one else out there is crazy like me. (My husband did not walk the camino with me.) Here is the situation--, I was at mass last week, and really couldn't focus or perhaps more accurately I couldn't stop focusing on housework, money, appointments, car repairs etc. So I thought back to the camino and the days of walking, and the next day I worked out how to walk to the church the following week. It's about 8.5 miles, so about 10km. I worked out the route -- it has some major hills, and I can walk through a number of parks, and I figure it should take me about 3 hours. I think it's a great idea! My husband thinks I'm crazy. (Hey, I'm repeating myself.) Has any one else done something like this after they get home? Or has anyone found other ways to bring the camino back home with them?

Walking day after day can have a profound affect on our bodies and minds, like prayer or meditation it can calm some of the background chatter that is naturally there and lead to an increased sense of clarity and focus. That's certainly been my experience, so I would suggest that walking to mass, rather than being 'crazy' might be an excellent ( and hopefully enjoyable) way of spending time. Non Camino-ists might not see it that way though!

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hello all-- My husband is telling me that I'm acting kind of crazy, and so I'm writing to find out if any one else out there is crazy like me. (My husband did not walk the camino with me.) Here is the situation--, I was at mass last week, and really couldn't focus or perhaps more accurately I couldn't stop focusing on housework, money, appointments, car repairs etc. So I thought back to the camino and the days of walking, and the next day I worked out how to walk to the church the following week. It's about 8.5 miles, so about 10km. I worked out the route -- it has some major hills, and I can walk through a number of parks, and I figure it should take me about 3 hours. I think it's a great idea! My husband thinks I'm crazy. (Hey, I'm repeating myself.) Has any one else done something like this after they get home? Or has anyone found other ways to bring the camino back home with them?

Hi, I'm fortunate. My wife started with the Camino she walked it years ago.
My wife will never walk long distances with me.When we want to walk we will do this alone. Next year I walk the Camino del Norte and my wife will walk the Camino Aragones.
We never have any problems.
Wish you well, Peter.

 

[Kitsambler]

The Camino was a life-changing experience for you. You've changed, as a result. Your husband did not walk the Camino, had no life-changing experience, and did not want to see a changed wife. His calling your plan "crazy" is a way to negate the change, and recover his "former wife". He's resisting the change in you.

There are lots of ways to hang on to the change you found on the Camino. Just don't turn loose of this treasure!

 

[Nanc]

"One would start walking more initially. For me it took half a year before I got back to the old routine."

When we return and life's demands pull at us, we may not have 10 hours days to dedicate to walking , but it seems that responding to the call to walk and incorporating it into life is good and a way to bring home the Camino.

There is less benefit to a spiritual retreat if the experiences and changes we go through are left when we leave the retreat.

And while December with dark hours might impact the desire to walk to church, it seems like it can be a choice as to how one continues the Camion rhythm, and if everyone talks about the call to go back, and most can't do it right away, it seems soul feeding, body satisfying and mind calming to take what we will learn on the Camino and bring as much of it home as we can.
Buen Camino

 

[vlebe]

I still usually wake up at 05:20 everyday just so I have time to walk to my office instead of driving or biking... People call me crazy also...

I figured out that: Instead of loosing my time inside my car, I've been given the gift of time whilst walking to work...

Music, podcasts and just the walking rhythm are good enough to start the day!

This is absolutely a taste I've acquired during my Caminos and climbing expeditions....

Since I decided to do that, I can guarantee I've became happier with my regular/real life... My mood has increased significantly, and there are many days I think of the camino while Im coming to the office...

Maybe we're all "crazy" !



Buen Camino!

 

[julia-t]

I've only walked about 200km of the Camino Frances to date. I return for another 12 days walking at the end of September.

I think of the Camino every day while at work, I think I am less easily stressed now, less likely to get cross if some little thing goes wrong.

When I walk on my days off, I think of the Camino, and pretend (up to a point) I am walking in Spain!

When I climb a hill I think of the ascent to Orisson, remember crossing the Pyrenees and how empowering that day was for me, and wonder whether my hill is as steep as O'Cebreiro...

And when I get in from my walk, I make the best cafe con leche I am able to, or if the time is right, drink a glass of vino tinto (Rioja for preference).

I look at this forum most days, and also the various Camino groups on facebook I've joined.

I live on the Cotswold Way (a 100mile 'way' crossing the Cotswold Hills), so see a lot of hikers as they walk through my village - and I notice their boots and backpacks, and talk to them when I come face to face with them.

I regularly search the local charity shops for quick-dry sports clothes and anything that might be useful on my next Camino stage, and have to be strict with myself about visiting the big outdoor shops so I don't buy myself yet another merino vest or fleece because it might weigh less than the one I already have.

And all the above is only a small part of my Camino life now.

I think I might be obsessed...

 

[MTtoCamino]

I've only walked about 200km of the Camino Frances to date. I return for another 12 days walking at the end of September.

I think of the Camino every day while at work, I think I am less easily stressed now, less likely to get cross if some little thing goes wrong.

When I walk on my days off, I think of the Camino, and pretend (up to a point) I am walking in Spain!

When I climb a hill I think of the ascent to Orisson, remember crossing the Pyrenees and how empowering that day was for me, and wonder whether my hill is as steep as O'Cebreiro...

And when I get in from my walk, I make the best cafe con leche I am able to, or if the time is right, drink a glass of vino tinto (Rioja for preference).

I look at this forum most days, and also the various Camino groups on facebook I've joined.

I live on the Cotswold Way (a 100mile 'way' crossing the Cotswold Hills), so see a lot of hikers as they walk through my village - and I notice their boots and backpacks, and talk to them when I come face to face with them.

I regularly search the local charity shops for quick-dry sports clothes and anything that might be useful on my next Camino stage, and have to be strict with myself about visiting the big outdoor shops so I don't buy myself yet another merino vest or fleece because it might weigh less than the one I already have.

And all the above is only a small part of my Camino life now.

I think I might be obsessed...

Please share how you make cafe con leche!
Since my return no luck in finding anything close!
We all have each other to stay Camino obsessed, I thank the good Lord for it.

 

[november_moon]

We started incorporating walking into our regular lives as part of our training prior to the Camino and have continued at home. We haven't done as much as I'd like since we got back - partially due to a tendon issue in my foot (its healed now - yay) and partially just due to all the "normal" life stuff that had stacked up while we were gone and we had to attend to. But, we still are walking places instead of driving. Tonight there is a Movable Feast (bunch of food trucks and a band in a parking lot) about 3 miles from our house - we are planning to walk over and back. We've also started walking to the house of some friends - they live about 5 miles away - and to the brewery, which is about 3.5 miles away. Sometimes we walk home too, sometimes we take Uber.

 

[Mike Savage]

Well if you are crazy then you are in good company. It has been nearly a year since my Camino last year and I have a desire to "stay changed." For me (and probably for most of us) the Camino had a positive affect on life. I like the little bit of improvement I see in myself and hope it continues.

I wish you all the best.

 

[mcopeland]

It's been a little over a month since we've been home and unfortunately in Central Texas walking anywhere is brutal! Even in early morning. I miss it terribly - or do I just miss the simple uncomplicated routine? I'm certainly not running around getting lots of things done. Actually, quite the opposite. I sleep more, am tired all the time and feel an emptiness. I do feel the pull to simplify my life (and that was a goal). So I'm making plans for us to walk again in my 70th birthday year. I get a lot of support here in the forum, even though I seldom post.
Mary

 

[Icacos]

Hello all-- My husband is telling me that I'm acting kind of crazy, and so I'm writing to find out if any one else out there is crazy like me. (My husband did not walk the camino with me.) Here is the situation--, I was at mass last week, and really couldn't focus or perhaps more accurately I couldn't stop focusing on housework, money, appointments, car repairs etc. So I thought back to the camino and the days of walking, and the next day I worked out how to walk to the church the following week. It's about 8.5 miles, so about 10km. I worked out the route -- it has some major hills, and I can walk through a number of parks, and I figure it should take me about 3 hours. I think it's a great idea! My husband thinks I'm crazy. (Hey, I'm repeating myself.) Has any one else done something like this after they get home? Or has anyone found other ways to bring the camino back home with them?

The question I would ask myself is, "Am I crazy not to walk to church if I have the opportunity." The answer for me would be a resounding "Yes," for the reasons others have set out above. The worst that could happen is folks might wonder why you are wearing your trekking clothes to church; just think of the big smile you can give them.

When I was on Camino I loved the simplicity of having with me the barest essentials and, ever since I've been back home, I've wanted to pare down my possessions to the barest minimum and live that simplicity. Now, life's circumstances are presenting me with the perfect opportunity to do just that; to get rid of everything superfluous and be root-less. I have about six months to make my decision, and I am asking myself if I would be crazy to pass up this opportunity.

 

[TeknoHead]

When I returned from my first Camino I felt trapped and had dreams about burning my house down, losing all of my possessions and hitting the path again.

All I've thought about for a year is the Camino and at this moment I'm on the Portuguese route.

It's a way of life now. Going Camino opens a door you'll never close.

 

[Roneen]

Hello all-- My husband is telling me that I'm acting kind of crazy, and so I'm writing to find out if any one else out there is crazy like me. (My husband did not walk the camino with me.) Here is the situation--, I was at mass last week, and really couldn't focus or perhaps more accurately I couldn't stop focusing on housework, money, appointments, car repairs etc. So I thought back to the camino and the days of walking, and the next day I worked out how to walk to the church the following week. It's about 8.5 miles, so about 10km. I worked out the route -- it has some major hills, and I can walk through a number of parks, and I figure it should take me about 3 hours. I think it's a great idea! My husband thinks I'm crazy. (Hey, I'm repeating myself.) Has any one else done something like this after they get home? Or has anyone found other ways to bring the camino back home with them?

 

[Roneen]

Yup. Spent 42 days on CF May and June. Came home and felt same way. I get antsy if I can't walk so going back end of August for 3 more weeks!

 

[kelleymac]

The question I would ask myself is, "Am I crazy not to walk to church if I have the opportunity." The answer for me would be a resounding "Yes," for the reasons others have set out above. The worst that could happen is folks might wonder why you are wearing your trekking clothes to church; just think of the big smile you can give them.

When I was on Camino I loved the simplicity of having with me the barest essentials and, ever since I've been back home, I've wanted to pare down my possessions to the barest minimum and live that simplicity. Now, life's circumstances are presenting me with the perfect opportunity to do just that; to get rid of everything superfluous and be root-less. I have about six months to make my decision, and I am asking myself if I would be crazy to pass up this opportunity.

Thanks for your post. I love your question "Am I crazy not to walk to church...", I will use that in my answer. I have been getting rid of things too. I cannot be rootless, at least not yet. I have children, a husband in poor health, and animals (dogs, horses). But I can get rid of things. And I am. Good luck with your decision-- you are in my prayers.

 

[Deleted member 56069]

Some days I am not sure if it was a blessing or a curse when we watched the movie 'The Way'!
In 2017, it will be our forth consecutive year of Camino walking.
We will be doing the Portuguese route to Santiago and then on to Finistere and Muxia.
Likely 2018 will have us on another route. Once a year is almost not enough now for the Camino 'fix'!
My wife and I have done a lot of travel, cruises, resort holidays etc., but none of this prior travel has been as rewarding as our Camino time.

 

[HeidiL]

My definition of what may be considered "walking distance" seems to be permanently changed, but I'm quite happy to take the bus to work, even though it would take me only 35 minutes to walk...

 

[Theandrea]

Hi
I'm glad I'm not the only person experiencing post Camino drepression! It took me a second Camino to get back happy into my daily routine. After I developed adrenal fatigue ( break down of the adrenal gland which produces cortisol after stressing the body to much) after I finished the cf I was tired all the time for 6 months. I felt I did not want to be in my normal life anymore and just went on automatic mode. 8 months later after just being 100 per cent again I went back to walk the Portuguese one and it was a healing Camino. I longed to experience the same feelings and relationships, thoughts and spiritual moments. What I found was completely different from the first time. Brilliant too but sooo different. My big learning was that I never ever can repeat the past but can take that and use it in the future. New different things will come up. So expecting too much just will disappoint me. Just going for it and be in the moment is the best way to go. But I agree with many I only could find that special feeling on the Camino. I tried hard to find it in other long distance walks but something is there which pulls back.

 

[julia-t]

Please share how you make cafe con leche!
Since my return no luck in finding anything close!

My cafe con leche is a milky coffee. I have a Nespresso machine so run off a shot of strong stuff, then pour it into half a cup of hot milk and stir. No froth, no foam, no latte.

 

[kelleymac]

Thank-you everyone for you support and sharing your experiences. My husband will just have to adjust to me being crazy. I am in Quebec City right now on vacation, but am planning on walking to mass from our house next Sunday.

--This morning I am going for an early walk around the only walled city in North America, stopping for mass at the cathedral here.

 

[Suziestevo]

Hello Camino walkers.
I recently walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the first and only Camino I've done. I've been home for 2 months and have read this forum every day with the hope of doing a 2 week stint of the Camino. I'm obsessed with my next Camino and enjoy reading this forum every day.
I am from Australia and am interested to hear what part of the Camino I should do. I would require s luggage transfer .

 

[kelleymac]

Hello Camino walkers.
I recently walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the first and only Camino I've done. I've been home for 2 months and have read this forum every day with the hope of doing a 2 week stint of the Camino. I'm obsessed with my next Camino and enjoy reading this forum every day.
I am from Australia and am interested to hear what part of the Camino I should do. I would require s luggage transfer .

Hi-- It's great you're planning on walking the Camino- But I think you need to move this post to a different place. It's answering my "back home again and crazy" post. Beun Camino! Kate

 

[Jeannie's Journeys]

Please share how you make cafe con leche!
Since my return no luck in finding anything close!
We all have each other to stay Camino obsessed, I thank the good Lord for it.

Oh, I would love to know how to make cafe con leche as well. I've missed that (amongst other things) since my return in early July.

 

[MTtoCamino]

Oh, I would love to know how to make cafe con leche as well. I've missed that (amongst other things) since my return in early July.

From her response above seems quite simple, so I am going to try it. But I have been told the beans are processed differently for the U.S. Than in Europe ?? So I hope that is not true.

 

[julia-t]

From her response above seems quite simple, so I am going to try it. But I have been told the beans are processed differently for the U.S. Than in Europe ?? So I hope that is not true.

Yes, it all comes down to the coffee itself. My version of cafe con leche is very palatable, but it is different to that in Spain. The coffee is smoother and milder in taste, though not weak.
I plan to investigate further when I return at the end of September.

 

[SYates]

Cafe con Leche recipe:

Use a French press or single serving automated coffee machine.
Heat Cup (important!)
Put coffee in heated cup.
Heat milk but don't boil and add filtering off the 'skin'.
Stir gently.
Enjoy.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Hobbyhorse]

Hi Kellymac, I volunteered as a hospitalera this Spring. One of the gifts I took home was a dinner table comment from a twenty-something French pilgrim. He was about half way along in his two month pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago, admitting he was worried about adjusting when he returned to normal life. Then he sat back, paused and announced, "Maybe THIS is normal life! Perhaps where we've come from is not supposed to be 'normal'!"

"I once walked five hundred miles to attend church." (That's the first line in a Camino-related book by Arthur Paul Boers titled, 'The Way is Made by Walking".)

I think you and many of us here have already 'walked five hundred miles to attend church', or experience something, in Santiago. So quite a bunch of us here might be crazy, right? But for some a walk to mass might be much more 'normal' for a healthy spirit than rolling into the parking lot in our personal vehicles. (The book's author also switched from driving to walking to church every Sunday.)

This thoughtful book by a practical Canadian theologian includes a little direction from psychological/philosophical sources, as well as his own Camino journalling and scripture. Although I didn't 'get it' on the first read, the more I struggled post-Camino, the more I became grateful for the book. The chapter on ''Focal Ways of Life' helped me recognize local activities that would encourage Camino-type feeling in me once I was back home.

You might also like the chapter called, 'Here I Walk, I Can do No Other - Keeping Faith with our Feet' - if your husband is open to the possibility that you're not the crazy one :>) show him page 161-163

"... driving exposes us "to both faster speeds and greater stimulation" than walking. Consequently the brain must " work harder as you focus on safety and process all that you see". Walking, then, is not just physically slower but mentally as well. There is less to take in, to process, to absorb. And we are able to deal with what faces us. On Sundays when I walk to church, the half hour on foot enriches my preparedness for and experience of worship. Sundays are a premium for me. I work hard all week, but this is a day, a sabbath, to be freed from work and worry. It may seem surprising that I can spare thirty precious minutes each way. But the days that I drive and "save" time pass more quickly and consequently feel harried, hurried, hasty and hectic."
..................
..."In walking, the means is as valuable and worthwhile as the goal itself. It teaches us to pay more attention to live time and to prioritize building that into our lives. ... notion of appropriate speed ... some things God can teach us only very slowly, at the speed of walking, the speed of life."

 

[Fearbocht]

I am seriously considering getting a can of yellow paint and doing little arrows showing me the way to the bin/the clothes line/the garden shed! So far this little plan is on hold until I return a planned week on the Camino the week after next...but it would really make me smile every time I put clothes on the line! If it is successful I may look to see if there are opportunities in the house!

 

[SYates]

Or you could paint yellow arrows to your house to invite other pilgrims in ;-) Buen Camino de la Vida, SY

 

[Giselleontour]

Well if you are crazy then you are in good company. It has been nearly a year since my Camino last year and I have a desire to "stay changed." For me (and probably for most of us) the Camino had a positive affect on life. I like the little bit of improvement I see in myself and hope it continues.

I wish you all the best.

As all of you I am missing the camino every single day. We walked 560 km on the Frances. Today I felt a bit lost in my normal life so I started something that helps now and in future. I started to improve my Spanish with a program at my Ipad. ;-)

 

[VNwalking]

@Giselleontour , it's what SYates called the Camino de la vida.I know you didn't ask, but here's some unsolicited advice that I find helps.
Rather than get caught in the suffering that is longing, it helps to reflect on what it is that you love about being on the Camino. Is it presence? Simplicity? Spontaneity? Connection with others? Open heartedness? This may be a voice to listen to; follow that, and bring it home, if you can--even in tiny ways. It makes a difference.
(And if it's the Cafe con leche, thanks to @SYates, now you can bring that home too.)

Here's a poem about feeling lost that I love. You could as easily substitute 'Camino' for 'forest:'

LOST
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
-David Wagoner

 

[Giselleontour]

@Viranani, how wonderful and helpful are your words. I feel the change of my personality and the reflection and the experiences on the Camino. People, friends tell me and my husband, that we are not the same as we have been befor walking the Camino de Santiago.
Telling from me. I am listening more than I talk to others and hear the words behind the sentence. It is more like reading in the eyes or heart of this person. All my thinking is just there - not thinking anything else when I am listening to anyone.
No multi-tasking or doing something beside listening. And hopefully help the other person.
I take much more time for important things. Looking around who needs help. Spending lot of time with my 90 year old mother than I did bevor, Baking with her for Christmas days and look at albums from her and my familys life. Enjoy time with neightbours by a cup of coffe (con leche) instead of going shopping things no one needs.

Thank you Viranani - my sister ;-) "LOST" is what I feel when I am in the loved beautiful nature.

 

[VNwalking]

You are most welcome.
(Off topic...we share rare shoes: How did your shoes go?? I'm looking forward to having mine hit the ground in May: thank you!)