I first saw this thread earlier this week, on Tuesday. I believe that is when it first appeared. I have read it through, repeatedly, in the days since. When I first read it, I was keeping vigil at my wife's bedside in a Washington, DC hospital. She was there for over three-weeks, for reconstructive surgery on her intestines.
Without too much detail, my wife became acutely ill a year ago, suffering the loss of three-quarters of her small intestine. Over the past year, a team of world-class specialists have been working to get Cynthia strong enough for the surgery she had in early May, to reconnect her remaining bits. The surgery went splendidly, But, minor infections kept her in hospital longer than hoped for.
We are home now. My wife is on the mend. We have a path forward. My daily role now is that of nurse and close companion, helping my wife heal the rest of the way. As was the case last year, we will have nurses and therapists coming to our home to help Cynthia.
I mention this because it has a direct affect on my Camino activities. But, I wanted to ruminate over my feelings for this thread and to frame a cogent and useful contribution to the thread before replying. It has been four days now. I think I am ready to try to help.
In this life, context is everything. My experiences caring for my wife over the past year or more have added a profound new context to my, more than a decade history with the
Camino de Santiago.
I walked my first Camino (Frances) in 2013. While I was not pursuing this pilgrimage for religious purposes, it nonetheless affected me in a deep, profound, and lasting way. It literally changed my life moving forward.
Coming off this experience, I learned about the volunteer opportunities from a volunteer at the old pilgrim office, when I arrived to get my first Compostela. My nearly six-weeks of experience with the
Camino Frances, and Santiago de Compostela, compelled me to learn more.
Long story short - the next year, I walked the
Camino Frances once again, and started my first volunteer stint the following week. I made new friends and am still in correspondence with them. I consider the staff at the Pilgrim Office to be my second family. They like me, and i hold them all in great affection.
I proceeded to walk additional; Caminos in 2015 (Porto), 2016 (Madrid), 2017 (Lisbon), 2018, and 2019 (Primitivo). COVID interrupted my 2020 plans, as it did for most everyone. Personal medical issues and surgery scuppered my 2021 and 2022 Camino plans.
When not walking a Camino, I was trying to work as a volunteer at the Pilgrim Office at Santiago. I managed to do this most every year except for 2020 - the year that wasn't.
I am certain many of you are familiar with the adage: "man plans - God laughs..." Well, I planned to walk a Camino each year, followed by a second trip to Sanitago to volunteer. Things were going wonderfully, until God, Karma, whatever, intervened.
My wife's serious illness necessarily derailed my 2023 and 2024 Camino and volunteering aspirations.
So, here I sit. I have had a wonderful run with the
Camino de Santiago. I still want to do more as long as I am physically able. Am I a Camino Addict as some have inferred above? I do not know. But I just want more.
In addressing the issue of waning interest in the Camino, I offer the following tidbits and observations from my experiences:
Pursuing a walking Camino, or repeated Caminos, falls within the ambit of Ecclesiastes :31, which affirms two important reminders:
"The things we go through in life are not in vain. Our situations will not last forever. If you are in a certain season of life, you can be confident the season will come to an end at some point.
This verse serves as a reminder that our circumstances will change and that is something we can come to expect in life. Whatever God takes us through has purpose, perhaps to deepen our faith or to help us achieve breakthrough in an area of life.
We will get over our sorrows. We will get out of the valley. We will go through hardships. And whatever season of life we find ourselves in, it will have a beginning and it will have an end. We will enter new seasons, too. Ones that bring relief, hope, or a deeper sense of faith."
Stated otherwise, there is a time or season for walking a Camino, serving as a volunteer or participating in a local Camino chapter. Also true, there is a a time or season when one must put these pastimes and interests aside for the greater good, or for the good of another person.
I am going through one of those episodes now - and have been for the past 15 months. During that time, I very nearly lost my wife of 45-years twice, our beloved pet cat passed from cancer, and my mother passed in July. We have no children. My responsibilities for my wife precluded me from traveling - anywhere for any reason. So mom's cremains have not yet been interred with my late father. The family insists on waiting for Cynthia to be able to be present. But, it weighs heavily on me.
My considered advice for my global Camino family - writ large - is to accept that there are times when your interest in all things Camino, and especially investing the time and effort to walk a pilgrimage, may wane. Even without external influences, as in my experience, just having too much of a "good thing" can dull your appreciation of, interest in, or motivation to undertake another Camino.
I can offer the analog of a child who wants, craves, and begs for a particular Christmas gift. All year long, this child will go on, harping about how this thing will make everything good in the child's life.
So, sacrifices are made, trade-offs are made, choices are taken. On Christmas, the child is presented with the object of his or her desires as a gift.
We have all seen this, either first-hand as a child, or as a parent or other relative. The child unwraps the gift with extreme glee and happiness. They play with the toy for perhaps up to one-hour - or less - then sets the craved for thing aside and moves onto some other stimulation.
I suggest that for some pilgrims, the same sort of paradigm holds for the first or second Camino. After the "new" wears off, we become more complacent, jaded, or simply take the privilege of being able to walk pilgrimage for granted. We are seeing this, elevated to a grand scale with the recent, sharp increase in organized tour groups, "tourigrinos," and "short-walkers" who only do the minimum needed to be eligible for a Compostela.
Here, I differentiate those "short walkers" who cannot do more for any number of reasons, from those who CHOOSE to do the least effort possible. I respect the effort, if it is all you are capable to do.
There are some pilgrims who walk a different Camino every year, or several Caminos each year. When these pilgrims express ennui or disappointment - as is the thrust of this dialog - the reason (perceived or not) may be stimulus overload. Too much of a good thing, in a defined period of time.
The classical approach to dealing with anyone who suffers from this sort of "binge behavior" is to meter or attenuate these behaviors with alternative behaviors. I have several observations and recommendations in this context:
1. Indeed, there is a season and a time for everything and every activity. Remaining on Camino constantly will, over time, dull the appropriate appreciation of it.
2. In my experience, too much of a good thing, particularly in a constrained period, also contributes to this lassitude or ennui.
3. The "trick" as it were, seems to be to meter one's Camino exposure while maintaining a constant level of interest. As another analog, I offer the parallel concept of the Camino as a dining buffet, at which the diner picks and chooses their small portions, over time. This, is in opposition to binging on a large, multi course formal meal, served within a relatively short period of time - until one become physically ill from gluttony.
4. It seems to me that the "solution" to the problem of too much Camino or "Camino fatigue" as discussed in this thread, is to:
- accept that there is a time or season for everything
- while we are, indeed, "addicted to the Camino," it is a treatable condition.
- we can chose to do good for others in our "off seasons." These periods of time away from direct Camino activities can be personalized to suit each person. For example:
- I spend about one-hour each day on this forum trying to help others, and
- I devote at least one-hour daily teaching myself Spanish using Duolingo.com - I have been doing so without a break - for over six-years. When I am away from my main computer, I have an app on my iPhone that allows me to continue my Spanish lessons, I even kept my streak intact while keeping vigil with my wife in hospital, using ear buds.
- I try to remain active within the local chapter of the American Pilgrims on the Camino. While my present nursing responsibilities restrict the time I can be away from home, I remain a member and follow activities very closely.
My point is, that we can be actively and continuously involved with activities or pursuits that further our interest in the Camino - writ large - while not following an all-or-nothing approach. That approach adopts the belief that the best thing is to walk Camino every year, or all the time, until one gets mentally sick of it, then, to complain of Camino fatigue.
My alternative suggestion is to find other, tangental Camino-related activities or pursuits that maintain your interest level at a point where it can be restored to full activity, when that time or season is upon you. That is exactly what I am doing at present. It is like marching in place, or riding a stationary bicycle instead of doing so outside.
The
Camino de Santiago has existed for more than 1200 years, the Cathedral in Santiago has been present for about 900 years. The Camino, as a concept and practice, is eternal. It will be there when you are restored to health or a good emotional balance regarding the benefits of pilgrimage.
Until then, there are many, varied activities you can do to help others, maintain your interest level, learn more, and perhaps make informed decisions regarding your future participation.
I am here to answer any questions, and I sincerely hope my input has helped.
Tom
). Some of the kindnesses received were enough to bring a tear to this old grumps eye. 
In my two days in Santiago, my highlight was meeting virtual friend, 
