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I just want to give it up

ScaryB4Coffee

Put your feet up after walking. It's good for you.
Time of past OR future Camino
Del Norte May/June (2016)
Frances September (2018)
My pack got stolen today. I left it at the albergue in Ribadeo for correos to pick up. They messaged me it wasn't there. This is the first time I was using them. They said they've never had a pack stolen. (don't believe that) I was using pack transport because of my toe injury, having to wear tevas. Now I've lost everything but the clothes on me and a long sleeve top. After so many little injuries causing so many setbacks, now this. I just want to go home. I'm at a great little albergue getting pampered and I am so thankful for that. I could bus to Baalmonde and do the last 100 km but I don't have a sleep sack or raincoat or my daily prescriptions. I do have my money and passport. The police don't even want a report until tomorrow when they open at 9. I'm having a really hard time right keeping it all together.
 
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This is jus the kind of stuff that unfortunately happens. The most important thing is that you have your wallet and papers.
The rest is just stuff that can be replaced.

The thieves might throw the backpack away after they see there are no valuables in there. This is what happened to me at least. Then they threw it in a trash can.
 
Sorry to learn about your missing pack! At least you do have your money and passport.

Where are you staying tonight? If it is an albergue the hospitalero may have extra clothes, etc. to help you out.

When you last saw you pack were other packs near-by? Perhaps your's was picked up in error by another service. Were your name and email address on your pack? Someone might get in touch with you via those tags. If your missing meds are highly necessary try get a new set at the nearest pharmacy. Most Spanish pharmacists are multi lingual and very helpful.

Do take a deep breath and try to relax. Perhaps you might stay where you now are for another day or so. Imagine a few 'next step' scenarios before you actually change your plans.

Of course it is a shame that this occurred but you could assemble another basic kit and in a day or two simply continue on your way.

Do post how it all works out!

Stay safe and Good luck!
 
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That must be very distressing! This may sound terribly trite, but as others have said, you are fine, hopefully your documentation is safe, but you have lost a bag full of replaceable stuff. Likely by tomorrow, you will be over the shock and can make a decision on how to make the best of the situation. I hope you don't give up and go home yet!
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
This is one of those times where you really just have to accept what has arrived at your doorstep and move forward. The more energy you put into it the more difficult it will be for you.
It sounds as if you are in a great albergue that is caring for your immediate needs. Now, after you have had a chance to regain a good perspective, I hope you choose to stay. Find a store near by that can provide some needed items to continue and move on.

Returning home to Seattle will always be there and you don't gain anything by returning sooner than expected. I think we all need to learn to make lemonade when life is dishing up bowls full of lemons.

You are on Camino for a reason.

Best of luck and buen Camino,
 
We will pray for you. We are glad that you are safe and have your papers. We hope whatever you decide to do that you will take care of yourself. Get your meds replaced, etc. I have wondered about pack security with shipping. We've only shipped ahead a few times on long days. Nothing I have is valuable, but there is a sense of vulnerability when something you have is taken.
 
Please, do not let this ruin your Camino. Take it easy and rest for a couple of days. You still have the important stuff: your money and your passport. Is it possible to replace your medication? Do you want to continue?
Maybe your backpack will show up, maybe you can walk the remains of your walk with whatever you can buy, can you do without the sleeping bag?
I hope everything turns out for the best and you will get through this. Eventually it will be some great story to tell!
All the best to you and buen camino.
 
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Darn it! That really sucks. In a situation like this hang up strongly to the silver lining and that is that they did not get your money and passport which were the most important things you were carrying.

I ado agree that the albergue is somewhat responsible and this may very well be a case of bag mistakenly picked up by a transport company.

I mailed my stuff from a Correos in a town near Finisterre, they even helped me picked a box and filled it. How nice, I thought. When the package arrived to my home in the USA, it had been reopened, retaped, and ransacked, some stuff stolen, AND in the package they had placed some cheap ceramics meant to weight as much as the stuff stolen so that the weight discrepancy would not raised a flag to quality mail inspectors. OBVIOUSLY, a correos inside job.

I have to say that I have used baggage transfer (Jacotrans) on my Caminos since 1997 with nothing stolen. This Correos organization, not so sure.....
 
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That really sucks. Great advice above though. Deep breaths, take a break and work out your options.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it was picked up by the wrong transport company with other packs and will still turn up. It can happen.
 
Sorry this is happening to you, but I suspect there is a very good chance the pack was not stolen, but was picked up by another company.

If it WAS stolen, get yourself a daypack and buy one outfit and continue on.

It's a lesson in minimalism.

One of our walkers' packs didn't make it to Spain.
He bought a few items and continued on and had a wonderful walk.

The outcome is up to you. . .
 
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This is an awful thing to happen to you - especially when you have already been having difficulties. My first thought on reading this (before reading similar comments from other posters) was "Are you sure it was stolen?" You may well have already done this, but if not then it would be well worth checking with the hospitalero in Ribadeo (where the pack was to have been collected from) whether there were bags collected by other transport providers that morning. I'm not sure who or how many operate on the Norte, other than Correos, but if the hospitalero indicates that there were others (or even doesn't know) it would be worth contacting all the possible "culprits" directly - if this has happened, it will have been inadvertent. If your pack was clearly marked with the delivery address, it's possible that it may still show up, but then if you're not on the other company's list as having booked/paid for the transfer, they may also hold it until they hear from you. Also - sorry, I'm sure you've done this but just in case - have you asked the Ribadeo hospitalero to double-check that the pack isn't still there having been accidentally moved or knocked into a corner somewhere? I wouldn't rely on Correos being correct that it wasn't there.

And if your pack doesn't reappear - that's a real blow, i would be very shaken by losing all my clothes and other equipment, even if i did still have the important papers. But as others have suggested - do take a day or two to recover, think things through, and decide whether you might be able to get some cheap replacement things and carry on.

Whatever you decide - buen camino and take care of yourself!
 
Sorry that this happened, but in cases like this we can't help what happens to us only how we manage it. You are already in Spain, make the best of it and keep going. You have clothes and the most essential things. It can only get better. Going home in a defeated spirit and abandoning your Camino now doesn't bode well in my humble opinion. I do hope that you take a deep breath and make the best of it. Buen Camino to you.
 
Sorry to hear you have had this experience. If you have travel insurance you will be able to claim for all the lost items, but it's such a faff. You will need the police report. I agree with DanielH, I think you will regret it as a kind of defeat if you give up. Take a few days out if you can, but don't give up. You should be able to get a new prescription: Doctors in Spain are so kind, in my experience. Some things even a Pharmacist can dispense without Prescription, so ask there first. Also tell plenty of people what happened. The Camino has a way of bringing you what you need. Hope your luck improves from now on!
 
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Wow, ScaryB4Coffee, that's huge. I'm very sorry this happened to you and can imagine how vulnerable it must make you feel.
You've had lots of good advice and I hope the people around you are thinking around the same lines--checking out to see if the pack went someplace else accidentally.
Assuming you've stayed put today to file the report and take some deep breaths (and perhaps to drink some coffee?)...
Once you have done what you can, then you can make a decision.
There are no right or wrong answers here--but one thing about the Camino is that it can work in very odd ways. Good or bad fortune? You never really know, except in retrospect. Disaster does have a way of attracting kindness and generosity.
Hang in there peregrina...
Thinking of you--and praying for the best outcome.
 
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Wow Bette...you are getting the full Camino experience!

There is a lot of excellent heartfelt advice and ideas in the posts above.
Try to stay the course and selvage your Camino...you put a lot of time and effort in planning and training for the adventure.
You are just having a bit more of an adventure than we talked about before you left Seattle.

Hang in there and finish the last 100 km in any way you can and get the Compostella you are coveting. Try to smile at the challenge and think of all the great stories you will have when you return.
Don't quit....anyone can do that!

Ed
 
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Spanish pharmacies are really great and if you can get your own pharmacy to fax or email them a copy of your prescription they will provide you with replacement meds In fact I got replacement ones even without ta fax as I just happened to have reused one of the little plastic bags my tablets came in and it had my pharmacy's sticker on it with dosage instructions etc once the spanish pharmacist saw that they got me the meds. As a courtesy I had a copy prescription faxed to them when I got home.
I hope everything works out the best for you whatever that is.
N
 
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Dear ScaryB4Coffee,

I'm so sorry to hear this.

I think I would feel the same if it happened to me. You must feel heartbroken.

Just know that you are not alone. We are all sending you much support and if you want to quit your camino, don't feel bad. Maybe take a few days to regain your resolve and see how you feel. This could come to be the best story you ever told.... such drama on your camino... so many challenges. Whatever you decide to do, don't give up on yourself.

I'll be thinking of you and wishing you all the best from Manchester, UK.

Nancy
x
 
"Take the first step, no more, no less, and the next will be revealed." The
 
Sorry to hear that. Happen to me in new Zealand earlier in the year. After 2 weeks most of it did eventually turn up though. So don't give up hope.
The medicine is easily replaced, like someone else said on here, the Pharmacist are really good and normally dont need a doctor's prescription, plus it's cheap.
 
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You have two choices:
1. Say it's just not meant to be and head home. Hold your head up. There is no disgrace in that. Some things are just not meant to be.
2. Find a way through the hand you're dealt and push on. To do that, take a cab/bus to the next big town, get reoutfitted and push on. This will then be a good story about perseverance to tell your grandkids one day.
To make the right decision, listen to your heart--not what I or any other well-meaning Caminoites say you should do.
Whatever decision you make will be the right one. Trust in yourself.
Godspeed.
--Don-Qui-Joe-te
Man of La Manche Advice
Grandfather of the Camino
 

Wow, that's too bad. But here's a good thing: you can walk without all that weight on your poor aching back! Your knees will be happier, as will your ankles, feet, shoulders, neck...

As you have found, people are helping you out already. While your pack was stolen, or mistakenly taken, or even mistakenly set aside, you have the important stuff: you have you!, you have your papers and your money. Your meds can be replaced, especially easy if you sent yourself an email with the prescription scanned then attached, or have a physical copy of the prescription or even just the name of the meds. The other stuff is just stuff.

Keep moving forward, ScaryB4Coffee, and you'll find that the rest takes care of itself. Funny; life is like that, hey?

(If it was me, I would be totally freaked out but hope I would sit, have a coffee so I wouldn't be scary!, breath and try to calm down and think out the situation. Then I would probably freak out again...have to have more coffee and start the process over again until I was well caffeinated! Or maybe it would just be an excuse for more coffee..... Nah; never need an excuse!)

Good luck; keep your chin up. This is only a minor situation, right? I found a quote that has stayed with me for years in book I read once read (the book was terrible; the quote great): "Life is short but it is wide. This too shall pass." (Rebecca Wells)

Buen Camino, SB4C!
 
There is a large Decathlon store in Ribadeo They will have everything you will need to get you back on the road.

I think we may have met you 72 American lady. I made you earl grey tea and you gave me a piece of chocolate.I'm the English guy who walked the Frances in May and am just about to finish the Norte then on to the GR11,TMB then the VDLP If you remember we were sheltering from the rain in an alburgue I forget which one.

Don't give up it's only a small set back .You coped with losing a toenail a few things are nothing to worry about.
 
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PLEASE...NEVER EVER GIVE UP! You can adapt and overcome. People WILL help you...just ask politely. It is what pilgrims have been doing for more than a millennia.

Based on reading the thread so far, my considered advice is to get to a pharmacy and start replacing your medications, using the above advice. Then, get to the Decathlon store mentioned. Only buy the absolute bare essentials to see you through: a smallish rucksack, poncho, a change of clothes, a sun hat, a buff, maybe a travel towel. You will be surprised how reasonable the cost is.

If your original gear does reappear, you can easily donate the new stuff to any "donativo" box at an albergue, or to the Pilgrim House on Rua Nova 19 in Santiago. If the original stuff does not reappear, you will have a heck of a story to tell.

I am confident that, if you stick it out, you will not regret it. FYI, I side with the folks who think a competing transport firm picked your bag up by mistake. It may be at the next town at your next place of lodging. Ask someone to phone ahead to check. If the courier was remotely honest, he would just deliver it...anonymously. I suggest that is a more likely outcome than outright theft.

I hope this helps.
 
ScaryB4Coffee said:
I'm in a wonderfully loving albergue that is helping me. Staying an extra day might be a good idea.
Click to expand...
Stay the extra day. Last Sept in Portuguese I broke my leg. What a disaster! But the albergue was so kind. I did need to go home but after a day or two in the albergue I adjusted to a peaceful place with it. Returning this year to begin again from the same great albergue! Good luck!
 
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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Yes I do remember you! Thankk you!
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
 
So very grateful for your support and encouragement and loving advice. And so very grateful for Christina at Carman's albergue in Maariz. She was my angel in taking me and interpreting to the police, and loving and caring in so many ways. I'm in Vilalba having lunch and waiting for the bus to Baamonde . I have everything I need to complete my camino, most was donated and a few purchased today. I am reminded once again of the poem by Rumi, The Guest House.Look it up if you don't know it. Love to everyone.
 
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What an amazing and admirable spirit. I salute you with all my heart. Glad you are well!! Buen Camino!!!
 
Congrats!!! That's the sprit! I'm so happy for you and glad that all has turned out well. Buen Camino!
 
Don't let the buggers get you down
Like a squirrel gather stuff you need,
as you've already said you've had donations.

All the very best

Back in saddle
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Wonderful news! You have met some true Camino angels! So glad to hear you're on your way again and feeling better. Buen Camino!
 
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Sooo happy to be reading this! A massive well done to you for staying in there, and a reminder to all of us that the world is not the grim place advertised in the media. There's many, many good people out there. I wonder if the people who donated gear are locals? Or other pilgrims who felt they neednt all they had brought? Ultreia, forum friend.
 
Please check in again once you've completed your Camino. We are all interested to see how this nasty event affected the overall experience...and whether your original pack was ever seen again... Stranger things have happened along the Camino...
 
I jus finish Ca de norte, last year Francés, i always use different companies for my bag,(i can not carry) sometimes they delivered at gas stations,etc but i always received it, do give up!
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Good stuff!! This is all part of this special life adventure. Turning around and doing it. You have all my respect and support!!
 
Great stuff! You turned around a bummer situation and it looks like you should be able to have a wonderful finish.
 
I'm so glad you've prevailed. Read your post with sympathy and hope that it would work out for you. I was due to go on the Norte this June but cancelled after losing my job so willing you on. Go you good thing.
 
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So glad you saw your through this and that you carried on! After two years of walking sections of the Camino Francais and Camono del Norte, the one thing I know is that you're surrounded by fellow pilgrims and locals who do care and want to help when you're in real trouble. Good on you for letting folks help you and not giving up!
 
Great news. That's the Spirit! The Camino is such a lesson in life isn't it? We learn to take the knocks and get right up again and keep going.
Buen Camino.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
So pleased you are going on. As Mother Teresa would say....the person who took your bag must have needed it more than you. Take it as your gift to them. You will have your compostela and the experience. Buen camino.
 
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The pilgrims that were at the alberge and the hospitalero all gave me things, even a sleep sack. They gave from their hearts.
 
I'm in Santiago! Just had lunch and a great visit with a pilgrim friend I met in Orieo, my first albergue! I got my compostela but I'm visiting the church later. Also early in tomorrow morning when there's no one there. Still taking in the reality of it all but feeling peaceful, happy and grateful. Thanks to everyone for all your support and encouragement. -
 
Congratulations! Glad it all worked out after all
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
A few happy tears of gratitude back here at home from being very moved by the deep caring and support expressed on this forum and the TLC and practical assistance at the albergue that eased your anxiety, fulfilled your immediate needs, and made helpful suggestions so you could you find your own resilient strong spirit and continue your journey. I'm overjoyed that you arrived in Santiago! Buen Camino!
 
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I echo all that you said. The Camino is an amazing place! I did check with Correos before I left Santiago, and it was stolen. Even the police looked for it. I did get my 32E back! Hopefully my insurance claim goes smoothly!
 
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