michal.don
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2022 - Camino del Norte, 2024 - Camino Francés
Hello, two weeks ago, I finished the Camino Francés, and while all the recent memories have not properly settled yet, I think enough time has passed to write a bit about my experience of the Camino 
First of all - a bit of context. This has been my second Camino - I walked the Norte in the fall of 2022. I had an amazing time at the northern coast of Spain, but after some time, I couldn't stop wondering, if I wasn't missing something, having not walked the Francés - the (by most) recommended first Camino, full of history, and with the most pilgrims. This had an obvious solution though - I had to come back So, with a lot of help from you on the forums, I made a rough plan, picked a date which could work as a good compromise between good weather and less busy trails, booked my flights and went for it.
In no particular order - some of the things I noticed, realized, learned:
- You can't really plan for the weather. The weather really sucked on the Napoleón on the first day - it rained, it was cold, miserable and foggy - I did not see any of the gorgeous views the Pyrenées offer. A few days before I walked, it even snowed. And a few days before that, the weather was almost perfect - sunny, temperatures in the twenties. The late April/Early may were unseasonably cold in Spain, in the meseta, the morning were almost freezing. I almost never took of my longsleeve in the first two weeks. The only thing you can pretty much count on, it rained in Galicia
- On the other hand, you can plan for the crowds. Not always, not everywhere, but for the most part. Sort of. When I wanted a bit of more solitary walking, I stayed in the offstage places, the small villages and towns. Not starting with 60 people from the same place does wonders in that regard. On the other hand, in the SJPdP-Roncesvalles-Zubiri-Pamplona stretch, there is not that much that you can do, especially, if you want to keep the distanes balanced and reasonable, which in the first few days I definitely did. A few weeks before I left home, I booked my beds up to Pamplona (as a lot of people here recommend), and I'm glad I did - Roncesvalles was completo in the afternoon, the hotel and pensión filled too, and some people had to walk further - something I definitely would hate to do after a long, hard day, with my shoes wet.
- I can walk quite long distances. I'm not sure it was entirely a good thing. After taking it a bit slower for the first week or so, I was able to pick up the pace, especially in the Meseta - the weather wasn't hot, and I walked from Burgos to León in six days. It felt great, but walking this fast, I outran most of the people I was seeing in the first ten days. Except for one, I did not see any of them for the rest of the walk. Sure, I met a lot of great people from León onward, but I still kind of regret that. The friendships from the first few days are special in their own way.
- It was hard for me not to be annoyed after Sarría. And I felt like an idiot. I knew that the vibe would change in the last 100 km. I was prepared for thet, and I managed to avoid the largest crowds by staying between the most popular stops, and generally walking longer days in the last bit. But still, seeing all those fancy-looking people in new, clean shoes, carrying their small backpacks, it just felt bad. "Why do these people have to crowd my Camino? They did not suffer like I did, they didn't deserve it as I did!" And sure, a few hours later, while I was sitting on a fallen tree next to the path, having a snack, an older Spanish gentleman walked past, hand in hand with his wife. In her other hand, his wife was holding a white stick - she was blind. It was in this moment I realized - a lot of these people would gladly walk the whole Camino - if they could. But they couldn't. I did. I was the one lucky, privileged enough, to be able to embark on an adventure like this. And for a lot of these people, especially the deeply religious ones, this one week of walking to a place with great historical meaning for their religion has much greater significance than I could ever understand.
- It's probably possible to walk the Camino without booking. I would not recommend that to almost anyone. At least without some significant caveats. I sometimes booked, sometimes not. Stayed mostly in albergues, in a few donativos, and in a few hotels. This being my second camino, I could most of the time predict bottlenecks, and by booking a place the day before/in the morning, I managed to avoid some unpleasant situations. Some places were full, some half empty. But I'd like to ask all of you, before giving advice to new pilgrims about booking/not booking, consider, if it is not only the right advice, but if it is the right advice for the right person. Are you really sure, that "you can always sleep under a porch of a church" is the right thing for Barbara from Miami, Florida, who is after retiring about to experience walking serious distances and a lack of air conditioning for the first time in her life?
- There are a lot of worse ways to spend your time than walking through the beautiful, beautiful country of Spain. I did not have a life-changing moment, or learning a great, impactful lesson on the Camino. I do not expect it to have changed my life from now onwards. But I had a great time doing the walk, meeting the people, even participating at a few masses, despite not being a religious person. The arrival to Santiago, and seeing the cathedral was a strong, emotional moment again. I might take some time off before walking again, but I think this wasn't my last Camino. I really enjoy the simple way of life - waking up, walking, meeting interesting people, having a coffee/meal with them, sleeping. I love the changing scenery during the walk, the feeling of accomplishment upon finishing the walk. I love the physical and mental challenge the Camino offers, I love the time I have for thinking about a lot of things. No, I don't think I'm done, yet
I'm sure I forgot a lot of things, I might add them later. And, last but not least - thank you all for giving great advice here, before and during my walk. And to all of you planning or considering your walk - Buen Camino and good luck!
Part two - in the next few days, I thought about more things to add - this time they probably are a bit more subtle things, details maybe. But things that still kind of stand out to me, things you might not realize before. Here goes:
- Let's start with an optimistic one - Some days are really going to suck. It might be the weather - on the first day, several hours into the climb into the Pyrenées, I literally could feel the water running through my toes in my shoes with every step. It might be some kind of pain/discomfort - my knees were giving me a bit of trouble in the first week. And even very minor pain, when you feel it every step, can be very annoying. It might be the crowds, it might be a lack of sleep, it might be the missing of the comfort of your home and your loved ones. Some days I just wished I could teleport myself home, and be done with the Camino. Don't worry, it's all part of the experience - the highs are so high because of the lows. These "bad" days really helped me appreciate the good ones, when the sun finally came, the trail cleared, the legs got used to the walking, and the views were just spectacular.
- The enthusiasm can be really contagious. Try not to resist it too hard. I met the first pilgrims at the Paris airport, before my flight to Biarritz. The flight was delayed, I missed my train to SJPdP (why do all the airlines seem to hate me on every Camino, like seriously ). So, with the newly formed group of pilgrims, we shared a taxi to SJPdP and were talking about what lied ahead. As we were getting closer and closer, everybody was visibly getting more and more excited and possibly nervous. I was trying to keep my cool, after all, I've already done this, and was trying to help my new friends with well-meant advice. We stopped at the Pilgrim's office, and decided to have a beer together, before heading to our accomodations. After a pleasant conversation, I decided to head out, and wished everybody good luck, and a "Buen Camino". One of the guys, an american gentleman, looked at me, and said: "I've been dreaming of doing this for the last twenty years. And finally, I got to hear and say "Buen Camino". It's really finally happening, isn't it?". Sometimes one simple "Buen Camino" means more than all the advice in the world, sometimes the excitement is more important than having an exact plan. Even if it's your tenth Camino, try to keep the newbie enthusiasm a little bit, it's much more enjoyable that way. And when you smile at people, they are much more likely to smile back at you, too.
- The Camino(s) offer a lot of different options - don't be afraid to try them. Even if it's just once. I get that some people prefer the comfort of hotel rooms, and like to eat in restaurants. But I think that the main thing, that differentiates the Camino from a vacation where you happen to walk, is the communal feeling, the being a part of the group of people with the same goal, and very similar state of mind. Yes, sometimes it's really nice to have a room for yourself, or having a great meal in a restaurant, but for me, some of the most cherished experiences come from a very basic place, cooking a dinner with complete strangers (who I could not understand for the most part, because pretty much the only english word they knew was "spaghetti", you can try and guess what was the dinner that evening ), or eating jamón and queso with a piece of bread, sitting on a rock I found next to the trail, with a person I just met. It might not be the most comfortable at the moment, but it's the things like these I'll remember for the rest of my life.
- Re equipment - Start with what you know. Be prepared to change what doesn't work. I met some people who bought a new pair of expensive hiking boots just before leaving for the camno. Only to throw them away at Pamplona, because they were killing them at every step. Some people really started to hate some of their clothes, because they did not work the way they expected them to. But they stubbornly continued to wear them, instead of buying another piece of clothing for a few Euros. Sometimes it can be hard to accept that you made a bad decision. You don't need an expensive piece of gear to be comfortable, just try to find what feels good for you. Try different stuff, until you find what works.
Michal
First of all - a bit of context. This has been my second Camino - I walked the Norte in the fall of 2022. I had an amazing time at the northern coast of Spain, but after some time, I couldn't stop wondering, if I wasn't missing something, having not walked the Francés - the (by most) recommended first Camino, full of history, and with the most pilgrims. This had an obvious solution though - I had to come back
So, with a lot of help from you on the forums, I made a rough plan, picked a date which could work as a good compromise between good weather and less busy trails, booked my flights and went for it.In no particular order - some of the things I noticed, realized, learned:
- You can't really plan for the weather. The weather really sucked on the Napoleón on the first day - it rained, it was cold, miserable and foggy - I did not see any of the gorgeous views the Pyrenées offer. A few days before I walked, it even snowed. And a few days before that, the weather was almost perfect - sunny, temperatures in the twenties. The late April/Early may were unseasonably cold in Spain, in the meseta, the morning were almost freezing. I almost never took of my longsleeve in the first two weeks. The only thing you can pretty much count on, it rained in Galicia
- On the other hand, you can plan for the crowds. Not always, not everywhere, but for the most part. Sort of. When I wanted a bit of more solitary walking, I stayed in the offstage places, the small villages and towns. Not starting with 60 people from the same place does wonders in that regard. On the other hand, in the SJPdP-Roncesvalles-Zubiri-Pamplona stretch, there is not that much that you can do, especially, if you want to keep the distanes balanced and reasonable, which in the first few days I definitely did. A few weeks before I left home, I booked my beds up to Pamplona (as a lot of people here recommend), and I'm glad I did - Roncesvalles was completo in the afternoon, the hotel and pensión filled too, and some people had to walk further - something I definitely would hate to do after a long, hard day, with my shoes wet.
- I can walk quite long distances. I'm not sure it was entirely a good thing. After taking it a bit slower for the first week or so, I was able to pick up the pace, especially in the Meseta - the weather wasn't hot, and I walked from Burgos to León in six days. It felt great, but walking this fast, I outran most of the people I was seeing in the first ten days. Except for one, I did not see any of them for the rest of the walk. Sure, I met a lot of great people from León onward, but I still kind of regret that. The friendships from the first few days are special in their own way.
- It was hard for me not to be annoyed after Sarría. And I felt like an idiot. I knew that the vibe would change in the last 100 km. I was prepared for thet, and I managed to avoid the largest crowds by staying between the most popular stops, and generally walking longer days in the last bit. But still, seeing all those fancy-looking people in new, clean shoes, carrying their small backpacks, it just felt bad. "Why do these people have to crowd my Camino? They did not suffer like I did, they didn't deserve it as I did!" And sure, a few hours later, while I was sitting on a fallen tree next to the path, having a snack, an older Spanish gentleman walked past, hand in hand with his wife. In her other hand, his wife was holding a white stick - she was blind. It was in this moment I realized - a lot of these people would gladly walk the whole Camino - if they could. But they couldn't. I did. I was the one lucky, privileged enough, to be able to embark on an adventure like this. And for a lot of these people, especially the deeply religious ones, this one week of walking to a place with great historical meaning for their religion has much greater significance than I could ever understand.
- It's probably possible to walk the Camino without booking. I would not recommend that to almost anyone. At least without some significant caveats. I sometimes booked, sometimes not. Stayed mostly in albergues, in a few donativos, and in a few hotels. This being my second camino, I could most of the time predict bottlenecks, and by booking a place the day before/in the morning, I managed to avoid some unpleasant situations. Some places were full, some half empty. But I'd like to ask all of you, before giving advice to new pilgrims about booking/not booking, consider, if it is not only the right advice, but if it is the right advice for the right person. Are you really sure, that "you can always sleep under a porch of a church" is the right thing for Barbara from Miami, Florida, who is after retiring about to experience walking serious distances and a lack of air conditioning for the first time in her life?
- There are a lot of worse ways to spend your time than walking through the beautiful, beautiful country of Spain. I did not have a life-changing moment, or learning a great, impactful lesson on the Camino. I do not expect it to have changed my life from now onwards. But I had a great time doing the walk, meeting the people, even participating at a few masses, despite not being a religious person. The arrival to Santiago, and seeing the cathedral was a strong, emotional moment again. I might take some time off before walking again, but I think this wasn't my last Camino. I really enjoy the simple way of life - waking up, walking, meeting interesting people, having a coffee/meal with them, sleeping. I love the changing scenery during the walk, the feeling of accomplishment upon finishing the walk. I love the physical and mental challenge the Camino offers, I love the time I have for thinking about a lot of things. No, I don't think I'm done, yet
I'm sure I forgot a lot of things, I might add them later. And, last but not least - thank you all for giving great advice here, before and during my walk. And to all of you planning or considering your walk - Buen Camino and good luck!
Part two - in the next few days, I thought about more things to add - this time they probably are a bit more subtle things, details maybe. But things that still kind of stand out to me, things you might not realize before. Here goes:
- Let's start with an optimistic one - Some days are really going to suck. It might be the weather - on the first day, several hours into the climb into the Pyrenées, I literally could feel the water running through my toes in my shoes with every step. It might be some kind of pain/discomfort - my knees were giving me a bit of trouble in the first week. And even very minor pain, when you feel it every step, can be very annoying. It might be the crowds, it might be a lack of sleep, it might be the missing of the comfort of your home and your loved ones. Some days I just wished I could teleport myself home, and be done with the Camino. Don't worry, it's all part of the experience - the highs are so high because of the lows. These "bad" days really helped me appreciate the good ones, when the sun finally came, the trail cleared, the legs got used to the walking, and the views were just spectacular.
- The enthusiasm can be really contagious. Try not to resist it too hard. I met the first pilgrims at the Paris airport, before my flight to Biarritz. The flight was delayed, I missed my train to SJPdP (why do all the airlines seem to hate me on every Camino, like seriously
). So, with the newly formed group of pilgrims, we shared a taxi to SJPdP and were talking about what lied ahead. As we were getting closer and closer, everybody was visibly getting more and more excited and possibly nervous. I was trying to keep my cool, after all, I've already done this, and was trying to help my new friends with well-meant advice. We stopped at the Pilgrim's office, and decided to have a beer together, before heading to our accomodations. After a pleasant conversation, I decided to head out, and wished everybody good luck, and a "Buen Camino". One of the guys, an american gentleman, looked at me, and said: "I've been dreaming of doing this for the last twenty years. And finally, I got to hear and say "Buen Camino". It's really finally happening, isn't it?". Sometimes one simple "Buen Camino" means more than all the advice in the world, sometimes the excitement is more important than having an exact plan. Even if it's your tenth Camino, try to keep the newbie enthusiasm a little bit, it's much more enjoyable that way. And when you smile at people, they are much more likely to smile back at you, too.- The Camino(s) offer a lot of different options - don't be afraid to try them. Even if it's just once. I get that some people prefer the comfort of hotel rooms, and like to eat in restaurants. But I think that the main thing, that differentiates the Camino from a vacation where you happen to walk, is the communal feeling, the being a part of the group of people with the same goal, and very similar state of mind. Yes, sometimes it's really nice to have a room for yourself, or having a great meal in a restaurant, but for me, some of the most cherished experiences come from a very basic place, cooking a dinner with complete strangers (who I could not understand for the most part, because pretty much the only english word they knew was "spaghetti", you can try and guess what was the dinner that evening
), or eating jamón and queso with a piece of bread, sitting on a rock I found next to the trail, with a person I just met. It might not be the most comfortable at the moment, but it's the things like these I'll remember for the rest of my life.- Re equipment - Start with what you know. Be prepared to change what doesn't work. I met some people who bought a new pair of expensive hiking boots just before leaving for the camno. Only to throw them away at Pamplona, because they were killing them at every step. Some people really started to hate some of their clothes, because they did not work the way they expected them to. But they stubbornly continued to wear them, instead of buying another piece of clothing for a few Euros. Sometimes it can be hard to accept that you made a bad decision. You don't need an expensive piece of gear to be comfortable, just try to find what feels good for you. Try different stuff, until you find what works.
Michal
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