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Post-Camino Insights

HBS60

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
August 11, 2024-September 22, 2024
It’s now been almost 3 months since I completed my Camino Frances, and I’m still processing the experience (I suspect that will go on for a long time). A few things have been bubbling up that I think are worthy of sharing:

The Camino is like a metaphor for life. As I walked the Camino, I struggled with challenges like rocky terrain, uphills, downhills, weather, fatigue, but also elation, excitement, and awe. If that’s not life, what is? …and I got through it all…

I met lots of people in the Camino, as we weaved in and out of our journeys, pretty much like life. Some of these connections were memorable but fleeting, some of them were recurring, many of them were just what I needed in times of trouble, and at other times I was able to help others. For someone as awkward and introverted as me, that was quite an accomplishment.

The rocks that I complained so much about are just like life’s obstacles. I couldn’t do anything about the fact that they were there, but I could learn how to navigate them, one little step at a time.

I’m well versed in the experience of fear, (I’ve shared in the past that I have PTSD). Surprisingly, in the Camino I experienced some scary moments (having to walk next to a bull in the fog trying to find Roncesvalles and getting lost), walking over the blocks at the river crossing at Bizkarreta, getting caught by a vicious storm trying to reach Fromista, another river crossing over uneven rocks just out of Melide. These were my most terrifying moments, but they felt different than my usual trauma-related fear episodes, as these were not due to past experiences or shame, but from external threats in the here and now, and I was able to respond to them appropriately. My executive brain took charge and got me through all these moments, much to my surprise. I’m also surprised that I felt very comfortable walking in the dark before sunrise, going up dark mountains before dawn, something that would have been unthinkable for me as a kid. So I think I’ve made some progress… I’m still trying to absorb how different it all felt.

The undeniable fact that I actually climbed over the Pyrenees and walked hundreds of kilometers to SDC is something I can’t deny, as much as my inner critic might try. Sure, moments of self-doubt do come up, but all I need to do is to remember that I did the Camino and the inner critic pipes down right away. I can’t argue with success…

Life being what it is, I know there will be challenges ahead, but now I have one more tool to get through them. If I could do this, there’s no excuse to shortchange myself, and that’s what I am holding on to. It does take time to accept, absorb, and integrate that into my everyday life.

I am grateful for all the support I got in these boards during my Camino. Y’all made a huge difference, and for that, I’m grateful!

Thanks!
Pics: First day arriving Orisson during a heat wave, Walking over the feared blocks at Bizkarreta, Reaching the summit out of Castrojeriz (Altos de Mostanares if I remember correctly), Letting it all sink in at SDC.

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It’s now been almost 3 months since I completed my Camino Frances, and I’m still processing the experience (I suspect that will go on for a long time). A few things have been bubbling up that I think are worthy of sharing:

The Camino is like a metaphor for life. As I walked the Camino, I struggled with challenges like rocky terrain, uphills, downhills, weather, fatigue, but also elation, excitement, and awe. If that’s not life, what is? …and I got through it all…

I met lots of people in the Camino, as we weaved in and out of our journeys, pretty much like life. Some of these connections were memorable but fleeting, some of them were recurring, many of them were just what I needed in times of trouble, and at other times I was able to help others. For someone as awkward and introverted as me, that was quite an accomplishment.

The rocks that I complained so much about are just like life’s obstacles. I couldn’t do anything about the fact that they were there, but I could learn how to navigate them, one little step at a time.

I’m well versed in the experience of fear, (I’ve shared in the past that I have PTSD). Surprisingly, in the Camino I experienced some scary moments (having to walk next to a bull in the fog trying to find Roncesvalles and getting lost), walking over the blocks at the river crossing at Bizkarreta, getting caught by a vicious storm trying to reach Fromista, another river crossing over uneven rocks just out of Melide. These were my most terrifying moments, but they felt different than my usual trauma-related fear episodes, as these were not due to past experiences or shame, but from external threats in the here and now, and I was able to respond to them appropriately. My executive brain took charge and got me through all these moments, much to my surprise. I’m also surprised that I felt very comfortable walking in the dark before sunrise, going up dark mountains before dawn, something that would have been unthinkable for me as a kid. So I think I’ve made some progress… I’m still trying to absorb how different it all felt.

The undeniable fact that I actually climbed over the Pyrenees and walked hundreds of kilometers to SDC is something I can’t deny, as much as my inner critic might try. Sure, moments of self-doubt do come up, but all I need to do is to remember that I did the Camino and the inner critic pipes down right away. I can’t argue with success…

Life being what it is, I know there will be challenges ahead, but now I have one more tool to get through them. If I could do this, there’s no excuse to shortchange myself, and that’s what I am holding on to. It does take time to accept, absorb, and integrate that into my everyday life.

I am grateful for all the support I got in these boards during my Camino. Y’all made a huge difference, and for that, I’m grateful!

Thanks!
Pics: First day arriving Orisson during a heat wave, Walking over the feared blocks at Bizkarreta, Reaching the summit out of Castrojeriz (Altos de Mostanares if I remember correctly), Letting it all sink in at SDC.

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Thank you for sharing your story! Wishing you so much peacefulness in the months and years to come.
 
LOL... Quite a different write up than the one you posted immediately upon return.if you recall we told you that you WILL feel different once some time will pass and you will be able to debrief uour Camino.
Well done this time and yes you will still learn from it... forever ...👍

...having to walk next to a bull in the fog trying to find Roncesvalles and getting lost)...
🫢K.. you just went up a notch or two in my book 🫠

Love your photos.... but where is the one of the bull in the fog? 😉🤣
 
Wonderful post, Hector, thank you.
You sound so different than right before setting out. 👏
Sure, moments of self-doubt do come up, but all I need to do is to remember that I did the Camino and the inner critic pipes down right away. I can’t argue with success…
Absolutely.
A map of Northern Spain is a wonderful reality check!
 
Holoholo automatically captures your footpaths, places, photos, and journals.
Yep, life is damn tough, for most of us.
Yep, the camino is a tough gig too, no doubt about it.
The camino invites and challenges us to do things we thought not possible. True.
I’ve no doubt you’ve come out a stronger and ‘better’ person, as many of us do.
And yes, in a short space of time it changes you, a lot.
What a good thing it is. What a great thing it is, to find all that in just a simple long walk!!
Well done HBS60.
Hang on to all those good things.
 
LOL... Quite a different write up than the one you posted immediately upon return.if you recall we told you that you WILL feel different once some time will pass and you will be able to debrief uour Camino.
Well done this time and yes you will still learn from it... forever ...👍

🫢K.. you just went up a notch or two in my book 🫠

Love your photos.... but where is the one of the bull in the fog? 😉🤣
This is a screen shot of the video I took. This was after descending from the Col de Leopoder, where I took the right turn towards Ibaneta, thinking it would be easier (it wasn’t, and it was very foggy to the point that I got lost later on). The bull is the one placidly sitting on the right side of the pic, thankfully facing the other way, but this was waaaay too close for comfort, and I was all alone. There was just no other way of avoiding walking by these bovines but maybe they are so used to pilgrims that they didn’t pay any attention.
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Wonderful post, Hector, thank you.
You sound so different than right before setting out. 👏

Absolutely.
A map of Northern Spain is a wonderful reality check!
Yup. I made it a point of buying this map, which now hangs in my preliminary Camino display (I’m still trying to figure out how to fit in everything else that I want to put in there.IMG_1615.webp
 
Holoholo automatically captures your footpaths, places, photos, and journals.

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