What did you lose...??

[grayland]

I posted in another thread that I had lost my favorite hat when passing through VillaFranca and did not notice until Vega de Valcarce :| :| I still miss that hat :shock: . It had been all over the world with me.

It got me thinking about what had others may have lost along the way that was important to them?
Any good stories?

Ed

 

[anniethenurse]

I left my Brierley guide book on the bench outside the cathedral in Leon. About an hour after I went back and it was gone of course. Then back to the convento to check again my backbag and belongings but there was no Brierley anywhere. It was April 16 and a Saturday evening. I tried to replace it and buy a new one but there were nowhere in León (not El Corte Ingles either) any camino guide books in English. So I continued the next morning to San Martin (without any guide book).

Then when getting closer to Astorga (cruceido) I met a German pilgrim Tine who told me that an Australian guy Justin was looking for me and he had my lost property!!! Tine found my book in León and gave it to Justin because she knew that Justin and I were staying at the same albergue in León. So he had been looking for me first in León and then en route. We did not know each other before so he did not know how I looked like and visa versa.

At this stage I didn´t dream of getting my book back. Justin and me took different routes out of León and he had been carrying my book for two days now!!! In Astorga I found him finally (we stayed at different albergues again). I was grateful when I got my book back and I bought him a Meny del Dia and a couple of beers during the rest of our camino to SDC.

I brought my dear Brierley from 2009 home and I am not going to lose it again!

 

[Br. David]

Do you have a photograph of the hat? Maybe one of us could find a sibling :wink:

no, nothing material - did lose a couple of stone though. :lol:

Hang on! Three times, when loitering in a daze in towns I had my map for that day snitched from the outside pocket of my pack - children having fun I think.

 

[Corwen]

I lost a jumper my partner had made for me as I crossed the pyrenees :cry:

My partner managed to lose three hats over the course of our Camino, though I guess that was an average of one every 400 miles so it isn't quite as bad as it sounds!

 

[Susanna1954]

And I was so lucky. I only thought I lost the medallion I always have with me when walking, a gift from someone I love very much. Was sure I lost it somewhere between Padron and Santiago. Already learned to live with the loss when I found it back in my washingmachine after washing my sleepingbag.
Lost more stuff: small towel, part of the guide to Santiago, showergel, but that doesnt count.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I lost 20 pounds! HOORAY! :lol:

I lost my partner of 14 years - not hooray, but a good thing. :?
Actually, I didn't "lose" him... I left him.

What I found?

MYSELF!

 

[mikevasey]

Lost my way on the Norte a few times.

Left my hat, torch, food, t-shirt, underwear and towel at miraz. Me and two pilgrims from Derry had taken up of the offer of the hospitaleros to enjoy the St James day festivities and come back later. We got back at 6am, woke up at 9am and rushed out in a daze to get to Sabrado, forgetting to check under my bunk, on the drying line and in the fridge.

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Lost my jacket off my backpack as I was leaving Estella. Not one of my finer moments. It was a rather expensive Adidas softshell. Replaced it with a very cheap fleece out of a free box about 5km up the road at an albergue.

 

[jennysa]

My journal that had covered more than half of my Camino, hat, all my knickers apart from the pair I was wearing, my scarf, soap, washing soap, mobile cover, sunscreen and my Confraternity of St James book on albergues

 

[LTfit]

Jenny - in your case the apt title would be what didn't you lose? :wink:

I left one of my small all-purpose wash bottles somewhere near the end and one of those plug stoppers (which I really didn't miss as I never used it anyway)!

 

[ksam]

Hmm, I was beginning to think I was bad...ya'll make me feel better...one of the crowd! I lost...my Native Sunglasses somewhere on the way to San Juan de Ortega. A dear friend ran back to check...but they were gone..or he couldn't find the spot! One pair of knickers...still had two..no sweat...and really bad..my arm warmers. As I didn't have a fleece or other heavy shirt...these were essential. Fortunately (I actually think someone picked them up in San Martin before Astorga) Astorga itself had three sporting good stores and three bike stores! So now as a souviner I have...lovely arm warmers from Spain!

Lost..that feeling of being lost and not belonging! I have found my tribe at long last, and we are a bunch of lovely wanderers!

Love to all my fellow Pilgs...Karin

 

[+@^^]

imho its not the loss, but the attachment to the stuff that causes the distress
so words like :: i lost my favourite hard-shell given to me by my mum
is a bigger loss than just "my jacket"
?
we all become so attached
.
i jetisoned unnecessary stuff on the camino but find myself still emotionally attached

 

[Br. David]

True. We don't have possessions, they have us :wink:

 

[Portia1]

There were several "things" I lost along the way: my camera fell out of my pack, never to be seen again with all my pictures from SJPP to Hospital del Orbigo--this tore at my heart because there were pictures of people met along the way whom I knew I would never see again. There were pictures of places in certain light, moments I wanted to remember--this was a loss I grieved deeply. The next morning I was having my usual conversation with God as I walked and I was railing about the pain of loss--when I encountered a tiny sacred heart painted on the side of one of the Camino sign posts. OK, OK, I get it! I didn't give up hoping that the lost would be found but it was not to be. The message I took away was carry those pictures in your heart and they cannot be taken from you. I became a whole lot more attentive but I still missed my camera. Some lessons are hard to learn.

I left my hiker towel at Roncesvalles--because of pouring rain, laundry was done for pilgrims in mixed loads and somehow I missed it in the pile we were all going through. Used a clean shirt as my towel the next night. Ended up buying a tea towel in Pamplona (got there on a Sunday so nothing was open other than the tiny tiendas) which served me well until Ponferrada. Reminded me that there are always other alternatives to what we think we must have.

I left my hat on the Pilgrim Office counter in Santiago. So excited that I had received my Compostella, that I walked away and left that sodden, stinky thing right there on the counter. Felt a sense of loss with that one too because that hat had served me well (pillowcase, head covering in the sun and rain, fly swatter--well, you get the picture. I went back but it was already gone.

 

[scikowski]

Very good points about our possessions. I left my towel in the shower for less than 5 minutes and it was adopted by another pilgrim. I can't believe how distressed I was. In practical terms, I had to dry myself after that with an 8" square of Shamwow. But even telling myself "it's just a towel, let it go" didn't help much. It was the emotional attachment (to a towel!) that kept me upset. Another camino lesson: just let it go.
Suzanne

 

[Br. David]

I have this strange thought gaining hold over me, a sort of Victorian modernised fantasy thing ..
I can see a disused building somewhere in Santiago .... rented for pennies from the town council.
A few times a year a stranger, dressed in nondescript clothing and urging an ancient cart pulling horse to another mile, stops at each refuge and collects the lost property.

Over the winter it is sorted and catalogued by sniffing hairy ancients wearing fingerless gloves and scratchy carves and a creaking steam-driven internet connection allows supplicants to ask whether their lost thing is there.

If it is it is wrapped in ancient brown paper and secondhand string and posted, surface mail, to the lossee (losserrr?) ... for a consideration in crossing their hands with Paypal silver ....

oh dear, time for bed I think :shock:

 

[Corwen]

When you are carrying so little each possession becomes incredibly important, and takes on a kind of magical significance through being associated with such a special time.

 

[SDM]

My journal that had covered more than half of my Camino

At one of the private albergues in "El Burgo Ranero", checking before I left (one of the last ones to leave ... as most of the times!) I found a journal on a top bunk bed.

As the journal was not from my friend, I opened the journal to see if there were any name, contact details, etc but there were no information to be found (and it was written in an unknown languague) ... so I just left the journal where I saw it.

Maybe all journal writers could add their contact details just in case you to leave behind your journals by mistake? Just a thought...

Sarah (not a journal writer) :arrow:

 

[Joni]

I lost all my worries! I lost all attachment to "things." I lost any sense of fear. I lost my pride and my arrogance. I lost my need to have a martini at five O'clock every night (but the wine was nice in Rioja!) I lost my need to be "with" someone all the time. Mostly it was a journey of "finding" much more than I lost.

 

[Nandy61]

My daughter lost her towel (forgot it really) somewhere btwn Astorga and Villafranca. She was able to use/take my friend's towel as she was "finishing" her Camino in Villafranca. My daughter then lost my friend's towel (again, left it on the line) by the time we reached Portomarin. So I bought her a really cheap 2euro towel from the open air market. This was lost within two days. She then resorted to borrowing my towel after I exited the shower. Big mistake on my part, because ...you guessed it....she lost that one by the time we reached Ribadiso. :x (Yes, there are two 't's in "throttle".) I then got to use my shirt to dry off until I reached Santiago.

 

[gregdedman]

Just underwear and socks for me whilst drying them on the back of my pack.

My friend Liz however lost her camera's memory card along the trail containing 2 weeks of photos.
She began walking with an American girl she had never met and conversation turned to her lost card.
You know whats coming next?... said American girl explained that she had found one a few days back laying on the ground amongst the dirt and produced my friend's exact card, complete with memories in tact.

Another camino miracle.

 

[MichaelB10398]

I wonder what Freud would say about everyone losing their underwear? It is surprising me how many have lost them. It is as if there is some inner desire to go commando on the Camino, which would be one of the last places I would appreciate such a state of undress while walking. I have laughed several times just thinking about all the predicaments that would come up. :lol:

 

[justjustine]

I lost my adaptor early on, but it was easy to replace in the next town. I thought I would have to buy one in a larger town, but I found a very small shop focused on Pilgrims and through some ridiculous hand motions in a game of charades, I was able to explain what I needed and bought one for about 3 euros. Other than that, I lost the cushion to one side of my headphones that I use to sleep with at night because they work better than ear plugs, but using them without the cusion part hasn't bothered me.

I've found it funny that since I carry so little, I worry about every little thing that I have on me and carry with me when I go into town or just two and from the shower. I feel like most of what I have is replaceable, but I worry about things like my journal or camera. Sometimes I've felt a bit OCD because lately I've been stopping on the trails just to 'make sure' that I have everything again. Hopefully that feeling of anxiety will go away!

http://www.travelandprettythings.com

 

[grayland]

Justine...
I have been following your blog as you continue your wonderful Camino. Remember "poco a poco" as you have more than enough time. Try not to rush ahead. It will soon be over and sadness will set it. I rushed through two Caminos in the last couple of years for no reason. Take your time and savor the experience. Slow down.
Ed

 

[Aldy]

I forgot (not lost, I knew exactly where it was left!) one of my new quick dry shirts - my hubby had told me "if you can't see it, you will forget it" - and so, my new shirt worn but once was placed in the armoire due to lack of hanging places - and wouldn't you know, I was sure to have checked everything before I left... except - - the armoire!

Small loss really, I knew someone else would be able to use it well.
I lost 12 lbs net - i'm sure I put on some muscles, but the body did change for the best.
I lost my need to control everything - although this was my job for over 25 years, now retired I knew I had to "let go" of that control beast... I left that at the cruz de ferro.

I gained exponentially day in, and day out. What I came back with outweighs what I left with by the hundred-fold.
I miss the Camino, and I am dreaming of the next one
Cheers
Sylvie (Aldy)

 

[+@^^]

most unpilgrimish........
.
i lost my sense of humour with a guy who stalked me for a couple of days
and was all over me like a rash
.
i explained that i sometimes needed a bit of personal space
and that while i did find his drinking stories amusing
i just didnt want to hear them as the sun was rising at the start of a beautiful Spanish morning
and then for the next 3 hours
.
(dear god forgive me)
i took refuge in a hostal for the night when id promised to meet him at the albergue
and then i set out very early the next morning by torchlight
to escape
.
? does this qualify as an online confessional

 

[tyrrek]

I managed to leave my unused sleeping bag on the top of the locker in the first Albergue I stayed in (Valcarlos). I realised about 5km down the road but was walking with nice people, so I didn't want to go back. This was obviously an act of crass stupidity, but to be honest I didn't really regret it in the end. It was quite a big one so was attached outside my pack and was a pain in the backside. I ended up putting the whole thing down to divine intervention.

I did find a couple of things along the way - a German guide book, which I searched for any clues to ownership but there were none, and at that stage of the Camino the owner could have been moving on to any of a number of places so I left it somewhere obvious in case they came back to look for it. I did manage to reunite an American peregrina with a luggage clip she had dropped earlier in the day, though.

 

[tyrrek]

Oh, and I also washed my mobile phone to the point of extinction. I think you can guess this was my first Camino. Hopefully not my last!

 

[CaminoGen]

Twenty-five pounds, two toe-nails and my morose mood of the last year. I found a lighter self, both physically and mentally.

 

[kuannner]

i myself didn't lose a clothespin (i got really good at packing in the dark), but my friend "lost" his wallet which had his passport, bank cards, and id in it. it was actually taken, but that's kind of a long story. after three days of searching, panicking, talking to the guardia civil and contacting the irish consulate, we stopped by the guardia civil in mellide (closed on sundays!!) but someone nearby that saw us scoping the place out called the "on call" policeman and told us that if we go to the middle of town to the fountain, there will be a police car parked in the circle, and the police man near the car will have his passport.

considering the alternative was to abandon the camino to deal with the passport replacement at the consulate after having walked from st. jean and with such a small amount left, this was a miracle.

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

In June 1998 I either lost or had stolen my camera with the last two weeks of slide film. Three films with over a 100 slides. Since it was lost after I'd arrived in Santiago all my photos of the ritual in the cathedral were gone.

Lost end of the story. To get home I walked from Pamplona to SJPP and I met two American peregrinas. One of them had been frightened by a Frenchman on her journey out of SJPP and had turned round to go home. She met the other lady at Bayonne station and they decided they could walk together. This meant the frightened peregrina returned to the Camino. I took no details and I would dearly love to know if they got to Santiago.

On my 2009 Camino I damaged two cameras beyond repair. I saved the SIM cards, but have no photos of Muxia because the 2nd camera was dropped at the entrance to the town. I can still see the photos I would have taken.

Since I give illustrated talks about my Caminos the loss is not just mine.

The point that because we carry so little makes the loss of any item more significant is a good insight.

Jennysa, sorry about the journal. That is a real sadness and ouch.

I too have walked in the afternoon to get ahead (by at least one day) from people I just didn't want to see again. On the other hand I have walked slowly to spend a couple of days with people who I was getting on with. You win, you lose.

 

[Br. David]

Good post - yes, with our possessions stripped down any piece that disappears has a larger effect than usual. To lose images or journals is quite a loss.

I suppose one could post home camera memory cards when they become full and insert another? doesn't get round breakages of course ...

Ah! one could photograph the pages of the journal and that would be saved with images when posting the memory cards home?

 

[Finisterre]

ambition

 

[AJ]

Almost 20 kg. Godisgood

 

[Olivares]

I lost my obsession for losing weight.

The realization came when I made SJPDP-Roncesvalles in 6.5 hours feeling like I could walked back with no problems. This was such an eye-opener moment for me; I realized I had to stopped beating my body and start appreciating it more.

 

[fraluchi]

I lost my temper when a group of about 40 "tourigrinos", after I had seen them walking with fake backpacks from a tour bus at the entrance of Hornillos, having pack lunches on the church steps and using toilets at the municipal albergue, were leaving their garbage on the "plaza".

 

[grilly]

As I read all the wonderful posts above, two things come to my mind.

In 2006 we stopped in the private albergue in Boadilla and took a private room there (the atmosphere is a lot of fun on the albergue side, we discovered three years later), was playing with my camera, tried to change a setting. In the process I erased all my pictures taken from SJPP. Agh... I can still remember some of them!

That same year, I also lost my temper with cyclists. We were taking our morning coffee at a bar a ways before Melide, when a group of young male cyclists came out of what looked like a posh hotel, stretching their legs in front of us walking pilgrims. We started walking on the path and a few minutes later they zoomed by us, laughing at us, and, as is often the case, had us jump on the side rather quickly. So I did lose my temper and insulted them loudly. I had been walking I don't know how many days and so close to the goal, I still was not detached from this kind of situation.

 

[dutchpilgrim]

A piece of soap, a piece of soap, and another piece of soap.
I wrecked my camera by dropping it on the floor, and washed my mobile phone in a washing-machine.
So nothing really important.

Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo.

 

[jpflavin1]

I lost my glasses the first day out of SJPdP. I spent the rest of the Camino wearing my sunglasses. Received some strange looks in the evening hours.

Joe

 

[pinewport]

I lost my camera near to Navarette, tried everyone for a while and the police but no success. What happens to lost property on the Camino? Where do people take it? I lived in hope for the whole camino, its really just the photos of the first week or so.

 

[mralisn]

Here is something I posted near the end of June....

"I don´t know what it is about me and towels. In all my years of travel (15 w/29 countries and 2 Caminos before this one), I have only lost 3 items and all 3 are towels.

However, the one I left behind in Viana yesterday (Monday) morning is extremely important to me. I got it when I stayed with the Kuna natives while resting in San Blas for a week 5 years ago. It is more of a surong and really does mean the world to me for many reasons. On the Camino, we talk of ¨letting go¨. The only other item I carry which I value as much are my prayer beads/medieval rosary. I could leave behind everything else, but this cloth is extremely important to me.

Might anyone be in Viana now or in the next couple of days? If so, I would love for you to ask if my surong/towel is still available. It is dark blue with yellow tribal type design. Please ask for me if they have it and let me know. I will work something out to retrieve if so. I have already emailed the alburgue: Andres Muñoz.

I thank you for looking out for me.

Keep a smile,
Simeon"

......I still think of this. I was assured someone would have it delivered to me the night I was in Tosantos. I miss that cloth very much. For me, there is much more. I will always hope.

While I'm on the Camino, I ask to be shown my strengths when I'm weak and my weaknesses when I'm strong. The Camino provides what I need and takes what I want.

I trust in the arrows.

 

[LTfit]

Hola Simeon,

Glad to finally find you cause I've got some good news...I HAVE IT !!!

I remember reading your post before leaving for Spain at the end of June. On one of my first days as a hospitalera in Grañón I found a plastic bag in the closet with your surong (indeed not a towel) and a note that it had come from Viana - but without a name or telephone number. I guess that you had already passed by. As I recalled that it was special to you I took it with me when I left Grañón to walk a bit of the Camino. When I got come at the end of July I did a Forum search but couldn't find your original post.

So yes, I still have it safe in my closet in Holland. PM me to let me know how to get it back to its owner :wink: .

 

[Kiwi-family]

The 6-year-old lost the plot and we wished we could lose her!
Apart from that we had no losses and only one near loss. Before we left a friend of my elder daughters had given them each an envelope with 50 little messages in them - one for each day of our trip.
Grandpa had decided that he needed to send excess baggage on and so we had to wait for the post office to open before we could leave Astorga. After sitting in the square watching the metal man and lady gong the hour, I decided to wander back to the albergue and draw it in my journal. Just as I was walking back up the street to our group I heard a man yelling "Hola hola". It turned out he was calling me and gesticulated wildly that I should return. I was rather hoping that he was going to reimburse me the cost of one of the beds as he had said he would do if the boss let him (two of the kids had shared a bed, but of course they had to charge per person)...turns out he had something far more important to give me. And when I returned to the square, one daughter was just starting to get in a panic that she had left an envelope under her pillow. It wouldn't have been the end of the world, but she certainly did walk with joy and gratitude that day. And left the envelope in her pack thereafter!

 

[JopiA]

I was in Camino in April 2009 and bought a very beautiful hand made pillowcase from an albergue in Foncebadón and used it first time at next night in Ponferrada and of course I forgot to take it with me next morning :cry: .

If somebody has found it and send it to me I'll pay the costs and more!

 

[miguel_gp]

I lost my camera near to Navarette, tried everyone for a while and the police but no success. What happens to lost property on the Camino? Where do people take it? I lived in hope for the whole camino, its really just the photos of the first week or so.

Some property, lost on the routes, finds its way to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago. If you haven't already tried, it may be worth dropping them a note with details of the camera to see if it has turned up there. There is a contact page on the website at http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgri ... ontact-us/ .

You never know your luck!
Mig.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

The 6-year-old lost the plot and we wished we could lose her!
Apart from that we had no losses and only one near loss.

Ahhh but you did have another 'temporary' loss and gain, when one daughter broke her arm. Having done the same I know she would have felt a certain 'loss' of 'firmness' in the limb.... and then of course she gained something temporary to hold things together in the healing period. Hope she is doing ok now...
Margaret

 

[mlhhome]

What did I lose?
Emotionally - the desire to be in control and the desire to walk someone else's expections
Physically - extra unneeded clothes in Pamplona, toenail in Leon and a couple of lbs.

I hope there isn't a question about what did I gain as the response will be heartfelt and extensive

 

[pablo.m]

10kgs

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I just lost my third drain stopper!

 

[dfitzg773]

I lost my iPhone on Day 2 (between Zubiri and Larrasoana). Never saw it again. Think it was Santiago telling me to not check work email.

 

[npak907]

I lost my iPhone while removing my fleece the following morning after Leon. My mom and I were takling about phone updates which led me to discover i had no phone. I was very irritated and decided to backtrack about 3 km. I asked everyone along the way and nobody had seen it. I ran into a wonderful Swedish Woman named Janika and asked her if she had seen it and she said "No I'm very sorry, that's awful... Wait! There it is!" She pointed across the narrow street and there, next to the ditch, lay my iPhone!

Janika and I would up running into eachother for the remainder of the trip all the way to Santiago and her, my mom, and 5 other friends enjoyed an amazing send off lunch/dinner for my mom and I!

Always remember. The way will give you the opportunities and the lessons that you need. DONT KEEP YOUR IPHONE IN YOUR CHEST POCKET!

 

[pinewport]

I lost my camera near to Navarette, tried everyone for a while and the police but no success. What happens to lost property on the Camino? Where do people take it? I lived in hope for the whole camino, its really just the photos of the first week or so.

Some property, lost on the routes, finds its way to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago. If you haven't already tried, it may be worth dropping them a note with details of the camera to see if it has turned up there. There is a contact page on the website at http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgri ... ontact-us/ .

You never know your luck!
Mig.

Thanks Mig, I did try there and the Local Police in Santiago but neither had any cameras.

 

[mralisn]

Re:

Hola Simeon,

Glad to finally find you cause I've got some good news...I HAVE IT !!!

I remember reading your post before leaving for Spain at the end of June. On one of my first days as a hospitalera in Grañón I found a plastic bag in the closet with your surong (indeed not a towel) and a note that it had come from Viana - but without a name or telephone number. I guess that you had already passed by. As I recalled that it was special to you I took it with me when I left Grañón to walk a bit of the Camino. When I got come at the end of July I did a Forum search but couldn't find your original post.

So yes, I still have it safe in my closet in Holland. PM me to let me know how to get it back to its owner :wink: .

Yet ANOTHER reason I love the Dutch so much! I am incredibly happy about this and totally shocked. I had Chinese food for lunch today with my friend for her birthday. We chose fortune cookies, "A small lucky package is on its way to you soon."

A man in Grañon who seemed to be a local but spent time in the alburgue called Viana for me. They said they would send by bicycle. I started to leave my details, but guy INSISTED I didn't need to. He asked I walk to Tosantos, enjoy the mass in the cave and the evening dinner. By that evening, he promised I would have my cloth. I never got it.

It became a joke as EVERY bike that passed me for the next weeks was asked under my breath, "Do you have towel?" My Camino family even started asking and looking. I left my details at the "Lost and Found" (not much of one) in the peregino office in SDC and they were very patient with me.

I thank you a million times over. This pleases my soul.

Even more interesting...I've been looking at flights all this week to Amsterdam from California as my dear friend (who I met on my first Camino w/romance ) is graduating in Tilburg with her Masters degree. She would really like me to be there in two weeks, but it is hardly possible. Not impossible though. Anyway, miracles happen.

PM is on the way.

I love the spirit of the Camino!

Keep a smile,
Simeon

 

[Mary Enright]

I lost my sense of time.

 

[Kiwi-family]

The 6-year-old lost the plot and we wished we could lose her!
Apart from that we had no losses and only one near loss.

Ahhh but you did have another 'temporary' loss and gain, when one daughter broke her arm. Having done the same I know she would have felt a certain 'loss' of 'firmness' in the limb.... and then of course she gained something temporary to hold things together in the healing period. Hope she is doing ok now...
Margaret

You are right! She has recovered fully, thanks. We had the cast removed the day after we got home, much to her relief, although she had not complained about it once (even though it was a heavy palster cast - no fibreglass in that part of the woods!)

 

[Labtails]

Interesting question. I was rather methodical about packing. Everything had its specific place so as to fit in. It made it easier to keep track of things. The only thing I know I lost was the mini maglite I kept for nights in strange dark places. One morning it did not make it back into my bag. My travel partner had a decent light so I did without for the remainder of the journey.

Thought I would lose weight, but to be honest I was eating everything in sight so managed to maintain rather than lose.

 

[LTfit]

Yet ANOTHER reason I love the Dutch so much! I am incredibly happy about this and totally shocked. I had Chinese food for lunch today with my friend for her birthday. We chose fortune cookies, "A small lucky package is on its way to you soon."

PM your address Simeon and I'll send out your "lucky package" :wink: !

But as far as the Dutch part is concerned, I can only take part credit as I was born and raised in the States. After 20 years in The Netherlands I guess that you can call me a mish mash of both cultures.

I hope that it works out for you to visit your friend in Tilburg!

 

[pinewport]

I wish a lot more people had lost their maglites (joking - but with a little feeling). They were such a pain at 5.30 am. Like you I envy all those who lost weight but - who cares?

Interesting question. I was rather methodical about packing. Everything had its specific place so as to fit in. It made it easier to keep track of things. The only thing I know I lost was the mini maglite I kept for nights in strange dark places. One morning it did not make it back into my bag. My travel partner had a decent light so I did without for the remainder of the journey.

Thought I would lose weight, but to be honest I was eating everything in sight so managed to maintain rather than lose.

 

[tyrrek]

Great news about mralisn's sarong!

I was lucky enough to meet Yvonne (a kiwi forum member) on the bus back from Finisterre last month, and while chatting she managed to extract all the things I'd lost (unintentionally) on my Caminos. Apart from the sleeping bag on my first night in Valcarlos last year as already mentioned on this thread, I'd just lost my hat, and I'd lost a camera earlier this year. I'd got a hole in my pocket so when I arrived at a bar somewhere I'd lost all my change. I'd washed my phone to extinction...

...all in all, I temporarily felt like the biggest Camino dunce out there. However, the fact that I'd forgotten most of these incidents told me that they didn't really matter so much. And Yvonne is a star who should come on the forum more often, in my opinion.

Buenos Caminos!

 

[lynettefoo]

You wont believe what I lost! My entire trip I lost nothing until I got to Santiago. The day before I was due to fly back to Singapore, I could not find my compostela certificate! I looked everywhere including the hotel but it just disappeared without a trace. Luckily the pilgrim's office issued me another one but I was prepared to cry if they didnt!

I also lost weight.. not alot but some to make me feel lighter.

 

[tyrrek]

...but I was prepared to cry if they didnt!

Would you have said 'It's NOT FAIR!? :lol: Buen Camino!

 

[GunnarW]

I met Chow, a Korean lady, just after Belorado. Later, in Burgos, she wrote a small letter - probably a thank you letter - in Korean, folded on the oriental way. I kept it in my pocket. The 20th of September 2011 in San Bol, I looked to the +/- 150 Korean symbols, spent some time to fold it back and put it back in my pocket. But I lost the letter, probably in the grass of San Bol.

 

[tyrrek]

I met Chow, a Korean lady, just after Belorado. Later, in Burgos, she wrote a small letter - probably a thank you letter - in Korean, folded on the oriental way. I kept it in my pocket. The 20th of September 2011 in San Bol, I looked to the +/- 150 Korean symbols, spent some time to fold it back and put it back in my pocket. But I lost the letter, probably in the grass of San Bol.

I got a similar folded thank you letter from a lovely Korean student when I was an English teacher about 15 years ago. Fortunately it was in her (much improved) English and I still have it today. Buen Camino!

 

[northyukon]

I walked from Burgos to Santiago and didn't lose anything concrete, but the fear of getting lost.
Wonderful trip.

 

[manifestdestinyLISA]

My travel brush that was tiny and compact..
2 out 5 pair of ex officio undies?! No idea where they went?!
1 water bottle (glad I brought foldable for back up)
3 cheap watches, lost one in airport (unbuckled/small wrist), got new cheapone for 4e then fell off in Lourdes (same as before) and then one cheap digital that I purchased in Lourdes got submerged while doing laundry somehere before Logrono, but a british pilgrim gave me his back up cheapo digital that had no buckle instead slip on bracelet style- so it lasted the rest of trip!
1 Buff (got free as demo but really liked the colors and usefulness of buff!)
1 small micro towel
my small map only guide book disappeared on meseta..

I also lost much anxiety, a couple of lbs, fears and one very special pilgrim!

 

[ausmarko]

I managed to leave my walking pole with monopod head at an Albergue around Day 4!
Didn't even get to use the monopod! Couldn't find another so bought a plain pole and it stuck with me until the end
But i did find a pair of glasses and a few days later a pouch containing a phone and all the important documents you need and can't lose!!! Luckily a few kms further on both items were reunited with their respective owners. (They were easy to spot) Both had slightly manic walking styles coming back down the way and were stopping everyone they came across.

 

[gigibarry]

I lost a pair of prescription glasses at the albergue in Pamplona. Loveley Andreas the medieval pilgrim was a day behind us and looked for them but to no avail. Had contacts so got on fine without them. Lost a borrowed dry sac which was replaced in a colour the owner preferred and thought I had lost my John Brierley guidebook for 2 or 3 days but later found it in the bladder pack pocket of my backpack (bladder pack had sprung a terminal leak previously so the pocket wasn't in use). Funny thing is, it turned out to be really liberating not having a guidebook to refer to and always looking what was ahead. I only found it about 2 km before reaching Santo Domingo de la Calzada where we were leaving to head home but by then was only interested in using it to help remember the geography we had already walked.

 

[fortview]

Worst thing I lost ? Fellow pilgrims ! Ones we bonded with in the early days, and didn't think to exchange contact details ! ! Bonnie from Minnesota, where are you ? I miss your stories. Dave and Cheryl from New Hampshire , they had to push on ahead, but I wish we had their details!
I lost shed loads of other " stuff" like the arm from my glasses, my precious little Chinese tin of plasters, earplugs etc, my head torch - a present from my son - and deeply missed.
Lesson for the future, always make sure to get contact details !
Helen

 

[ward4e]

lets see...

My ipod, some shorts, a pair of socks, a copy of atlas shrugged in Leon, my fear of awkward situations, strange places and most importantly of all tons and tons of emotional baggage and crap from hours and hours of walking and thinking...

I think my dignity disappeared at some point too. Can't say I need it much.

 

[lindseh]

Lost my headlamp on the very first day walking out of St-Jean... thankfully I wasn't doing it alone and my dad didn't lose his! Also lost an old fleece jacket, but bought a new one for 5 euros in Astorga. And 9 lbs! Nothing I miss much...

 

[hecate105]

I lost my temper a few times, and both my husband and i lost our way, then he lost his jacket, we had a pair of manky socks and a towel nicked, then we lost the other towel and had to share a sarong at shower time. He lost some spokes on his back wheel, which meant a whole new volcabulary in Spanish, then French. Then we lost/had stolen both our passports, our cameras, my purse and credit card, our E111s, and worst of all - our hard-won Compostelas and Fisterranas! We were gutted - but it turned out we did not need any of it. Our crime reports acted as our passports until we got back to the UK, our lack of funds made us more parsimonious, our Compostelas were reissued by the hard-working Pilgrim's Office and we still got excellent treatment at the hospital when my husband's foot started rotting! The photos were the worst to lose as they are irreplaceable - but all those memories are in our heads and pop out here and there. It made us determined to go a' pilgrimage again!
The one thing I am pleased to say we did not lose - and it is by far the most precious thing a pilgrim carries - was our sense of humour!!!