What do you do when you cannot walk anymore?

[alexwalker]

Buen Camino my friend.

Thank you, my friend. and to you.

 

[Jane Silverman]

Not being able to walk long or longer distances is an issue I will face in the not too distant future. I am now planning to do the Porto In May/June (from Porto) with my brother (we are both over 70 with a few issues). This will be his only Camino, and possibly a last for me. Although I would like to walk the VDLP (say last 300km) but that will depend upon a number of external factors.
So what will I do when I can no longer walk a camino? Read and contribute to this forum; attend monthly meetings of the Sydney Pilgrims; offer advice if asked. But in general try to enjoy to the fullest the years that are left to me. I have recently adopted this motto: the glass is half-full, but feel free to top it up!!

Thanks Alex for starting this post. Cheers to all.

Thank you for “the glass us half full but feel free to top it up!” Best comment on life in a long time!
I was 82 when I started from SJPDP with my backpack and the intention to do what I could each day and see what happened. After 15 days, I came back to the US to move from the SE to the NW with my sister who was moving to be near her daughter while having treatment for cancer. As Tacoma has public transit I decided to live “car-free” as long as I could. After 4 years still use the bus, which involves a good bit of walking, and walk in Wright Park every day as well.
I did go back that year to complete CF, and to Portugal in 2018. Each time I have walked as much as I was able, then used train or bus, struggling a little with the thought of not being a “real pilgrim”. But I think about those original pilgrims and am pretty sure they accepted a lift from anyone passing by with a cart.
The pilgrim paths are an invaluable part
of my life. Something about that “get up each morning and put one foot in front of the other” continues to inform my days now.
Blessings and “happy wandering” to each of you on this Forum. And thanks to Ivar.

 

[Hound-of-Ulster]

I walked the Camino Frances in 2018, but have struggled with a painful left ankle ever since. I carry too much weight and unfortunately off load it easily, then there is what I carry in my backpack as well. But having walked and looked, I realised there will come a time when I could travel by van, walk some and sleep in my converted van. I could still enjoy much of the Camino and bring my heavier camera gear and not have to carry it.

just a thought.

David.

 

[kcaldaba]

Thoughtful thread and inspirational stories, so here’s mine. Walked my first Camino—the Frances from SJPdP— in 2016 when I was 69. It was life-changing, and anyone who knew me well said I came back a better person—there was certainly room for improvement. Walked the Norte from Irun in 2018 and the Primitivo last year with my niece. My wife has joined me twice for about a week each time, so she gets it. I’ve made friends of all ages from all over the world that I still stay in touch with, and it has enriched my life beyond words, in ways I could have never imagined.

This year it’s the Olvidado/Invierno starting in mid-April from Bilbao with my close friend QuailHiker that I met just after Alto de Perdon in 2016, and we’ve been Camino amigos every since. I’m painfully aware that every year may be my last, and I’m always a little nervous to find out if I can make it. Last year I met an 86 year old Spanish man who was walking 20km/day. Heavy clothes, two backpacks, and a long wooden pole. Always smiling, and he made it to Santiago. We should all be so lucky. I know my day will come, but I hope to accept it with grace and gratitude—no sorrow—because it provided lessons and experience that have immeasurably improved my life.

 

[Djimbo]

Stuck this ponderable in my sketchbook for my first Camino in 2016, solo, age 73. It was a joyful challenge and I was well chuffed to have seen it through. My second Camino was last year my wife, and the journey was truly luminous! I guess we’re all just trying to figure it out, but I am a happy man...bad knees and all. I am resolved to be a moving target.

 

[Francois de Meillon]

Another member posted this:


I cannot imagine me not returning annually for another Camino, but:

So, when do you have to stop your Caminos, and how do you deal with it?

Good question! Time and circumstance is most probably two factors that will be prominant in such a decision. The flip side is the common life philosophy of where there is a will there is a way or as many responded where there's a will there is a camino. Being a pilgrim is in my life my most basic expression of being a believer. My daily camino doesn' stop as I live and move and have my being in I AM. My desire to find a path somewhere away from my daily walk is uppermost in my being. That desire to be a moving blot on a set path with other like-minded folk is just lige-giving in thought and action. Can one ever stop that longing or does one manage it as the body start to trail the spirit. I'm not there yet but I have thoughts of being trained as a hospatilera as one other way of connecting. I hope that there will be other. For now I will walk DV in April on the Primitivo. I will be sixty. I will take my aches and pains with me. I will give thanks I will embrace another opportunity. I will pray with and for all my fellows. I will go home and think, who, what, when, where and how? Until next time.

 

[susanawee]

Not being able to walk long or longer distances is an issue I will face in the not too distant future. I am now planning to do the Porto In May/June (from Porto) with my brother (we are both over 70 with a few issues). This will be his only Camino, and possibly a last for me. Although I would like to walk the VDLP (say last 300km) but that will depend upon a number of external factors.
So what will I do when I can no longer walk a camino? Read and contribute to this forum; attend monthly meetings of the Sydney Pilgrims; offer advice if asked. But in general try to enjoy to the fullest the years that are left to me. I have recently adopted this motto: the glass is half-full, but feel free to top it up!!

Thanks Alex for starting this post. Cheers to all.

I agree, thanks to you Alex for starting this thread.

when I did my first in 2016 one year after my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis no one could understand my WHY. One week after my return home dislocating my hips waterskiing. Since my 2016 Camino I’ve had 2 Lipedema surgeries, MOH surgery where a cancerous tumour was removed from my face, I’ve been diagnosed and began treatments for Lyme disease and Babasia , in less than 13 months I had both hips and both knees replaced in 4 surgeries. My last will be a year old on March 7 2020. Yet all I can think about is walking the Camino again. My family, friends and Doctors don’t understand. Why ??? They don’t understand how robbed I’ve felt these past 4 years. I hope to start walking from SJDP on May 25 2020. I keep picturing all those I met walking. Everyone walks with some kind of baggage. I look at all I will gain in returning. My renewal ♥

Bravo, <3

 

[SeaHorse]

For when that happens I'm getting a house in Spain now (soonish).

 

[bjorgts]

Alex, I have been thinking of this question ever since I started my first Camino in 2003, much too late in life, I felt. You have got so many good answers here! Mine is this from Ben Okri:

"We didn't see the seven mountains ahead of us. We didn't see how they are always ahead, always calling us, always reminding us That there are more things to be done, dreams to be realised, joys to be rediscovered… Beauty to be reincarnated, and love embodied. We didn’t notice how they hinted that nothing is ever finished, that struggles are never truly concluded, that sometimes we have to re-dream our lives, and that life can always be used to create more light." (Ben Okri)​

"Sometimes we have to re-dream our lives." Near to 70 years old, I have to re-dream and re-dream. So many things come to an end in life. That´s life at this age. So one day I will have to re-dream my Camino-walking. ... but not stop dreaming, and not stop walking, even though it may end up as a spiritual waking in my mind.​

 

[Jay Es]

There comes a time in everyone's life where we have to change gears. We accept new challenges as they come along. I'm walking my first Camino now. The VdlP. In 2016 I managed to cycle the Northern route. I could barely turn the pedals the first few days and walked much whilst leaning on the bike. This was due to very painful arthritis in my knees. I did more each day and little by little have got to where I am walking a Camino in 2020.
I know that it is inevitable that one day I will have to go back to cycling again... Maybe a tandem! Maybe a trike.
And one day I will have to just look at the photos and remember those times.
I think if you can bus, taxi, walk you are always a pilgrim.

 

[Canche]

Another member posted this:


I cannot imagine me not returning annually for another Camino, but:

So, when do you have to stop your Caminos, and how do you deal with it?

I am 75 years old. I did my first Camino in Sept 2016. I had every intention of going back the following year and the following but had a myriad of physical problems, broken nose, broken ribs, serious eye surgery and now major back surgery. I did the first half of the Norte and due to infected blisters went down to the Frances (which I didn't like at all) and finished 693 km in 29 days. I have a knee replacement which gave me no problems as I climb volcanoes with it here at home. I did not find the Norte difficult at all. I found the Frances boring, bur since I live in a spectacular place (Antigua, Guatemala) I have to have more beauty and challenge like the Norte. I will never give up on doing more Caminos. I will be doing the second half of the Norte, crossing over on a new route to the Ingles to Santiago, then Finisterre and Muxia this coming September come hell or high water. I had planned my next Camino to be the San Salvador and the Primitivo, but under the circumstances I think I'll do something a little easier, and do that in 2021. live by two mottos: "Keep on walking no matter how much it hurts." and "Never give up" (Winston Churchill my hero) You can do it some how some way.

 

[Canche]

There comes a time in everyone's life where we have to change gears. We accept new challenges as they come along. I'm walking my first Camino now. The VdlP. In 2016 I managed to cycle the Northern route. I could barely turn the pedals the first few days and walked much whilst leaning on the bike. This was due to very painful arthritis in my knees. I did more each day and little by little have got to where I am walking a Camino in 2020.
I know that it is inevitable that one day I will have to go back to cycling again... Maybe a tandem! Maybe a trike.
And one day I will have to just look at the photos and remember those times.
I think if you can bus, taxi, walk you are always a pilgrim.

Yes, you are always a pilgrim

 

[alexwalker]

I am 75 years old. I did my first Camino in Sept 2016. I had every intention of going back the following year and the following but had a myriad of physical problems, broken nose, broken ribs, serious eye surgery and now major back surgery. I did the first half of the Norte and due to infected blisters went down to the Frances (which I didn't like at all) and finished 693 km in 29 days. I have a knee replacement which gave me no problems as I climb volcanoes with it here at home. I did not find the Norte difficult at all. I fand plan where to spend more time, and relaound the Frances boring, bur since I live in a spectacular place (Antigua, Guatemala) I have to have more beauty and challenge like the Norte. I will never give up on doing more Caminos. I will be doing the second half of the Norte, crossing over on a new route to the Ingles to Santiago, then Finisterre and Muxia this coming September come hell or high water. I had planned my next Camino to be the San Salvador and the Primitivo, but under the circumstances I think I'll do something a little easier, and do that in 2021. live by two mottos: "Keep on walking no matter how much it hurts." and "Never give up" (Winston Churchill my hero) You can do it some how some way.

Happy for you. The only issue is: WHY didn't we do our Camino(s) before???

So stupid that many of us have lived an almost full life without knowing about The Way and its benefits for us. I will go back and walk again on 16th April. I will take my time. In the meantime, I enjoy all the posted photos in here (some without text of where!!!) and spend more time and relax.

Buen Camino to you all!

 

[Canche]

Happy for you. The only issue is: WHY didn't we do our Camino(s) before???

So stupid that many of us have lived an almost full life without knowing about The Way and its benefits for us. I will go back and walk again on 16th April. I will take my time. In the meantime, I enjoy all the posted photos in here (some without text of where!!!) and spend more time and relax.

Buen Camino to you all!

Boy! You have got that! Geez Louise. I would have loved to have been doing this when I was in really good shape, but didn't have much time or money But now I have time and money and my body is falling apart!

 

[MisterH]

Boy! You have got that! Geez Louise. I would have loved to have been doing this when I was in really good shape, but didn't have much time or money But now I have time and money and my body is falling apart!

I have the time and might get my 77 year old body in reasonable shape. Now try and win at Lotto to get the cash.

 

[Former member 49149]

I have no idea, as I'm not there yet.
But I hope I will gracefully surrender, and simply remember and be grateful that I could...and then find a way to give forward.
I have to say that in this you are a role model, @mspath. Thank you. Each time I read one of your posts I am grateful for your shared experience.

I have been reading posts in this thread, and am impressed by each one. This one touched a nerve. Before attempting the Frances in 2006, I scoured the skies for hope and encouragement, as I was the least likely candidate for walking more than the length of myself. I came upon the writings of mspath. While in many respects it can be difficult for someone to be cast in the role of role model, you have captured so well, @VNwalking , the contribution @mspath has made, and still makes, on this forum. So, what will I do when I can no longer walk? As @VNwalking has said, I am not there yet. I would like to think I could still be thankful, and happy to read of the experiences of those who can and do keep the camino paths alive. As @mspath often says: Carpe Diem!

 

[Marbe2]

I did not read every comment. IMO to think that it is “ the end” when one can no longer walk the Camino, In time, should be reconsidered! We honor our life journey when we walk the Camino.... Like retirement, I hope that I will be given the Grace to find meaning in the conditions that exist at that time. That is being a pilgrim, no?

 

[Delphinoula]

Was going to link up a song but I guess you all know the song Allways look on the bright sight of life, but I thought this maybe better

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Thanks @Richmond Gardner; I was going to walk to Finisteer/Muxia after this camino but brother did the flight organising and now do not have the time. If my offer to be a volunteer at Pilgrims Office in Oct comes off then I will do the short walk either before or after. Whilst I have not seen it the Ingles does not really interest me. The VDLP was my first attempt at a camino back in 2013 but foot injuries curtailed that plan. So I think I owe it to myself to try the walk 10/15 days of the big one. Cheers.

If you do get to work there in October and get to meet a short, mad Irishwoman you'll be able to freak her out by saying "Aren't you Paula? Paula from Belfast? I heard you'd be here!" - it'll be fun, she's a blast!

 

[Jane Silverman]

Was going to link up a song but I guess you all know the song Allways look on the bright sight of life, but I thought this maybe better

Perfect! Thank you!

 

[Doug Delfeld]

Since my first CF in2013 I have been obsessed with it returning 3 more times.
I’m married and must consider my wife with each return. I have had many physical setbacks over the years no the least of which I’m now 76. I think daily about what if a can’t walk it any more. My mind goes to mule or horse!! Crazy but possible? I’ve still got a few more in me and am researching volunteering as that would keep me connected and involved.
And I think of the day when I might not be able to travel at all. Then I get to interact with all the wonderful pilgrim I’ve met along the way. I’m doing a study on the life of St James
So I can share his life with those I meet on “The Way” that is giving me a great sense of joy as James was traveling through Spain bringing the Good News to all.
Blessings and Buen Camino.

 

[martin1ws]

Thank you for all of your wonderful posts.

...
I did go back that year to complete CF, and to Portugal in 2018. Each time I have walked as much as I was able, then used train or bus, struggling a little with the thought of not being a “real pilgrim”. But I think about those original pilgrims and am pretty sure they accepted a lift from anyone passing by with a cart.
...

I think you are a "real pilgrim"...

 

[Delphinoula]

Hi Ana great that you made it wth all your challenges. I remember you posts.

It looks like that this year I may not be able to walk the Camino . Hurt my knee good before Christmas and the docs are such great spoilers with their negative outlooks. So I guess I am going to leave a little bit undone. But how do they say over the great blue sea... it’s not over till the fat lady sings. Don’t be offended I am rotunda myself.

 

[Canche]

Don't believe what the doctors say. Work on exercise and rehab with a trainer perhaps or physical therapist. I have tons of knee problems, back and feet problems and I don't always follow what the doctors say nor take all there medications. There is a lot you can do with knee problems. I've had a knee replacement and climb mountains and volcanoes but I work religiously on exercises, stretches and the gym with a trainer. You can do it. As my hero Winston Churchhill said: "Never give up" and my other motto is "Keep on moving not matter how much it hurts." Good luck

 

[gmag]

when I did my first in 2016 one year after my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis no one could understand my WHY. One week after my return home dislocating my hips waterskiing. Since my 2016 Camino I’ve had 2 Lipedema surgeries, MOH surgery where a cancerous tumour was removed from my face, I’ve been diagnosed and began treatments for Lyme disease and Babasia , in less than 13 months I had both hips and both knees replaced in 4 surgeries. My last will be a year old on March 7 2020. Yet all I can think about is walking the Camino again. My family, friends and Doctors don’t understand. Why ??? They don’t understand how robbed I’ve felt these past 4 years. I hope to start walking from SJDP on May 25 2020. I keep picturing all those I met walking. Everyone walks with some kind of baggage. I look at all I will gain in returning. My renewal ♥

Penny, you are wonderful !!!, the kind of person we all need to have close to us.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

I'm 66, and over the course of a vigorous life have broken more bones than any man should. Including bones all up and down my spine. Nothing that ever disabled me, TBTG!, but the cumulative impact of all those injuries is beginning to be a problem for me. Aggravated by arthritis.... On both my last two walks there were moments of pain and concern.... And things will not be getting better, which means that I can easily foresee the day when my walking days are over. Probably sooner rather than later.

But -- I've been in love with Spain since before I ever thought of actually walking the Way. First visit to SdeC - 1977! I know a fair amount about the history, the culture, the architecture... I speak a fair Castellano.... I'm at home there....The mere fact that I cannot walk cross country will not stop me from visiting Spain.

Can't be a peregrino? I can be a peregrino supporter, a Camino aficionado, a respectful sightseer, a grateful tourist of sorts.... I can be the geezer who sits in that ratty red plastic chair outside the bar, and hollers "Buen Camino!" And buys some weary soul a vino tinto.

I know how cheap and easy it is to get around Spain, by bus particularly. And how many inexpensive hotel rooms there really are. I've thought how nice it would be to continue visiting all the towns I've walked through in years past. I could see starting at Pamplona, for example, then bussing to Puente or Estella, and spending a day or two. Then bussing to Viana or Logrono, and spending a day or two.... And so on. Easy peasy.

(And a life without chorizo would not be worth living. Not for me.)

 

[gmag]

I'm 66, and over the course of a vigorous life have broken more bones than any man should. Including bones all up and down my spine. Nothing that ever disabled me, TBTG!, but the cumulative impact of all those injuries is beginning to be a problem for me. Aggravated by arthritis.... On both my last two walks there were moments of pain and concern.... And things will not be getting better, which means that I can easily foresee the day when my walking days are over. Probably sooner rather than later.

But -- I've been in love with Spain since before I ever thought of actually walking the Way. First visit to SdeC - 1977! I know a fair amount about the history, the culture, the architecture... I speak a fair Castellano.... I'm at home there....The mere fact that I cannot walk cross country will not stop me from visiting Spain.

Can't be a peregrino? I can be a peregrino supporter, a Camino aficionado, a respectful sightseer, a grateful tourist of sorts.... I can be the geezer who sits in that ratty red plastic chair outside the bar, and hollers "Buen Camino!" And buys some weary soul a vino tinto.

I know how cheap and easy it is to get around Spain, by bus particularly. And how many inexpensive hotel rooms there really are. I've thought how nice it would be to continue visiting all the towns I've walked through in years past. I could see starting at Pamplona, then bussing to, oh, Estella, and spending a day or two. Then bussing to Logrono, and spending a day or two.... And so on. Easy peasy.

(And a life without chorizo would not be worth living. Not for me.)

Rappahannock_rev,

Thank you, you can't imagine how much I love your words about my Spain. However, I do not like to read what you say about your pains, although I have to say that it is yet another case of exemplary strength and an optimistic and positive nature in the face of what most of us would do to stay at home serious, unfriendly, and permanently watching the world around us through television. You are another exemplary case, surely those around you are happy, sure.

When you come through Frómista, with a backpack or by bus, please, let me know in advance and stop by this house, I will have an immense pleasure in having a good chorizo prepared for you, it is another of my weaknesses. Imagine! I grew up (I started growing in 1953) eating chorizo, salchichón, and serrano ham sandwiches in the afternoons…, at that time it was the cheapest and most popular. We didn't have much, but with those things we were rich !!!

Anita and me we are very patient, we hope to see you here sooner or later ...

(Spain does not forget those who love her)

 

[NYSE]

Another member posted this:


I cannot imagine me not returning annually for another Camino, but:

So, when do you have to stop your Caminos, and how do you deal with it?

I try to look at my life in stages. At this stage I can't do things I did at younger stages (nor do I want to). Yet, there are things I know at this stage that I didn't know years ago. The point is to recognize where you are and what you can and can't do and accept it. If you can't accept things as they must be, you risk anger and bitterness.

 

[mspath]

"...and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Ulysses,
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

We who can not continue as in the past can still continue on the pathways of our memory,
In the truest sense, Ultreia!

 

[rappahannock_rev]

What can I do when I cannot walk anymore? I can sit quietly on the terrace in some charming town like Fromista, sipping a vermut, and thanking God for the chance to be there again.... Secure in the knowledge that there will be a bus to Carrion in the morning!

 

[psinegmatic]

I decided to walk Camino in April. It could be my first Camino.
But I'm keeping my chin up and decided spend my vacation for imporving myself. I'm gonna start running and cycling. I've bought bycicle recently. I think it's good time for analyzing, reading books, spending time with family, helping people etc.
Sorry for English, I'm not very good at that.

 

[alexwalker]

What can I do when I cannot walk anymore? I can sit quietly on the terrace in some charming town like Fromista, sipping a vermut, and thanking God for the chance to be there again.... Secure in the knowledge that there will be a bus to Carrion in the morning!

View attachment 71351

I'll join you!

 

[Stroller]

A thought on not being able to walk camino:

When I am old and they think they have confined me,
I shall, one dull day, pull on my shoes, shoulder my pack and quietly leave.

And I shall walk again on the white roads in sun and rain,
Over incense scented hills,
Across dry plains,
In vast cathedrals of chestnut,
Cool still forests and stony vineyards,
Through grey stone villages old as time
And the wild cities of youth.

And we will meet again,
Unexpected,
Walk and talk as we did,
Drink cool wine in warm evenings,
Tell tales, laugh under the stars,
And pass on.

My captors will tempt me to speak,
I shall refrain.

They will require that I talk,
I shall decline.

And smiling, gently remember you.

 

[gmag]

I'll join you!

Can I join you too? I bring the Rioja, the chorizo or whatever you like ...

 

[gmag]

What can I do when I cannot walk anymore? I can sit quietly on the terrace in some charming town like Fromista, sipping a vermut, and thanking God for the chance to be there again.... Secure in the knowledge that there will be a bus to Carrion in the morning!

View attachment 71351

Interesting ..., first the Martini and then the Church ..., I hope that what they told me as a child is true, that Jesus is very understanding, because if not, at least I am almost lost for eternity... and that's too long without drinking!

 

[Sue127]

I turned 52 during my 2016 Camino. I plan to celebrate my 56th in the same manor. ❤

If it is OK to walk by then - we may meet up - I intend to start my first on the 27th MAy

 

[nycwalking]

If it is OK to walk by then - we may meet up - I intend to start my first on the 27th MAy

I pray you are able.

Buen camino.

 

[Kathy F.]

LOL. Looking at all the Caminos posters here have done, I don't DARE say I've hit my limit. I wish you people hadn't set such a high bar.

 

[Kathy F.]

Thank you for “the glass us half full but feel free to top it up!” Best comment on life in a long time!
I was 82 when I started from SJPDP with my backpack and the intention to do what I could each day and see what happened. After 15 days, I came back to the US to move from the SE to the NW with my sister who was moving to be near her daughter while having treatment for cancer. As Tacoma has public transit I decided to live “car-free” as long as I could. After 4 years still use the bus, which involves a good bit of walking, and walk in Wright Park every day as well.
I did go back that year to complete CF, and to Portugal in 2018. Each time I have walked as much as I was able, then used train or bus, struggling a little with the thought of not being a “real pilgrim”. But I think about those original pilgrims and am pretty sure they accepted a lift from anyone passing by with a cart.
The pilgrim paths are an invaluable part
of my life. Something about that “get up each morning and put one foot in front of the other” continues to inform my days now.
Blessings and “happy wandering” to each of you on this Forum. And thanks to Ivar.

On my second Camino, the nice lady in whose hotel I was staying at SJPdP offered me a ride halfway up to Orrison. I had already walked in from Lourdes, on the way solo to SdC. You better believe I took her up on her offer, the h*ll with whether some mamby-pamby newbie thought I was a "real" pilgrim or not. 82 isn't THAT far away and you inspire me!

 

[Debi Kellerer]

In 2015 we did our first Camino, the French Way. I went into it knowing I had arthritis in both knees, even went to the doctor to see if they knew of any reason I should not do it, they said "go for it" but at the time I did not know how severe my arthritis was. It became pretty obvious that I would not be able to walk with my pack so I began shipping my pack most days to our destination that day and and some days only walked part of the day. Sure I was disappointed, but the Camino had been doing its work on my soul and my spirit and it reminded me to be grateful for what I was able to do. I remember the day we were to walk into Molinaseca I only walked a short distance before accepting that I should not walk that day, I wanted so badly to walk to the Cruz de Ferro with my husband and friends. I took a taxi and as the taxi was almost to Cruz de Ferro I looked and saw my group just getting to the cross. The taxi driver was kind enough to pull over, I called out to my husband, we embraced and both cried. As the taxi pulled away the tears were flowing and the taxi driver placed his hand on my arm and said the Camino is not about the work of your legs it is what is happening in your heart. I have never forgotten that. In 2017 we did the Portuguese Coastal route and I only walked the first 8 days not so much because of my knees, the terrain was actually pretty flat, I had a pinched nerve in my back and it was causing my right leg to go numb. The call of the Camino was still working in my life and continues to this day. This past year our group walked the Norte Camino and the Primitivo Camino, I decided before we left that I would not be walking it but I would travel the different Camino's by train and bus and met the group most days along the Way, it did not mean I I didn't have my own Camino experience along the Way, I did but it was much different then maybe I wanted or expected and in many ways it was what i needed. I was still able to travel with other pilgrims and we learned from each other and cared for each other. I was even able to spend a few days with a dear family we met on our first Camino that live in San Sebastian. My life has been changed forever and is much richer because of my three very different Camino's. I will be having double knee replacements in the near future and hope that some day I can return to walk another Camino, God willing.

Update to this post: I had double knee replacements in March 2020 and my new knees are fantastic! With my surgeon's blessing my husband and I will be walking our 4th Camino together from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-port beginning on June 11!! Buen Camino everyone!

 

[LesBrass]

A few days ago, walking from St Jean, I met a lady at the statue of Mary... en route to Roncesvalles. We chatted a little and later she sat beside me at dinner. I asked her if it wasn't too impolite to ask her age... she is 87 and this would be her 25th camino.

 

[Canche]

Update to this post: I had double knee replacements in March 2020 and my new knees are fantastic! With my surgeon's blessing my husband and I will be walking our 4th Camino together from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-port beginning on June 11!! Buen Camino everyone!

I love me knee replacement. I can even climb volcanoes with it. Buen Camino

 

[Debi Kellerer]

I love me knee replacement. I can even climb volcanoes with it. Buen Camino

That is wonderful! Buen Camino!

 

[Paul McAmino]

I gave up regular fútbol at 62 after 25 years of playing twice weekly. That’s all that is going away for me.
A searingly painful hip aggravated by a fall in O Pedrouzo meant that I couldn’t get behind the wheel of my pickup without lifting my leg and sliding it under the wheel with my hands. I finished that Camino, came home and danced for three days straight, which was not very painful, so waltzing and other dancing can stay.

The Wednesday after my return saw me (just before Covid harrowed the halls of medicine) in the operating room for a replacement hip. Since social fun ended pretty thoroughly for the past few years I’ve had a chance to recover well, and then get a new knee in the bargain. I’m ready to walk again, and will begin slowly, on the Ingles, with the Invierno or Primitivo next.
I won’t stop walking until I have to, and I intend to keep getting repairs to enable just that.
Fútbol undid me. Walking as a pilgrim in Spain may just be my resurrection.

All the best,
Paul

 

[Canche]

I gave up regular fútbol at 62 after 25 years of playing twice weekly. That’s all that is going away for me.
A searingly painful hip aggravated by a fall in O Pedrouzo meant that I couldn’t get behind the wheel of my pickup without lifting my leg and sliding it under the wheel with my hands. I finished that Camino, came home and danced for three days straight, which was not very painful, so waltzing and other dancing can stay.

The Wednesday after my return saw me (just before Covid harrowed the halls of medicine) in the operating room for a replacement hip. Since social fun ended pretty thoroughly for the past few years I’ve had a chance to recover well, and then get a new knee in the bargain. I’m ready to walk again, and will begin slowly, on the Ingles, with the Invierno or Primitivo next.
I won’t stop walking until I have to, and I intend to kept getting repairs to enable just that.
Fútbol undid me. Walking as a pilgrim in Spain may just be my resurrection.

All the best,
Paul

Good for you. My motto is "Keep on moving no matter how much it hurts."

 

[ritaj]

Update to this post: I had double knee replacements in March 2020 and my new knees are fantastic! With my surgeon's blessing my husband and I will be walking our 4th Camino together from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-port beginning on June 11!! Buen Camino everyone!

I had both knees replaced and have put hundreds and hundreds of camino kilometers on them. So grateful we live at a time when joint replacements are possible!!