What if I just showed up?

[William Garza]

No worries about squashed bag in luggage..simply a folded up pack in a cheap gym bag conveyance
The clothes on my back
The shoes on my feet...

What if i got off the the plane and simply went on a small shopping trip,and bought all that i needed..there?

What would people say? Why..he is in Biarritz and has no...luggage!

E-gads! What a strange man?

Or..

There is a man on a mission
Imagine going down to the local shopping center where the locals go and buy your nessesaries?
Put them in your bag(if you brought one) and simply...
Going.

Out the door
Down the road

Goom by
Tootles
Fair the well
Vaya con Dios
By your leave
Que te vaya bien
See ya
Laters
Thats my cue
Brah..mind the place?
Duuude..and a smile
Aloha
Adieu
Arrivaderci
Ciao
Auf weid..wied..lederhosen..
Bon voyage
Sayonara
Salaam
Shalom
Vale
Zaijian...

And turnt face toward Santiago de Compostella.

Do you think you would pack less...lighter..smarter?
What if...

Such a heavy set of words
So much tied up with them..what if

You simply showed up and trusted to provenence that what you needed
Would be there..when you need it?

What if..it became less about what
And more aboot whome...?

You will really gain a perspective on yourself,who and what you are by winging it
As it may..you done got pushed out the nest
Now its all up to you
Fly
Fall
Bounce on your downey butt

Can you handle the rawness of who you really are?

Its a brutal look into a clean mirror.

What happens if you simply go and bravely face what comes
That is what if defined

Brave Pilgrim
There is so much more to you

Once out the door you are not the same person you were 5 min ago.
Memento Vivere

 

[Saint Mike II]

You are really considering the KIS principal (keep it simple). So if the budget allows go for it. Although I would be looking for a pair of solid walking shoes/boots that are well broken-in, comfortable on your feet and able to withstand the rigors of the Spanish countryside. Cheers

 

[Dennis D]

I agree with mike. It your feet can make it, the rest of you will follow.

Oh, and depending on the time of year, don't scrimp on rain gear. A two Euro poncho won't cut it.

Buen Camino

 

[josephmcclain]

Despite the real necessity for shoes and stuff, I love this. No hiring tour companies, booking ahead far into the future, just go. And in a way any pilgrim, especially a first time one, heads out not possibly knowing what lies ahead or even if it is at all possible.

 

[Bradypus]

I've seen posts on this forum and elsewhere asking very detailed questions about booking albergues and such matters where the OP is planning for a camino two years or more away If there is nothing to tie you to home there is really very little forward planning needed. Last autumn I was sitting exactly where I am now - a chair at my kitchen table. The view out of my window was miserable - wet and windy. Not that rare an event in west Wales. From making the snap decision to walk the Via de la Plata to having my travel insurance, flight, ground transport to and from the airports in both countries and first night in a Seville hostel booked took well under an hour. I was in Spain and walking within four days. Disentangling yourself from your daily life may take a lot of time and effort - preparing yourself to walk the Caminos really need not!

 

[lt56ny]

Before you get on a plane find a good pair of trail runners that will not need a lot of breaking in. You gotta GOTTA REALLY GOTTA take care of those feet!!!. My only other suggestion is when you get there, if you don't know too much about backpacks find a store where someone can help you. Get the quickest drying clothes you can and go on the cheap and burn camino!!!

 

[nycwalking]

You've already complicated the matter with this post and subsequent conversation.

Go, then tell us all about while you are there.

Buen camino.

 

[RJM]

Well, seeing how the Camino (the great majority of the more popular routes) is far from being a wilderness, third world or far flung communities and outposts, one could very easily just jump on an aeroplane, arrive in say Madrid, Pamplona, Barcelona and Saint Jean with absolutely no proper long distance walking (you notice I say walking and not hiking) clothing and equipment and simply just pop into the first outdoor equipment shop they see, break out the euros and literally within an hour be ready to go all the way to Santiago. If some of the stuff you initially bought at the beginning sucks and just is not working out? Bin it and replace it in the first town you get to with an outdoor shop.
It really is too easy and sometimes overthought.

 

[Faith831]

No worries about squashed bag in luggage..simply a folded up pack in a cheap gym bag conveyance
The clothes on my back
The shoes on my feet...

What if i got off the the plane and simply went on a small shopping trip,and bought all that i needed..there?

What would people say? Why..he is in Biarritz and has no...luggage!

E-gads! What a strange man?

Or..

There is a man on a mission
Imagine going down to the local shopping center where the locals go and buy your nessesaries?
Put them in your bag(if you brought one) and simply...
Going.

Out the door
Down the road

Goom by
Tootles
Fair the well
Vaya con Dios
By your leave
Que te vaya bien
See ya
Laters
Thats my cue
Brah..mind the place?
Duuude..and a smile
Aloha
Adieu
Arrivaderci
Ciao
Auf weid..wied..lederhosen..
Bon voyage
Sayonara
Salaam
Shalom
Vale
Zaijian...

And turnt face toward Santiago de Compostella.

Do you think you would pack less...lighter..smarter?
What if...

Such a heavy set of words
So much tied up with them..what if

You simply showed up and trusted to provenence that what you needed
Would be there..when you need it?

What if..it became less about what
And more aboot whome...?

You will really gain a perspective on yourself,who and what you are by winging it
As it may..you done got pushed out the nest
Now its all up to you
Fly
Fall
Bounce on your downey butt

Can you handle the rawness of who you really are?

Its a brutal look into a clean mirror.

What happens if you simply go and bravely face what comes
That is what if defined

Brave Pilgrim
There is so much more to you

Once out the door you are not the same person you were 5 min ago.
Memento Vivere

I love this so much. Because this is the advice I give people who now ask me about preparing for the Camino. Book your ticket, put a few things in a sack and go. Everything else will sort itself out. I am preparing to walk again in July on the Camino Luxembourg and will do exactly that.

People have been walking the Way for thousands of years without REI and in much less civilized and modern conditions than we have now.

 

[Glamgrrl]

At St. JPDP, you can get everything you need. There’s a great shop there. I would suggest taking an extra pair of tech underwear as I haven’t seen that yet, but everything from ear plugs, buffs, sticks and socks are available. It’s a tempting idea for sure.

 

[nycwalking]

Sorry OP, I forgot your post is a poem and not an intention to walk.

It is a lovely sentiment.

 

[Faith831]

At St. JPDP, you can get everything you need. There’s a great shop there. I would suggest taking an extra pair of tech underwear as I haven’t seen that yet, but everything from ear plugs, buffs, sticks and socks are available. It’s a tempting idea for sure.

I think really the only thing that one would need to be careful about planning ahead would be shoes. Only because the cost of having the wrong shoes would be so high in terms of maybe not actually being able to walk and it would probably take a significant amount of time to replace them. Everything else is probably not nearly as important as people think it is.

 

[HedaP]

As I walked out one midsummer morning...

 

[J F Gregory]

Actually it sounds good. That is how I lived in the 60's when I was hiking and hitching around. It didn't fit in my 12 Liter rucksack. As I have got older I like tried and true comfort while traveling. We have been traveling since about 98 several places around the globe, Africa, Europe, the middle east and central America. I always travel with a pack, now the latest pack is 38 liters and weighs 2 lbs. It will be with mw on the del Norte and has a life time warranty. I used to use cheap stuff do I wouldn't destroy my good stuff. But, you get what you pay for. The good kits are better. But each their own.

 

[Bala]

Beautiful.

Like all good poetry, this is not meant to be taken literally but, I believe, is meant to touch us in a way that we see ourselves differently. And for me, that it did.

It made me stop and remember a day shortly before my most recent time on the Camino. After my first walk ended in pretty much of a physical disaster, I became seriously obsessed with The Stuff. These shoes versus those shoes, this pack versus that one, hydration system versus water bottle, smart wool versus tech fabric, blah, blah, blah, blah... Blah, blah, blah.

Then, one beautiful spring afternoon, I decided to just go for a walk. No pack. No special shoes, no hydration system.

Just open the front door and go for a walk.

It was so nice. Soft sun, light breeze, clear sky. And I started thinking.... If I just kept walking, what would I absolutely need tonight? Some money to pay for a place to stay. A toothbrush. A comb. I could sleep in my clothes, I could stop if my feet hurt....

It turned my perspective all around. Why was I really going on this pilgrimage?

But, @William Garza, you say it so much more gracefully:

"What if it became less about what
And more aboot whome...?"

Yes. What?

Because...

"Now it's all up to you
Fly
Fall
Bounce on your downey butt"

I did them all. And loved every moment of it.

So nicely said. Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 75649]

I did minimal planning and went with a small Day pack and bought a book, walking piles in SJPP and wore New Balance runners. That's it.

 

[Thing1_Thing2]

I took a 30L pack that had already seen better days and used quick dry clothes I already had. I took an old pair of Chacos and bought a new pair of Cascadias, which was my only significant purchase. The Cascadias pooped themselves, and I ended up walking most of the Frances in my Chacos. The Chacos are home and still worn, the backpack is with my wife (on the meseta in a few more hours), and Cascadias were deposited in a bin in London on the way back home.

I do second the gentleman above who suggested good rain gear. I took an old entry-grade North Face rain coat with me. It did get me to Santiago, but not without discomfort. I found a great deal through Sierra Trading Post on a higher-grade (but discontinued) raincoat that I'll wear on my next Camino. The Sierra Trading Post idea was something I found by another pilgrim who posted on here about how to get outfitted on a tight budget.

 

[William Garza]

Life is its most meaningfull at the point you think you have the least.

It puts things into perspective.

That its not...things

Its you
Its when you simply have to trust in yourself and step out into the world.

"To live is to fly..lows and highs..so shake the dust out from your wings and the sleep out of your eyes" Towns Van Zandt..singer-poet-traveler

 

[Albertagirl]

Being short of cash this year, I have considered whether or not I could afford to go on camino and have been fascinated by my memories of early years of mountain hiking: new gear, if any, was never actually new, but always from a second-hand store. The one exception was a pair of heavy mountain boots, which did good service for many years, until the sole of one peeled off from the top while I was two days in on a two week trail. A helpful park warden screwed the sole to the boot top and I was off.

 

[Altrenta]

I love this so much. Because this is the advice I give people who now ask me about preparing for the Camino. Book your ticket, put a few things in a sack and go. Everything else will sort itself out. I am preparing to walk again in July on the Camino Luxembourg and will do exactly that.

People have been walking the Way for thousands of years without REI and in much less civilized and modern conditions than we have now.[/QUOTE

I have dreamed of this for literally years and am finally at a place in life that I can go...and then I got scared...I’m still scared...terrified even....but I’m going. Your post and the one you replied to...as well as the other replies...have helped me be a little less fearful. I figure if I never try then I have failed already.

 

[Faith831]

You mean the one about crying all the way to Madrid? Yep, that was me.

 

[William Garza]

It is the bravest of all,
Among the least of us all...

Who steps forth into
Their...unknown

And become he sun that warms us through.

Put on your flying shoes
Dream of things unsaid
Leave the ground behind and shake the cob webs from the mind.
Tis fearfull business for the timid
To step out unto stones among the rapids
Scurling wake
Your soul to take
The thoughts among the vapid

Tis a fearful business
With the ending out of sight
Once
Twice
Thrice away of madding..maddening crowd
They cling..become a crowd

Bourn you are...aiming for the stars
Ripples
Galaxies
The entirety...
Awaits

A simple river it is
A river flows in you
Wanting to join into the milky
Into the mystic
Into the Way

Freedom
Is a step away.

Its only a fearfull business for those who stay.

As for us..we'll see you on the way

Off you go!!

 

[Jane Silverman]

No worries about squashed bag in luggage..simply a folded up pack in a cheap gym bag conveyance
The clothes on my back
The shoes on my feet...

What if i got off the the plane and simply went on a small shopping trip,and bought all that i needed..there?

What would people say? Why..he is in Biarritz and has no...luggage!

E-gads! What a strange man?

Or..

There is a man on a mission
Imagine going down to the local shopping center where the locals go and buy your nessesaries?
Put them in your bag(if you brought one) and simply...
Going.

Out the door
Down the road

Goom by
Tootles
Fair the well
Vaya con Dios
By your leave
Que te vaya bien
See ya
Laters
Thats my cue
Brah..mind the place?
Duuude..and a smile
Aloha
Adieu
Arrivaderci
Ciao
Auf weid..wied..lederhosen..
Bon voyage
Sayonara
Salaam
Shalom
Vale
Zaijian...

And turnt face toward Santiago de Compostella.

Do you think you would pack less...lighter..smarter?
What if...

Such a heavy set of words
So much tied up with them..what if

You simply showed up and trusted to provenence that what you needed
Would be there..when you need it?

What if..it became less about what
And more aboot whome...?

You will really gain a perspective on yourself,who and what you are by winging it
As it may..you done got pushed out the nest
Now its all up to you
Fly
Fall
Bounce on your downey butt

Can you handle the rawness of who you really are?

Its a brutal look into a clean mirror.

What happens if you simply go and bravely face what comes
That is what if defined

Brave Pilgrim
There is so much more to you

Once out the door you are not the same person you were 5 min ago.
Memento Vivere

I have thought of this often. Arrive with an empty bag and get what you really need, or even no bag and choose on the spot! But here I am on the Poetuguese, having sent a box to
poste restante in Porto, an still wondering how I need all this.......

 

[Ferenjinan]

Bin it.

Nah, please don't throw it out if you don't want it. Someone else might. Find a prominent place in the albergue where discards and exchanges meet and trip the light fantastic.
My last camino I showed up in Roncesvalles wearing crappy Indian flipflops, and there on the exchange/discard shelf (a big one, by the way) was the perfect pair of runners, well broken in, right size and off we went. All the way. Still using them.

 

[Patrice Reed]

I spent a lot at REI getting ready, tossed a lot of it there and bought two pairs of shoes there before my feet were happy. You can get everything there that you need.

 

[Felicia V]

No worries about squashed bag in luggage..simply a folded up pack in a cheap gym bag conveyance
The clothes on my back
The shoes on my feet...

What if i got off the the plane and simply went on a small shopping trip,and bought all that i needed..there?

What would people say? Why..he is in Biarritz and has no...luggage!

E-gads! What a strange man?

Or..

There is a man on a mission
Imagine going down to the local shopping center where the locals go and buy your nessesaries?
Put them in your bag(if you brought one) and simply...
Going.

Out the door
Down the road

Goom by
Tootles
Fair the well
Vaya con Dios
By your leave
Que te vaya bien
See ya
Laters
Thats my cue
Brah..mind the place?
Duuude..and a smile
Aloha
Adieu
Arrivaderci
Ciao
Auf weid..wied..lederhosen..
Bon voyage
Sayonara
Salaam
Shalom
Vale
Zaijian...

And turnt face toward Santiago de Compostella.

Do you think you would pack less...lighter..smarter?
What if...

Such a heavy set of words
So much tied up with them..what if

You simply showed up and trusted to provenence that what you needed
Would be there..when you need it?

What if..it became less about what
And more aboot whome...?

You will really gain a perspective on yourself,who and what you are by winging it
As it may..you done got pushed out the nest
Now its all up to you
Fly
Fall
Bounce on your downey butt

Can you handle the rawness of who you really are?

Its a brutal look into a clean mirror.

What happens if you simply go and bravely face what comes
That is what if defined

Brave Pilgrim
There is so much more to you

Once out the door you are not the same person you were 5 min ago.
Memento Vivere

 

[Felicia V]

Just think of the medieval pilgrims.....I can't see them stocking up on compeed and hunting specialty shops for quick drying underwear.
Open the door and walk

 

[Richard Smith]

>> What if i got off the the plane and simply went on a small shopping trip,and bought all that i needed..there?

Slightly off-topic but I hope it fits.
We walked the Overland Track in Tasmania earlier this year, (for the second time - harder as you get older), and there were two french youngsters on the walk. They were childhood friends who were in Australia and one of them found an opening/cancellation for two ppl on the walk. They flew down and spent AU$20 in a charity shop buy the extra treking gear (!!) and some similar small amount on food.
On one hand they were under-equipped/ on the other hand they were young, endlessly cheerful, they never put themselves in danger, and they were an asset on the walk. So glad they were part of our walk.

 

[William Garza]

I stress
About the little details.
What if
J.I.C
what if.....

Middle age folks didnt have much but a wing and a prayer I think
Here i sit looking at this pack and that
This clothing or that
Etc ad nauseum.

In my past..I finally stripped away the what ifs comfort level down to bare traveling essentials
Soap,water,a bit of kibble
In season a warm coat (my duster
A GOOD pair of shoes.
Everything else became just supporting features.

Music.my camera has become the two extras.

If today i could?...

I learned that i usually let the journey decide what i needed and what is a "what if" that wont-didnt-happen.

Thats the beauty of travel.
You strip away that which isnt nessesary to be happy

After a while?
Silence in and out
Peace in mind and spirit
A quiet .
I think in life that we can get exactly what we need if we leave everything behind.

 

[Jane Silverman]

Out here now on the Portuguese and loving it but am lightening up even more. Sent a box of things from Santarem. And I have done the Frances and remember getting to no excess, yet still brought too much to start with this time. Feet not happy and the stuff is part of that - just too much at first.
And this is one of the reasons for being here! To be free to enjoy the countryside and people I meet.
At an Albergue just beyond Águeda now. Spectacular view of the gardens and houses in the valley below. Just heard a chicken. . There is traffic above too but still peace.

 

[Mark McCarthy]

First camino I did. After a prayer to Saint Anthony, I found my passport which had been lost for 3 months, I booked a flight for 6 days later, made a trip out to my local Decathlon, bought a backpack which was way too big, filled it with way too much stuff (I didn't even know this forum existed and didn't have a guide book to advise me against being so stupid) and 6 days later rocked up in Saint-Jean with no training and a backpack weighing 20 kilos; I thought I was going to die walking over the Pyrenees. After dumping almost half my stuff, buying new boots in Decathlon in Estella, and a small visit to hospital I had the most wonderful camino. I am not sure in it is an approach that I would recommend but equally I had the time of my life.

 

[Stroller]

I've seen posts on this forum and elsewhere asking very detailed questions about booking albergues and such matters where the OP is planning for a camino two years or more away If there is nothing to tie you to home there is really very little forward planning needed. Last autumn I was sitting exactly where I am now - a chair at my kitchen table. The view out of my window was miserable - wet and windy. Not that rare an event in west Wales. From making the snap decision to walk the Via de la Plata to having my travel insurance, flight, ground transport to and from the airports in both countries and first night in a Seville hostel booked took well under an hour. I was in Spain and walking within four days. Disentangling yourself from your daily life may take a lot of time and effort - preparing yourself to walk the Caminos really need not!

Me too, in almost the same timescale, when you gotta go you gotta go.

 

[Pink Girl]

It is the bravest of all,
Among the least of us all...

Who steps forth into
Their...unknown

And become he sun that warms us through.

Put on your flying shoes
Dream of things unsaid
Leave the ground behind and shake the cob webs from the mind.
Tis fearfull business for the timid
To step out unto stones among the rapids
Scurling wake
Your soul to take
The thoughts among the vapid

Tis a fearful business
With the ending out of sight
Once
Twice
Thrice away of madding..maddening crowd
They cling..become a crowd

Bourn you are...aiming for the stars
Ripples
Galaxies
The entirety...
Awaits

A simple river it is
A river flows in you
Wanting to join into the milky
Into the mystic
Into the Way

Freedom
Is a step away.

Its only a fearfull business for those who stay.

As for us..we'll see you on the way

Off you go!!

This is absolutely beautiful. Did you write it? The Camino provides and I agree with your sentiment. Let the Camino take you where it will.

 

[William Garza]

Yes, sitting at work thinking about the journey!

 

[wcsjms]

We walked with James (became a family friend), SJJP to Santiago, from Australia, he walked the Frances twice .... in bare feet, no sandals, flip flops, shoes ,sneakers or boots. He had no backpack either just a satchel he picked up in Morocco and a staff. He had dreads that almost hung to his waist and a bottle of rum in a coca cola bottle . I trekked it with no phone and no map ... things seem to work themselves out ;-)

 

[alexwalker]

Yes, sitting at work thinking about the journey!

He, he; retired and also thinking about the next journey: One day (I suppose early September) I will decide when to go, order my ticket, up in the loft to get my primary gear, and 2 days later arrive somewhere in Spain and start walking. The best plan is to not have a plan; just do it and go! Spain is a very siviliced country that offers all you need. I need to get another fix of Meseta walking...

 

[valevenga]

I’m not convinced about the shoes....I bought a pair of boots for my first Camino in June....never even put them on until I was on my way to the airport....broke them in on the Camino...worked out great...one small blister the first week...no problems with my feet the entire Camino del Norte....I like the idea of just going..and after having done my first one, I think it’s a lot simpler than most people think....I think it’s more mental than physical....I also did little to no training in preparation....I really didn’t know what to expect....therein lies the beauty...the unknown...the adventure....the clearing of the mind.....the living in the moment with no distractions....the giving of your full attention to your walking companion—-whoever s(he) may be for as long as that may be....

 

[William Garza]

The other nite the pull on the hearts strings were strong...funny,since I was facing east toward Santiago de Compostella where I was parked.
I can't do heat too well and love the fall..so I think it will be after a September.

Would love the lovely-lonely cold of winter for some reason. The idea of the winds whispering quiet sussuration over bare limb and tossock...of crunchy steps on leave and gravel...the nip of frost and that wonderful North Wind smell...

Of looking out over endless empty vista of bare fields and rolling roads rising up before me.
They say winter's are different in Spain
Winter is the same..its a matter of perspective....I have felt frost bite me
Stinging snow and freezing on contact rain as I walked here in the states
The sound of the cold...grinding its teeth onto dormant things
Have heard the wind making the barb wire(Bob Wahr)...sing a tune
Frost..writing runes on glass,puddle and pond
Its all there to read...

Between strangers...

Smiles become shared experience..yes, I too feel the cold and have walked among the hills

Yes..I too have walked the lonely hills
I have read the secrets on the pane and left before the dawn
Yes
I heard what the wind said...
Fare the well stranger on the glen
For never we will meet again
We two stars in passage saw our lights
And were comforted by the sight.

 

[WalkingJane]

Yes, sitting at work thinking about the journey!

Thank you!

 

[RENSHAW]

Hey Guillermo?! Why not pitch with a little bag with a good pair of walking boots/shoes and something warm and waterproof ...... then see what discarded kit you can get from the albergues for a donation - interesting challenge?

 

[William Garza]

Survivor style? That would be interesting
I am afraid that I am a mule for my Cameras.
I won't be a film maker or story teller..I would like to find my version of the soul of the Camino..or rather..have my preconception shattered into a puzzle that paints what I need to see.

That which i want? And what i get are usually better.
I am a gear ahhh..nut!
My bag would look like the crunches in that old Christmas show...so instead..like you said....
I have seen the road provide..always when needed what you need shows up.
I would love to hop a plane and simply walk out of where ever and go.
A modern primitive?
I am saving as hard as i can..what ill probably do is just-go
Lol won't be for a while yet..but i may surprise post and say..

Santiago? Ill be there soon and keep the light on for me!

What if one day I just walked out of the house and......

 

[yaying]

and......

....if

for more than a decade i have it though!
until now i cant let go!

 

[William Garza]

Just figured out my back pack...dilemma
Ill bring socks,an undie or two and the coat on my back.
And after a nap or three..turn my sunglasses west and just buy what I need..as i need.

No second guessing
No what if
No catastrophising...

Buy a raingear thingy
Maybe better fitting shoes as I walk
A shirt or two and a fleece..maybe fleece t shirts.
A towel or two...

Knowing myself and my needs
I just saved myself from a 65 litre pack or so

Walk light
I figure I will spend a premium over there
But who knows.

What makes me happy
Music..so my phone can hold 2 tb..Mahap enough for the walk
Photos instead of the 50 lbs of interesting rocks,pinecones seeds, and a flower or two
Toiletries..because
That's pretty much todo

Man
Life just got simple-er...