You know you're a pilgrim(or soon to be) when...

[Choweth]

finish the sentence!


{Candace, Texas, USA)
http://www.pilgrimontherun.com
-a blog about life, a bucket list, and a future pilgrimage-

 

[nidarosa]

You can't stop thinking about kilos and kilometres and smiling while you do.

Oh, and afterwards you still pick the seats outside cafés so the sun is on your right to even the tan and fight the urge to take your shoes off! :wink:

 

[Tumbleweed]

You become addicted to this forum and search every inch of it for advice, encouragement and commonalities. Oh and you start say Buen Camino all the time.

 

[billbennettoz]

You start weighing your underwear...

 

[mariposa627]

You are both thrilled and anxious that lift off is in a certain number of days..my number now being 18...
Sent from my GT-P3113 using Camino de Santiago Forum mobile app

 

[billbennettoz]

... you get excited when you see Compeed.

 

[cote.lesta]

You look at all other backpackers and smile THAT knowingly smile!!. :lol: 8)

 

[Damian27]

...you have a feeling that wearing wool sox and sandals will be your new style when you get home

 

[billbennettoz]

... you think €10 for a pilgrim's meal is expensive.

 

[freeflyer123]

you walk to the local shops thinking "I just want to keep on walking until I reach Santiago", and you actually live some 1500 miles away...

This waiting is killing me,

 

[annelise]

- when you get a lump in your throat and become all teary-eyed on suddenly spotting some other backpackers getting onto the Madrid-Pamplona train – and you then suddenly - for the first time actually - realize that this is for real, and no longer just a phantasy...

annelise

PS: just became teary-eyed again on posting this ...

 

[rosswall]

You start weighing your underwear...

I'm with you billbennettoz!!!!!!

 

[SaraTorres]

When you go to your local store, buy a few slices of Jamon, a bread roll and eat it as you go for your walk.

 

[Wotever]

When you hear the bagpipes.

 

[Ian Holdsworth]

When you get your credential from us ~ Peterbrough Pilgrims to Santiago. For details go to
http://peterbros-pilgrimcredentials.blogspot.com

 

[Madidi]

you start weighing your underwear...

then wonder...do I need any at all?? :shock:

 

[JennyH94]

... you can't look at blue and yellow (together) in the same way as prior to experiencing the Camino! Best colours ever! JennyH

 

[Choweth]

You'd rather watch sales at REI (or other outdoor stores) than anywhere else.


{Candace, Texas, USA)
http://www.pilgrimontherun.com
-a blog about life, a bucket list, and a future pilgrimage-

 

[CaminoGen]

Re: Re: You know you're a pilgrim(or soon to be) when...

You'd rather watch sales at REI (or other outdoor stores) than anywhere else.


{Candace, Texas, USA)
http://www.pilgrimontherun.com
-a blog about life, a bucket list, and a future pilgrimage-

That's so me!

 

[Buckeroo]

You measure distances in days and hours.

 

[hecate105]

You burst into tears when you see yellow arrows - anywhere at all, and have to be restrained from trotting off in that direction...

 

[mmm042]

When you get home, see a yellow arrow painted on the ground, and without thinking start following it and looking for the next one. (Yes, I've done this.)

 

[Tia Valeria]

When you get home, see a yellow arrow painted on the ground, and without thinking start following it and looking for the next one. (Yes, I've done this.)

.....and then you take photos of them...........(and Yes, we have done this)

 

[Olivares]

...you get teary eyes when you see a scallop shell.

 

[Larazet]

You have to leave the Way because of injury. It is devastating, heartbreaking and the only thing that helps you through this is not only the thought of your Pilgrim friends striding towards their goal, but that you will return some day to continue what you had held so dear for so long.

Karin..... On the way home...

 

[Buckeroo]

You burst into tears when you see yellow arrows - anywhere at all, and have to be restrained from trotting off in that direction...

A local real estate agent uses yellow arrows on their advertising signs. I keep ending up at properties for sale.

 

[Kanga]

.....when you walk home from work, instead of catching the train.

 

[pattymo97206]

When you get home, see a yellow arrow painted on the ground, and without thinking start following it and looking for the next one. (Yes, I've done this.)

.....and then you take photos of them...........(and Yes, we have done this)

Oh my gosh!! I did this just last week! I was on a walk in Forest Park in Portland and saw a yellow arrow on the pavement and stopped and took a photo of it!! Ultreia!

 

[Phillypilgrim]

When you get your "Credencial del Peregrino" in the mail from American Pilgrims on the Camino (http://www.americanpilgrims.com), which I did today!!

 

[Stlrms]

When you get your "Credencial del Peregrino" in the mail from American Pilgrims on the Camino (http://www.americanpilgrims.com), which I did today!!

I just got mine last week in the mail. After opening the envelope, k took photos of it and texted my children!

 

[ktchnofdngr]

I got mine today, too! Starting to get excited....only 84 more days!

 

[JabbaPapa]

... you have the key of Saint Peter or the palm of Jerusalem hanging on the same cord as your scallop shell.

 

[simply B]

...on your first travel afterwards, you open the door to a pretty standard hotel room and think "This isn't right! There's room for at least 5 more people in here."

 

[JohnMcM]

......... You get a thrill out of reading this forum and learning from, dreaming with, praying for and wishing with others.

 

[rosswall]

......you weigh your ear plugs and find they're only .5 of a gram

 

[carriedavey]

45 years since receiving the sacraments you pour out your heart to a kindly priest and beg forgiveness for your many sins.

 

[JabbaPapa]

45 years since receiving the sacraments you pour out your heart to a kindly priest and beg forgiveness for your many sins.

yes ;o)

 

[carriedavey]

and after receiving absolution, you kneel to pray in that place where so many have prayed before you. NOTHING, scallop shell, compostela, credencial cluttered with sellos, tee-shirt, photo, diary, made me feel more like a pilgrim than that day in Santiago cathedral.

 

[hueppi]

... you walk into a standard supermarket and are completely overwhelmed by all the (unnecessary) products for sale

 

[Daxzentzu]

Well said hueppi

 

[snake87655]

.... you start following random people in London with backpacks on them. then relise they all going or coming back from music festivals. It going be a long summer

 

[dedubya]

When you get your "Credencial del Peregrino" in the mail from American Pilgrims on the Camino (http://www.americanpilgrims.com), which I did today!!

I just got mine last week in the mail. After opening the envelope, k took photos of it and texted my children!

Got mine from the Canadian Pilgrims and my badge from this forum Aug 20 is looming!!

 

[poleskigal]

You say "Buen Camino" to everyone to see.

 

[Camino2010]

There are many! But here are a few, with love... and appreciation for you asking the question!

You know you're a pilgrim when...

Most everywhere you go, you carry lengths of toilet paper with you... and you often grab "just a few sheets more, in case" when you're out and about different places! (maybe this is more of a woman thing )

After you return from the Camino, your first instinct is to say "Buen Camino!" to everyone you meet, and you're surprised when you get strange looks in return. (After you get to the point where you stop yourself from saying it in time, you just feel a little disappointed.)

If you see a yellow arrow painted anywhere, you immediately want to follow it and see where it goes. (And you have the urge to paint yellow arrows in your hometown too!)

You go clothes shopping, and look at everything from the perspective of "Yes, but could I wear it on the Camino??" and decide not to get things that won't work as everyday clothes *and* on the trail.

You look around at your belongings back home and think, "I really have too much stuff!!!"

You see news stories about fighting and misunderstandings around the world (as with what's happening in Turkey right now, for example), and you think of your Camino friends from those places, and how well you got along with people from all sorts of different backgrounds, religions, political beliefs... the loving Camino community... and your heart feels a twinge of "Why can't they get along and love each other like on the Camino?"

You think about distance in terms of how many hours or days it would take you to walk there.

You dream about your favourite food treats you enjoyed when on the Camino, rejoicing when you happen to find one in a local shop, and looking forward to having the others again when you return to Spain. Lemon yogurt... KAS Naranja... Cola Cao... Mmmmm!!!

You appreciate your feet, and the rest of your dear body, in a way you never did before.

You love to check out the Camino webcams and see who's walking past O Cebreiro, or exploring the town square in Portomarin, or arriving at the Cathedral... http://www.crtvg.es/crtvg/camaras-web/c ... b-ervlwqSo

You know you are stronger than you thought you were, you can go farther than you thought you could, and you can handle more than you thought you were able to.

In any, every, moment, you can imagine yourself back to being on the Camino trail, and you feel uplifted, supported, encouraged, and blessed all over again, to have had such an amazing, blessed and life-changing experience... one that will carry and be with you forever.

Oh, and yes, JennyH94... Camino blue and yellow, best colour combination ever. <3

And Karin... I struggled with injury on my first Camino, and I'm sorry you had to leave yours! But I was able to walk again, healthy and recovered, and I hope you may be too, if you wish.

Caminoheart xoxo

 

[trevorcc]

When you book your ticket, and start to count the days.

Trevor (departing OZ on the 17th Sept. :shock:

 

[CaminoGen]

Re: Re: You know you're a pilgrim(or soon to be) when...

When you book your ticket, and start to count the days.

Trevor (departing OZ on the 17th Sept. :shock:

I put a countdown widget on my phone at 100 days... 80 to go!

 

[Helen Burns]

you don't need shampoo - soap will do ... you don't need toothpaste - salt from the refugio kitchen works fine, you lose your guidebook and it doesn't matter, you leave your reading glasses in a cafe in Astorga and only realize this when you are halfway to Rabanal. This doesn't matter anymore either. You stop hurrying for fear there won't be any beds left in the next refugio. There are no beds left so you just keep walking to the next one. You learn what it means to be self-resilient. You learn humility too.

 

[JennyH94]

Caminoheart's 'The Way Of Love' youtube clip is your absolute favourite Camino clip. This clip found it's way to me mid last year after my first Camino - injured and sad - the beautiful photos and video clips, and the soundtrack 'Day By Day' by Doug and the Slugs (best name for a band!) became my mantra for healing. I play the clip most days and it's been sent to more people than Caminoheart will ever know. To see her post on this thread has been amazing, and to have an opportunity to thank her, is a huge privilege for me. JennyH94

 

[laurabasanta]

You've walked to Santiago and you didn't plan to go onto the coast but really want to but can't because of travel timeline.
You've walked to Santiago and you want to walk it again.

When you're walking and know that you're part of a continum of humanity that has been walking for centuries.

When you're walking along the paved Roman road and your feet are sanding away the stones like the thousands of others who have tread that way too.

When a year after you've walked you're missing the fact that you're not going to be walking in Spain this year.

When you're walking and passing peregrinos call out "buen camino!" and you shout it back!
When you're on the way and daily you meet people from all over the world and have great conversations with them!
When you think "how many people walked into Santiago today?"
You know your're a pilgrim when you eat pimientos de padron most days!
When you happen to be in Santiago and there's a pilgrim's mass with the Bishop, you're not Catholic, but tears well up because this is something that you have wanted to do for most ofyour adult life.....

When you just want to return.

 

[Camino2010]

Caminoheart's 'The Way Of Love' youtube clip is your absolute favourite Camino clip. This clip found it's way to me mid last year after my first Camino - injured and sad - the beautiful photos and video clips, and the soundtrack 'Day By Day' by Doug and the Slugs (best name for a band!) became my mantra for healing. I play the clip most days and it's been sent to more people than Caminoheart will ever know. To see her post on this thread has been amazing, and to have an opportunity to thank her, is a huge privilege for me. JennyH94

JennyH, thank you so much!! Your message was a wonderful gift for me to wake up to this morning here in Canada! I am touched and moved that you've been enjoying my "Way of Love" Camino video, and that it's been with you as part of your journey. I'm also pleased that you love the song "Day By Day" too. Doug Bennett, lead singer for Doug and the Slugs (I know... such a great name for a band!), was a creative poetic soul, and that song has spoken to my heart since I first heard it.

I was recently able to thank a pilgrim who had an important impact on me when I was researching and getting ready to walk my first Camino in 2010. She thanked me for my words, and in turn she mentioned a couple of former pilgrims that had helped her on her way, when she was getting ready to set out. This makes me think of another couple of "finish the sentence" statements near and dear to me...

You know you're a pilgrim when...

You feel super excited for pilgrims on their way to the Camino, especially if it's their first time, but even if they've walked before (and sometimes you feel a little envious and wish you were going too ).

You look forward to finding ways to give back and help others on their Camino journey, because you remember how thankful you were to find support and guidance when you needed it, and it's joyful to be able to inspire and encourage people, and pay forward some of the gifts you've received.

That's how it is for this pilgrim, anyway.

Buen Camino!

Caminoheart/Rachel

 

[Brigitte Klaib]

When your backpack is ready and you still have two more months until you leave (August 20).

You keep checking the bag to be certain that everything is the lightest possible. And wonder if you have OCD, because you keep looking at it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Camino de Santiago Forum mobile app

 

[Bytehoven]

When you've been traveling by train from Amsterdam for 14 hours and you haven't seen anyone resembling a pilgrim for the entire way and your next-to-the-last connection is late getting into Bayonne. You have only 60 seconds to get across the station to the tiny single-car train to St. Jean Pied-de-Port...the final one for the evening! You run as fast as you can, bursting into the train to discover the luggage racks full of backpacks, and everyone wearing hiking boots. And there are still two seats left.

Chris & Laura

 

[wawpdx]

You are walking backwards 5 kms because you want to see Eunate. You know it isn't too likely that even the private alburgue will let you stay, heading the wrong direction.

And you know it doesn't matter. You know, that you can sleep in a field if you need to. Not because you have done that, but because now you trust more than you fear.

 

[WayWalker63]

When your kitchen scale spends more time in your bedroom than it does in the kitchen and you still have 15 months left before you leave for your first Camino :roll:

 

[billbennettoz]

...you find yourself parading your underwear on the outside of your backpack.

 

[Damian27]

....you're looking and walking on ANY sandy or grassy patch along a paved road or sidewalk to walk on, no matter how short the distance...because any cushioning is better than none!

 

[mlhhome]

When you get excited at the yellow arrows on the sidewalk that were painted by the local utility company.

 

[clearskiescamino]

I saw a shell on an advertising hoarding recently and it gave me the shivers

 

[clearskiescamino]

When you get excited at the yellow arrows on the sidewalk that were painted by the local utility company.

I can't agree more!!

 

[Kimmy]

...you cut off labels and washing instructions from your gear and clothes in order to save a few extra grams.

 

[Deleted member 22638]

Wow Camillis - respect!

 

[Kimmy]

Kevin - last time I started out with 12 kg... I am not doing that mistake again. Super-duper-light is the motto this time

 

[Deleted member 22638]

Camillis I stopped after weighing my disposable earplugs - lightweight I know ;-)

 

[Kimmy]

Kevin - aint there yet.

It is funny how walking day in and out can be so fabulous. Counting the days until I can go - approx 70 now... Walking with the pack, testing different sock combinations, editing my excel spread sheet packing list. Totally weird - definitely a sign of preparing a Camino. Wish I could go now, but really enjoy preparing for it.

 

[Yogini13]

...you're currently traveling through Europe on holiday and buy a raincoat in Denmark and lightweight, waterproof, comfortable boots in Amsterdam for you're Camino in October of 2014

 

[rosswall]

Camillis you take 1st prize. Love it!

 

[Yogini13]

Oh...and also, I collected scallop shells in Denmark and am reading anything I can find on the Camino! I'm obsessed and I have more than a year to go!!

 

[Icacos]

you return home from your Camino, smile and say a bright 'Good Morning' to a stranger you pass in the street, and get a blank stare in return ... and your heart contracts

 

[Larazet]

Seeing a small child wearing trousers with a shell design - gave me huge nostalgia! And worse. In my hometown of Condom, when I visit for shopping, seeing pilgrims is so moving, almost unbearable.....knowing I have 10 months before I start again having stopped because of muscle strain after 580 kms.

 

[WayWalker63]

Yogini13- ditto on the reading any thing I can find on the Camino. Books, blogs, forums, maps.

Ditto also on buying things as I travel or browse the forum or blogs. So far I've bought an Altus Raincoat, plug converters, a Macabi skirt, and sandals. I've put some of my lightweight quick dry undies aside so they don't get worn out before the Camino.

I've test washed and dried my wool socks and Macabi skirt. Both passed by the way

Also
You know your a pilgrim or going to be when you:

Look at the weight of something before checking out any of the other features.

Want to warn everyone about the evils of cotton.

I don't leave until September 2014 :roll:

 

[Tedh]

You wonder what all these people are talking about, because you haven't done it yet

 

[Kimmy]

...you keep counting down the days until it's time to start walking - exactly two months tomorrow!!

 

[WayWalker63]

Put a countdown app on your phone and iPad. 441 days til wings up!

 

[clearskiescamino]

Like this?

 

[WayWalker63]

Yep! just like that! Praying for away to do it sooner, just not July or August. :wink:

 

[soch]

Re: You know you're a pilgrim when...

You receive PM's from Rebekah Scott, Johnnie Walker and Ivar Revke, all begging for your advice .

 

[Al the optimist]

Thanks for screenshot clearskies
It's also just the thing to remind someone special that you are counting the days until you see them again. Just loaded the app onto my iphone, set it and sent the shot. Guess I just gained a brownie point!

 

[NoorvanderVeen]

you return home from your Camino, smile and say a bright 'Good Morning' to a stranger you pass in the street, and get a blank stare in return ... and your heart contracts

Yep. I needed weeks before I could refrain myself from saying 'hi' to everyone. Got a lot of weird looks.

You know you're a pilgrim when you just can't think of anything else to spend your off-time and holidays on other than prepping for or walking the camino.

 

[Al the optimist]

Just dug out my carry on bag instead of my backpack for a short trip to visit a friend. It just feels so wrong to leave my Backpack sitting there. I feel very guilty for some reason and am almost tempted to be stupid.

 

[amykate]

you finally accept that you WERE on a pilgrimage and not the "walking holiday in Spain" you vaguely referred to before you went because you couldn't be bothered to keep explaining the fact that you didn't actually know why you had been thinking about it for nearly 20 years.
You accept that you don't need to know "why?"and that you plan to complete the bits of the Pilgrimage you missed in the future.

 

[mariposa627]

I was surprised at how many people could not fathom why I would do a pilgrimage. For me, it was in thanksgiving... for many things that have gone right. And I travelled by car to Fatima, carrying others intentions as well as my own, to offer up at the site. If you want to check out my blog that starts with my preparations over a year ago, feel free....

http://www.michelesway.weebly.com



Sent from my GT-P3113 using Camino de Santiago Forum mobile app

 

[ramonvanderburgt]

...you start planning your next hiking trip right after returning. AnnaPurna Circuit, here I come!

 

[JennyH94]

You're at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station in Singapore on the most crowded Saturday morning possible, when EVERYONE is trying to get on the same train as you, and you are attempting to 'remove' yourself from the congestion by day-dreaming about the Camino, and yep, you guessed it, you turn around and the person behind you is wearing a striped polo shirt in Camino colours - blue and yellow! Gotta love this! Cheers - JennyH94.

 

[Pattii]

When you bawl your eyes out reading about how everyone else knew and realize there is actually nothing wrong with you after all!

"those who hear not the music think the dancers mad!" Rumi

 

[indyrem]

...on your first travel afterwards, you open the door to a pretty standard hotel room and think "This isn't right! There's room for at least 5 more people in here."

How true!!! Also caught myself heading to the bathroom sink to hand wash my underwear then realized I packed a lot of undies & don't have to hand wash at all.

 

[DeadFred]

You check the Camino Forum before having your morning coffee

 

[jstorybook]

when certain "smells" smell normal

 

[cableseller]

You feel like you are waiting in Times Square for the ball to drop so you can begin......

10 days and counting now for numero uno

 

[pilgrim b]

When you smile at every stranger.
Then you remember the pilgrim prayer when you get angry with someone.
And you've walked to Santiago and you want to walk it again.
You check the Camino Forum every day.
And you become addicted to books of other 'Camino pilgrims'.
Is that "When you know your a Pilgrim' ?

 

[SYates]

You know you're a pilgrim when you stop judging people and just take them as they are.

 

[Pattii]

You believe he is insane
because the music he dances to
cannot be grasped by your ears.

Rumi

This is the actual quote someone was so kind as to send me...and its sooo true for the Camino

 

[mercurynfo]

...you haven't even walked the Camino once and you participate along with this thread as if you know from experience what you're talking about.

...you take walks around the neighborhood looking everywhere for a stone of the perfect size and shape to bring to Cruce de Ferro. Once you've selected one from the several that you've picked up over the last few weeks, you head to the crafts store to buy acrylic paint so that you can incribe personal notes onto the stone you'll leave behind.

 

[trevorcc]

When you smile at all those you pass as you are out walking, and they do not know why.

 

[nidarosa]

When you nod and smile at everybody carrying a backpack, and though some of them look at you as if you are strange, there's always some who smile back as if they know.

 

[november_moon]

I was surprised at how many people could not fathom why I would do a pilgrimage.

YES! My husband and I are walking the Camino next summer in celebration of my 40th birthday. Fortunately, most people I know either think it is a great idea and seem to understand the motivation, or at least they take the "Yeah, well Jennifer is weird" approach - accept that I have different interests than they do and leave it at that. HOWEVER, there are quite a few people in my life who are totally perplexed by this desire to walk the Camino and want to know why. Why can't I celebrate by going to a resort in the Caribbean like a "normal" person? Why do I want to walk half way across Spain? Why do I want to spend my vacation walking my legs off and sleeping in rooms with bunches of strangers. And I try to explain, but they just don't get it - maybe they don't want to get it.

 

[MendiWalker]

YES! My husband and I are walking the Camino next summer in celebration of my 40th birthday. Fortunately, most people I know either think it is a great idea and seem to understand the motivation, or at least they take the "Yeah, well Jennifer is weird" approach - accept that I have different interests than they do and leave it at that. HOWEVER, there are quite a few people in my life who are totally perplexed by this desire to walk the Camino and want to know why. Why can't I celebrate by going to a resort in the Caribbean like a "normal" person? Why do I want to walk half way across Spain? Why do I want to spend my vacation walking my legs off and sleeping in rooms with bunches of strangers. And I try to explain, but they just don't get it - maybe they don't want to get it.

They don´t get it because they have´t been" blessed".

Buen Camino!

 

[mercurynfo]

november_moon-- St James' Way is said to call certain people and not others. I didn't even realize it at first, but it's been slowly drawing me in after a friend walked 1600 km from the middle of France. I ignored it at first but, sooner or later, the confluence of life experiences struck so deep that I felt compelled to book the trip.

Maybe it's because some people's lives don't present questions in a way that forces introspection in a Camino-like way; maybe it's because self-satisfaction and comfortable pleasure prevent them from seeing the attraction to the charism of the Camino. For some reason, lack of creature comforts and living simply with a singleness of mind and heart scare the #$*! out of some people. Who knows the exact reasons but why would we even want them on the road with us if they can't possibly fathom someone else's journey. I'd rather walk with others and not have to explain why: the only subjects on the Camino should be happiness, health, and prosperity.

...sorry for digressing from this thread topic

Que tengan un gran Camino! Viva Santiago!

 

[Magwood]

......when I was out on a training walk and met a couple who asked for directions. We got talking and I discovered they had walked to Santiago from O Cebreiro. As we parted company they wished me my first 'buen camino'. It took me a few minutes to realise the significance of this, but it brought a smile to my face for days.

 

[Deleted member 22638]

......when I was out on a training walk and met a couple who asked for directions. We got talking and I discovered they had walked to Santiago from O Cebreiro. As we parted company they wished me my first 'buen camino'. It took me a few minutes to realise the significance of this, but it brought a smile to my face for days.

Yes Magwood that was it! After buying a bit of kit in the Trekkers shop in SJPdP I was given my first "Buen Camino" - it put a massive, involuntary smile on my face

 

[Kimmy]

When you celebrate that the Camino is due within 10 days with a walk up the local mountain (1420 meters) and down again and feel sooooooo ready to leave (ok, I am sore in my legs today, but so very happy). Only 9 days to go!!!!!!!!!! :-D