One of my many concerns, when planning my Camino trip, was my ability to stay on track. How to not get lost and/or lose my way... Mentally and geographically!
Mentally I think I got lost the second I boarded the flight to Barcelona. Letting go of my attachment to time, plans and any particular outcome happened fairly quickly and was likely one of the more important steps on my Camino journey. I would say I was somewhere in the middle of the continuum in this regard.
In Saint Jean I met a young American guy who had zero plans, zero attachment to outcome and zero common sense! Obviously a free spirit - which I kinda envy - but with no accommodation pre-arranged in a small village that is the start of the Camino Frances, he was facing either an expensive hotel or a night in the open air. He was last seen tucking a baguette under his arm and heading up the hill to the citadel, where his first night in France would be spent in a hammock.
On the other end of the spectrum, I met a woman who only had 28 days to spend on the Camino. Her plan was to walk 30km per day and finish the whole thing. My feet were hurting after 20km and I had sturdy boots, some pre-Camino hiking to my name and a light pack. I watched her take off early in her little black sneakers... And I ran into her a week later with a bad knee and a change of heart.
Here's the fun part of this post; finding your way on the Camino is not super difficult. All you have to do is follow the signs. Once you know what the signs are, you'll see them frequently!
A collection of my favorites:
Mentally I think I got lost the second I boarded the flight to Barcelona. Letting go of my attachment to time, plans and any particular outcome happened fairly quickly and was likely one of the more important steps on my Camino journey. I would say I was somewhere in the middle of the continuum in this regard.
In Saint Jean I met a young American guy who had zero plans, zero attachment to outcome and zero common sense! Obviously a free spirit - which I kinda envy - but with no accommodation pre-arranged in a small village that is the start of the Camino Frances, he was facing either an expensive hotel or a night in the open air. He was last seen tucking a baguette under his arm and heading up the hill to the citadel, where his first night in France would be spent in a hammock.
On the other end of the spectrum, I met a woman who only had 28 days to spend on the Camino. Her plan was to walk 30km per day and finish the whole thing. My feet were hurting after 20km and I had sturdy boots, some pre-Camino hiking to my name and a light pack. I watched her take off early in her little black sneakers... And I ran into her a week later with a bad knee and a change of heart.
Here's the fun part of this post; finding your way on the Camino is not super difficult. All you have to do is follow the signs. Once you know what the signs are, you'll see them frequently!
A collection of my favorites:
Last, but by no means least, following another pilgrim works well too. They wear a distinctive uniform; convertible pants, hiking boots and a medium sized backpack, often with a flattish sea shell dangling from behind.
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