Due to technical difficulties beyond my control, my website was down for 8 days and trying to restore it from an iPhone proved to be a bit difficult. Basically, an addin when WordPress updated my site did not load properly but, who really cares about why…
As I was flying back home, I began to think about my 2019 Camino trying not to compare and contrast it to my trip in 2017 but, I found that it was impossible to do.
The first thing that struck me was the complete difference in the social structure. On the Camino Frances (CF), you were immediately thrown together with dozens of Pilgrims in Saint Jean Pied de Port (SJPP) waiting to assault the Pyrenees. I met Leo within an hour of arriving in France, not so in Ferrol where I began my Camino Ingles (CI).
On my way to Ferrol, I saw no Pilgrims on the train that ran between A Coruna and Ferrol, unlike the train from Bayonne to SJPP which was packed with excited Pilgrims from around the world.
I began my walk on Day 1 early on a Sunday and I did not see another person for over an hour and not another Pilgrim for most of the day. By the end of my Day 1 on the CF, I’d met at least a dozen people.
By Day 3, I finally began to meet other Pilgrims on my way to Bruma, first when seeking shelter from the rain at the Meson Museo in Presedo and again at the Hotel Canaima in Meson do Vento. The bar at this hotel seems to be the hub of activity for this entire area.
I finally met a walking partner, Grace from Prince Edward Island, Canada on the 4th day, I’d met a friend of her’s, Pat, the day before. Grace and I walked most of Day 4 and all of Day 5 (in a pouring rain) until we reached Santiago. It was cold, windy and raining so no prolonged celebration at the Cathedral.
After the slow start on the social side of the Camino, I was rewarded with a planned meeting with Camino friends from 2017, Chris and Steve Mark and a group of Chris’s students from Texas A&M. This was followed by another 2017 alumni, Leo who met us in Astorga. Old friends, Leighton and Renee who’d caught up with my Germany friend, Katja, showed up as well. Now, I had a Camino Family.
Another difference was the weather which played a significant role in both Camino’s. 2017, pleasant most of the time, HOT some of the time. This year, pleasant rarely, COLD, WINDY and RAIN most of the time. The weather is one of the challenges that you must always be prepared for.
On my arrival in Ferrol this year, it was a beautiful day, sunny and quite pleasant. It began to rain off and on Day 2 and rained regularly from Day 3 on. As I walked from Sigueiro to Santiago, Grace and I were in a pouring cold rain most of the way.
In 2017, other than the first two days and the last days in A Coruna, other than hot, it was very nice and clear for most of the month. The day I walked into Villafranca del Bierzo two years ago it was 40/104. This year, easily 30 degrees (F) cooler.
The final difference between my two Camino’s was continuity. On the CF, I started in SJPP and in roughly 35 days, I walked, almost everyday, until I reached Santiago. Along the way, I picked up friends who for the most part walked the same route at more or less the same pace which deposited us in Santiago at the same time.
This year, as I mentioned earlier, I walked a shorter route, the CI, alone for 60% of the way. While I was prepared for that, it was still a bit unnerving in a way. Lots of time to think, no one to hear me swearing when I hurt my knee but also, no one for moral support as I limped on.
After Santiago, I did get a family and a familiar one as we all got together in Villar de Mazarife and again in Astorga. Walking, being with my friends, old and new was amazing. Catching up with Leo who lives here in the Dallas area was a special treat.
I also got the opportunity to continue to build my friendship with Katja who I’d met on my last day on the Camino in Finisterre two years ago. I call her the Camino Beast as she’s done the CF, twice. Last year she did part of the Norte and the Primativo. This year, she warmed up with us from Astorga to Sarria before heading south to do an alternate route of the Via de la Plata, the Camino Sanabres. I was thrilled to get her introduced to my other friends, especially Leighton and Renee. Camino friendships are lasting friendships, at least for me.
I guess, what I’ve realized is that no two Camino’s are the same. If you go hoping to recreate or relive a previous Camino, I think you will be disappointed. Each Camino to me is like successive waves in the ocean, each washing over you in a similar but different way.
For me, this Camino stands solidly on it’s own. New experiences, new scenery, new aches and pains, new friends and new accomplishments. All of this tempered by the comfort that familiarity brings. It was only when I let go of 2017 that I could truly enjoy 2019.
Thomas Wolfe said it best I guess when he said, “you can’t go home again“. What he meant was that you can return but, the place you loved and thought you knew so well, will not be the same. But, is that all so bad?