Day 4: The Camino is Cruel!

The Camino is cruel!

(Rachel says I should stop my post right here and insert pictures of blisters, feet covered with duct tape, us exhausted and sweaty after a long day and the hills.)

Pictures of hills don’t do them justice. You just can’t appreciate the ascents and descents in 2D form.

But really, the Camino lures you in, making you think that of course you can walk it. What’s 15 miles? A five hour walk at 3 miles an hour. Stops along the way at cafes. Changing landscapes, interesting people.

Well, we are four days in and reality is upon us. We’ve all agreed that 12 miles a day isn’t bad. But those last three (or more) chew us up and spit us out! The Camino shuffle becomes a real thing. I start thinking to myself…”just keep moving.”

The Camino lures you into thinking that a 3 mph pace should be do-able. Then you see the hills. I can’t figure out which is worse—uphill or downhill. Rachel says the only time she doesn’t hurt is uphill. Eric prefers flats, with smooth terrain so he can look around instead of watching his step. I do downhill ok with my walking sticks. And all I have to do is take three steps of an ascent and I’m breathing heavily. But I make it up ok—just panting. And, forget the 3 mph pace!

And, if the panting didn’t concern me, the wayside markers of those who died along the Camino bring to mind new thoughts. Let me just say right now that if I die along the Camino, I will have died doing what I want to do. I was going to say I would die a happy person, but when I’m breathing up a lung, that might not be considered happy!

Then there’s my backpack! The blessing and curse of the Camino. Of course, you need it to transport your gear. But my little backpack that I was so proud of (weighing in at maybe 12 lbs) feels like it must weigh at least 20. And when I pick it up in the last few miles, it has grown to 30!

Another cruelty of the Camino is the guidebook. Great synopsis of every little village you come to. But is it really accurate? Those distances seem like a gross underestimation. And the cafes that it assures you are in the village—are they really? And if they are, will they be open? And if you happen to pass it up (because for 3 days, you didn’t realize an albergue was more than just a place to stay and could also be a bar, cafe, restaurant), you don’t DARE turn around to get to it!

Do you see what I mean? The Camino is cruel—offering hope, promising things it just can’t provide, making you think things are just around the corner, drawing you onward to the next village.

And each village does beckon! It’s an adventure. And well worth the cruelty. I’m content (at this point) to have a love/hate relationship with the Camino.

[Just keep walking….]