[Gocamino] Re: Gocamino Digest, Vol 13, Issue 3

[Kathy Gower]

Hi,

I'm back after planting street trees all day...

yes I did walk alone and loved it.  I originally walked from SJPP to 
Santiago with three of my sisters, making four of us, as a celeberation of 
my 50th and finishing coursework for a PhD.  Next I walked from LePuy to 
Conques alone and was hooked!

No problem with anything at all and I always found my way.  Well, I did get 
lost a few times, but there's always some serendipitous meeting that put me 
back on course again.  It is advantageous  to speak even a bit of pidgin 
French, though.  People don't really speak English as a rule, but I was 
amazed at what could be put together when I tried.  Being by oneself 
necessitates that trying, for sure.

So far I have walked three different times on the route from Le Puy to 
Moissac, including the variant, and actually really love the French 
segments...the country itself (Notre Dame is the patron of the country) is 
more feminine in the whole approach...homey gites and chambre d'hotes, a 
lusher countryside for the most part.  No judgement here, only observation.

To recap...go by yourself...you'll find a new best friend, and most probably 
it will turn out to be yourself!


From: "Rush Associates" <c.c.rushassociates at verizon.net>
To: <SJFINNELL at aol.com>, <gocamino at oakapple.net>
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Re: Gocamino Digest, Vol 13, Issue 3
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 17:21:26 -0500

Hi Judy and all--of course one is never "alone" on the Camino; I made some 
really good friends,  from Italy, Canada, Australia and France.  And I felt 
the protection of who. . .Santiago?. . . like an aura around me.  (This 
sounds weird.)  But I continued walking after my husband, who had been 
walking with me, returned home.  Even though this was part of the plan from 
the beginning, I faced being "alone" on the Camino with some trepidation.  
Yet where else in the world can a woman walking by herself not only be safe, 
but also feel safe?  And who else but my wonderful husband was supportive of 
this solitary endeavor, when my friends here in upstate NY thought I was a 
bit daft?  The question I got when I returned home was "did anything bad 
happen?"  I had to report that the only "bad" event was my mistake in eating 
large bowls of the delicious caldo callego two days running!  (There was a 
flasher in the woods before Monte Gozo, but other than pick up my pace, my 
reaction was one of pity for him. )

My question of Kathy Gower is: did you walk in France by yourself?  Is it 
safe for women walking by themselves?  I am planning to walk in France next 
September, on the Chemin de Compostelle, but I'm not sure of which route.

I miss the Camino, I miss Spain, I miss all of the people I met and talked 
with along the way.  I celebrated my 69th birthday and my 36th wedding 
anniversary on the Camino.

Pat Rush, Schenectady, NY


   ----- Original Message -----
   From: SJFINNELL at aol.com
   To: c.c.rushassociates at verizon.net ; gocamino at oakapple.net
   Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2005 4:41 PM
   Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Re: Gocamino Digest, Vol 13, Issue 3


   I just finished 31 days on the Camino alone, but not alone. I left SJPDP 
on 9/22 alone. I met people on the Camino. Sometimes talking only minutes. 
Sometimes an hour or so. As I saw familiar faces over the days, I walked 
some with my new friends. Mostly I was alone. On the 8th day, I got very 
homesick and was ready to go home. An Australian couple I saw several times, 
encouraged me to keep going. Later that morning I found my German friend, 20 
yrs old. And later that night I was able to talk to my family. I turned 50 
on the trail. That was my motivation. To do something amazing for my 50th 
BD.

   After talking to my family and connecting with a familiar face/the German 
named Dominik, I finished in 31 days on Oct 22. I am so glad I kept going. 
Although I left the USA alone, I don't feel like I was alone. There were so 
many people I met and saw in the cities and Alburgues', I don't feel like I 
did it alone. Every need was met when I needed something. Other pilgrims 
help each other.

   Judy Finnell
   Pittsburgh PA
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