Foibles & Lessons Learned in Planning for a Group Camino
Foibles & Lessons Learned in Planning for a Group Camino
by William Littig | Salt Lake City, UT
A new friend thought he would assemble a collection of older gentlemen with similar historic connections, possibly creating a short film about the benefit of the Camino experience.
Many applied: age, health, and timing thinned the herd to five, including me. As there were five of us, we pre-booked lodging, scripted a calendar, and made a suggested packing list. Some started training. Two had Camino experiences. One person was the designated driver. Three had heart issues and some had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (The original idea was to make a short film that documented how the Camino experience can help people with PTSD.)
Here are some lessons learned:
- Historic connections do not guarantee like minds.
- Health is rated personally and when experienced in real-time, tests all. Caminos are new to most —it is not a day hike with a bath at the end. There are next days and different challenges. People walk at different rates and this new world will delay some people for a photo, rest, or another coffee. We aren’t the same.
- Pre-booking lodging can be unfortunate when the weather changes, stress and strains appear, and the proprietor uses a wide angle lens. Distances are easier without hills. Forty days was too much to outguess.
- We had a driver and a sag wagon to carry the wounded, the gear, and too often the tired and wet. More advanced planning would have helped the driver understand the route into villages, where pilgrims would welcome a seat and a beverage. Car GPS systems are for cars and although finding a small village was the driver’s intention, the walker often had to find the car. Some didn’t mind accepting help through the outskirts of cities and into more pleasant places. Others wanted to walk it all (commendable). The car could return anyone wishing to get out of the rain to their end point. This also meant that the wishes of many could be affected by one. Some enjoyed the predawn while others needed coffee or juice first, i.e. five people with different morning routines. Paces were different too.
- Each person had different needs and or limits. Part of the group saw two story buildings and overpasses as terrain changes while others who lived in the mountains with altitude didn’t.
- Some people could push through pain and others cared not to. One member had two-thirds of a working heart, others had had open heart surgery or ablation surgery—all limiting factors. Caminos can test anyone.
- Mental fitness is very subjective: some found new strength or partial cures, while others manifested limits. On a Camino like this, group dynamics can interfere, and intolerance for others and tensions arise.
Films are often scripted, this cast was too diverse (not the director’s fault). All actors were rewarded. There were celebrations and handshakes in Santiago. I personally want to thank the cast.
