Don't do that.
The entire point of the camino is that it is in no way relatable to anyone else's.
I have a sleeping bag. Many do not. We landed in Madrid. Many did not. I have waterproof hiking shoes but am on day 3 of wearing knock off crocs, one of my travelling partners is in sandals and has been the whole time.
Reading online forums gave me such a negative stigma towards anyone who has their pack transferred or submits to needing to jump into a vehicle at some point or another. Yesterday we took a high road and backtracked into the town we thought we'd stay in. At 4pm we arrived and the entire town was full, no hotels and there was a storm threatening. The next town was 10km away and we had to take a taxi. Our group is young and in good shape and everyone one of them were nearly in tears (or was in tears) as we floated effortlessly in a taxi over kilometres we have become so accustomed to conquering on foot. During this low, I was feeling a moment of elation as I watched the emotions around me. When we struggle and moan all day, begging the universe for the next town to appear around the next corner we lose sight of exactly how much this "walking" means to all of us in our own ways. You can't do a camino wrong. You can't f#ck up your camino. It is about the victories, the defeats, the acquiring of new friends and the separation of our walking companions. I have felt these voids before and know in my heart that without them you have no capacity -or appreciation- to refill those voids.
So many people see their hearts as a container that they fill throughout their lives. I like to think of it more as a waterfall, sometimes the water is so low that you feel it may run out completely, but new sources ( and experiences in life) raise it again and all remains connected.
Plan as little as you can for your own camino and start slow. Every day is a mountain, every day requires it's own strength, but that is the point of this journey.
Ramble on.
Everybody contemplating the Camino should read this. You are so right. I love the part about the waterfall. I did the Camino last year and am going back in September to volunteer for a month and walk from Astorga to Santiago. Buen Camino!
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