Returned from the Camino trip last Tuesday. While my walking was very strong, I was disappointed with the trip overall. The first two days of walking were through an industrial area so there was a lot of walking very near busy highways. The first day included 3 KM through an industrial park, with warehouses on either side as far as the eye could see. The second day was not as dreary but much the same. The following three days were just beautiful and I enjoyed the terrain very much. I was generally tired at the end of the day, but found the walking very satisfying.

Unfortunately, the first day I got a taste of the issue that would make the trip much less enjoyable than the one we did last year.One big factor was the addition of three more people, last year we were 11 and this year 14. But more to my dismay was the change in the group dynamic.

The woman who organized the trip this year and last traveled both times with her husband, the only man last year and just one of two this year. This year he didn't have a cell phone and he tends always to walk far out in front. I guess I didn't notice it last year because she would call him periodically and they made their plans as they walked along. Since he was without a phone, he just kept walking. The man doesn't "like" to eat and seems to want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible and definitely first. She wouldn't stop if he was ahead without letting him know, impossible under the circumstances. So on day one, despite passing several nice places for lunch once we got into the town, we persevered until one of our group caught up with him and forced a stop. We all descended on a too small cafe, pulled many tables together, made a lot of noise and fuss and asked for a menu. It was siesta in a small town in Spain, so while there was one staff member working, there was no English and not much food. It was insane. One of our group fancied herself a Spanish speaker and so while there were three others, including me, who could get along in Spanish, she insisted that all orders go through her. This made some sense because the server was completely overwhelmed, but her Spanish was not that great and there was much toing and froing while all of us put in our orders. I was embarrassed to be with such a loud group. We really made a spectacle. This was my first inkling that this trip was going to be very different from the last.

Last year, we walked in fluid dyads and tryads and stopped along the way as we wanted. This year, there was much herding up after the first day. Apparently there'd been words between the couple causing him to stop quite a lot and pressure everyone to assemble periodically, so it was very hard to keep going along once he'd decided that an assembly was in order. I didn't want to stop that much, so after day two I just ignored that, but getting out in front caused him to break his neck to catch up and pass. There was never time to just walk along at my own pace. I really began to resent it. My friend Dierdre began to walk with me and we walked ahead and mostly alone for days 3-5. It wasn't until the end of day 5 that I discovered that she really didn't want to do that. She didn't want me to walk alone. Despite my many protests to her over the three days that I didn't mind being alone and that I'd stop along the way when I was tired and surely connect with one or more of the group that way. This really disappointed me, and made me feel that I was keeping her from fully enjoying her trip, so I decided to pass on walking the last day. I just couldn't in good conscience cause her to go against her more social nature by continuing my quest for some solitude and quiet and I knew that I also couldn't supress my frustration with the continual herding up. So, while my walking was very strong; much stronger than last year, I opted to take the train to our final destination on the last day. I didn't care so much about not "finishing," that seldom bothers me, but the knowledge that I would not be happy doing another Camino with this group was a sore realization. The others really enjoyed walking as a big group. Several have said how that aspect of this trip was better for them, so I know that I'm the odd woman on that score. The story of my life!

I'm glad that I stopped though, it made the last day much more fun and, although I felt a little alienated from the group, we had a good final reunion in Santiago, a nice dinner and good return trip home. Had I walked that last day, I'm sure my frustration would have shown and that would have caused tension during our farewells. This way, I had a chance to relax and calm myself and explore the great city of Santiago at leisure. It's a really beautiful place. I would highly recommend a trip there even without the walking.

So, back to Dublin. Our shipment has gone, our return arrangements are made and we have just 8 more weeks to go. Our friends, Linda and Bob, will come on Wednesday, and we are looking forward to showing them the best of Dublin during the week they are here bracketing a week we will spend together in a house in Ballyvaughn, County Clare in the West of Ireland. We've also planned our last trip to Donegal for October 6-8 when I will say farewell to my family there. We are already planning our return for another extended stay in the coming years. As long as I can travel, I'm hoping to have a month or so a year here.