Walking company!

[David Smith]

Hello all. I have just come across this great forum while looking for a bit of advice.
I have completed the Sarria to Santiago leg in June this year and loved every second. Great sights, and met great people. I would like to walk another leg in February or March 2012 (from O Cebreiro or Ponteferrada to Lugo) but have no plans made yet. Just wondering is it possible to meet other folk who plan on doing the same route, as I would rather not walk it solo.
Thanks guys
David

[grayland]

Hi David,
You will have no problem hooking up with a "group" of some size starting the first day. It is normal.
Leave with the others in the morning and by noon you will be part of the group....then simply pick and choose who you will want to walk with on a daily basis.
That way you are not committed to walk with someone who may not be compatible as to walking speed or other consideration.

[Precious1]

From a petite gal's pov...when you are the champ of being the slowest on the Camino..lol, not a strapping man or woman with no old knee war wounds ... it would take a good friend to keep up with one or wait up for ya ahead. Everyone was passing me as is, and I spent hours trekking meditating alone, which is desirable, up to a point, but I knew I had a friend waiting somewhere ahead, and they were also into keeping up with my slow trekking several times a day for conversations and laughs that one can only have with a good friend, then bolt ahead lol.
Even folks I had made a connection with were not into walking so slowly for long.
If a petite trekker were to do the Camino solo, meeting someone who clicked as a compatible partner would make the difference; more than likely it would happen, else it would be a pretty solitary trek.don't know as I would want a steady diet of that.
But I'm up for the challenge!! This is something I'm doing for the rest of my life, one way or the other.
Now, to just save that money for the ticket to cross the pond again. lol
That St. James works in mystical, mysterious ways. :]

[Thomas007]

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and thought I would get involved since I've decided to walk the Camino in May and June 2012. I've been reading a lot of posts and I am finding a lot of good information. Thanks. I'm a rather quiet person but would like to have someone to walk with...someone who is interested in exploring places along the way, too. I'm 42, American, living in France since 2006, and have all the time in the world. I'm hoping to meet someone (preferably male, non-smoker, Catholic) between 21 - 45 years old in good physical condition. You can see more about me on my profile if you are a registered user. That's all for now. I am just saying hello as my first posting. Hope to hear from you (plural) soon. Oui, je parle un peu de francais. --Thomas

[joe]

I worried about these things a few months ago before I started my Camino... the chances of meeting someone on here who will start on the exact same date, exact same place and will walk at the same pace is very unlikely... not to mention the fact that you may not be compatible personality wise. So because of this you should not worry about starting alone, I can guarantee you right now that you won't be the only person starting alone. You may even walk alone for a few days, but in those few days you will pass several people who you will see several times throughout each day, these are the people you should talk to! They are likely to have the same walking speed if you keep seeing them. You can walk with them but in my opinion I would suggest only walking with the same person for 1 or 2 hours at a time because if you walk and talk for any longer then your conversations will burn out in the long run. Usually I would walk with a person (or a few people) for about an hour, then I would either walk ahead or take a break for some alone time. They won't think you are being rude or anything because everybody should have some walking time alone each day. Then at the end of the day you will probably meet up, have a few drinks and a nice meal with them.

So all in all, don't worry... the Camino is one of the best places on Earth to meet genuine people from all backgrounds.

[Thomas007]

Thanks Joe,
The more I read about the walk, the more I learn. I am starting to think that I will make a whole bunch of new friends on the Camino. I've decided to just see how it goes. It's early days yet but I am already starting to think about exactly when to begin the Camino. I think I will enjoy it the most in May. I'd like to finish in time for my birthday in June. That would be a real treat. Rain doesn't bother me. Again, thanks for your reply to my post. Take care, Thomas