I hate the camino so far (day4)
Fyi, I‘m 20 and doing the coastal route solo.
I thought the camino would be a much different experience. I read so much about it, how people get epiphanies, become more self-aware, make friends, etc.
So far, all I could think about was nothing (24/7 exhausted). Every albergue I‘ve been to so far smelled like piss, had a bunch of old men walk around half-naked, and I had to wake up in the middle of the night because I was so cold. Also, in my experience, making a „camino family“ is so difficult and stressful. When I walk with others, I‘m exhausted from keeping up with them and having to apologise every 10 minutes because I take a quick photo break. Also I get exhausted from talking and walking at the same time. But when I walk alone, which I started to do, I get to the albergue, and I feel so lonely (even when I‘m chatting with others). If I don’t have a person that is with me all the time (I made a camino friend occasionally, but they walked further than me), I feel lonely no matter how much small talk I do. I also hate how everyone makes it seem like 30 kilometers a day is the bare minimum, my feet feel flattened and numb when I walk 23km a day. I hate how I‘m young, but still get walked past by 30 people a day, including old people, and how everyone who starts walking later than me ( I wake up super early, too), gets to the albergue hours before me. My clothes stink, I literally eat the same thing every day.
So far, the best thing was the spectacular views. I genuinely am so happy when I walk because of the views. I feel calm and accepted by the sea, and I‘d much rather just sit all day on top of a cliff and write, eat tasty Spanish pastries and talk to nobody, and then get to my own space, unlike a shared albergue. But obviously, if I sit around for hours I‘ll never make it to Santiago. And also, I‘ve been walking 40 thousand steps a day, and you would imagine that I would have lost some weight by now. But I‘ve never felt more heavy, my legs look twice the size they usually do.
I would feel like a loser if I would just give up now. And I honestly don’t want to, because I know that would make me feel worse than I do now.
But is it possible, that the camino just isn’t for me? I read so much that the camino is fantastic, and for everyone, but am I an outsider, once again? Does the „camino magic“ simply not work for me?
Is this normal to feel like this on day 4? Will it typically get better? If so, at what point is it actually not going to work, and I better go home?
Posted May 12, 2026, 3:04 PM UTC