From the Top Down

It can be cold in Spain.  It can also be very hot.  I'm going at a time of year where I will most likely experience a little of both.   Sunscreen and a hat are highly recommended.

I look good in a hat but because I've worn my hair short for nearly 30 years, wearing a hat has two drawbacks.  

First, I look like a cancer patient when I have a hat on because my hair is so short.

Second, when the hat comes off, I have tee-pee hair.

Neither of these are issues are dear to me...so what to do?  I have to wear a hat...especially on the meseta.   There is little shade on the meseta and I will have to protect my head and face.

My solution was to just grow my hair out.   Since 1986, I've loved having short hair and never intended to grow it out again.  Never.

In May 2012, I had my last haircut.  Surprisingly enough, I love my hair longer and may not wear it short ever again.   If not for planning my Camino walk, I may never have experienced long hair again.

The Camino is working its charms on me already.

Buen Camino!

Fulfilling Promises.

I always promised my Mom I'd take her to Europe.  I also promised her that one day, I'd buy her a convertible Mercedes.   Neither of these came to pass because my Mom died in 2009 at the age of 74.

On what would have been her 80th birthday, October 1st, 2013, I will put my boots on the ground and begin walking the Camino de Santiago in Roncesvalles, Spain.   Mom's ashes will be with me as I walk.

Although our relationship was troubled at worst and guarded at best, I know she did the best she could.  I tried to do right by her, also, and although Spain is not an experience we will share in person, we will share it in a different way:   As a daughter who has a spirit of faith and adventure and who carries the spirit of her mother next to her heart.

Carrying the ashes of a loved one on board an airplane is regulated.  Rather than jump through all the TSA hoops, I elected instead to buy a necklace specifically designed to carry the cremains of a loved one.  The necklace I bought is a silver "8".  I chose this symbol because "8" is an auspicious number according to Chinese principles of feng shui.  Will it help me?  I couldn't say, but it certainly can't hurt!

I am so glad I am able to take this journey and that my Mom's spirit will be with me.   I will fulfill a promise to her even as I embark on the greatest adventure of my life.

And, although I will never be able to buy her that convertible Mercedes, I did buy myself a convertible BMW this week.  I am sure my Mom would be thrilled about that!  I know that I am.

Buen Camino!

For cremation jewelry, see Everlasting Memories website:
.http://www.evrmemories.com/cremation-jewelry-s/2.htm

Coincidences?

I've had a few a-ha moments in the past few months. My intuition is guiding me to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain and a few things have struck me as coincidental.  Coincidences that seem to lead back to my bond with the Camino.

#1 - I had a new client whose name was Santiago.  I've never met anyone with the name Santiago.   Whether it was a sign or not, I choose to believe that it is.  Santiago is the city that pilgrims walk from many different points in Europe to reach.  Santiago is where Saint James in said to be interred.

#2 - I had another new client with a name corresponding to a town on the Camino.  His name was Najera.  Najera is a small town on the Camino Frances route that I will walk.

#3 - A fox went running through my back yard, jumped my fence and was gone.   After I am finished with my Camino, I plan to go spend a couple of days at the Little Fox House which is the home of Tracy Saunders, and is a place to go after walking the Camino to have a little retreat, time to reflex, decompress and relax.    http://pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com/p/casa-do-raposito-little-fox-house.html 

#4 - I plan to fly from Kansas City to Madrid.  I am taking some of my Mom's ashes with me because I'd always told my Mom I would take her to Europe one day.  I am making good on that promise and she will be with me in spirit.   The airport code for Madrid is MAD.   My Mom's initials - MAD.

I am sure more coincidences will happen between now and October and I will post them here.  For now, I am grateful that things are coming together for me; that I have the desire and motivation to make this journey happen and that I have a life that will allow me to follow my bliss.

Buen Camino!

Pick a Pack, But Not Just Any Pack!

I have read and read and read about backpacks.   I read opinions, I read reviews and I've spent countless hours on the REI website as well as the Osprey website.   Making notes, comparing features, comparing weight and whether or not different packs come in a torso size that will fit me.  I have a short torso.

There are backpacks of all kinds that come in size small; but, these backpacks are not in stock anywhere closer to me than Bloomington, Minnesota.   I would have driven there if I'd had to but ultimately, didn't have to.

I knew, though, that I couldn't just order a backpack online and hope that it would fit.  My combination of short torso and wide hips made it a sure bet that something would be ill-fitting.  I knew I had to try them on in person with the assistance of a salesperson who knows backpacks.

I had good luck at Backwoods in Overland Park, but it took an hour of trying on packs to finally find one that would work.  The Osprey Exos that I wanted just didn't fit.   What fits in the hips didn't fit in the shoulders and vice versa.   I was beginning to wonder if I would leave empty handed.

I settled on a beautiful Osprey Kyte 46 in medium, but it fits me well.  It's comfortable but it is actually way heavier than I'd wanted it to be.  

You see, the heavier the pack itself is, the less I can put in it before it reaches a weight that is the maximum that I can carry.  A pack at 3.5 lbs is pretty hefty.

I had no choice.   No choice except drive to Bloomington and hope the REI there would have something else.

If I wind up needing to do that later in the year, I will.  But for now, I have a pack and I can train with it and get accustomed to carrying pounds on my back.

The backpack will be near and dear to me for many many steps.  It's important for it to fit and be comfortable.  My Osprey Kyte 46 seems to accomplish both.

Buen Camino.

Decisions, Decisions.

There are so many things to figure out, understand and decide when planning a Camino walk. Since I have not yet walked it, I don't have the gift of hindsight. All I know is what I've learned and what I've done so far.

There is such an overwhelming amount of information available. This is both good and bad. Good in that most anything I need to know, someone has answered the question somewhere. Seek and ye shall find!

The bad part of this is that it's easy to get caught up and bogged down in information. At some point, is it information overload?

I believe so. At some point, a person needs to stop reading and start doing. I am at that point.

I am sure there are still things I will learn between now and October 1st but at this point, I need to start getting my body in shape. I am not now nor have I ever been athletic. This is not an athletic trip for me. This is a journey of spirituality.

But, even though it's a spiritual trip, my body still needs to be able to take it. Day after day, walk walk walk. This will be an undertaking that my body will have to endure...and I need to be sure that I've done what I can to help it be ready.

So, for now, I'm edging back on research. I have two Camino books here but am not reading them. I am, however, studying a book on Spanish and will be taking a Spanish Immersion class next month. Other than learning Spanish and getting in the habit of walking miles and miles each day, I think I've done enough research. 

I've got my backpack, my boots, my trekking poles; there are only a few other items I will need.

What I need most is to be able to walk 5 - 10 miles a day. No more research. It time to walk. And, God willing, I will be ready for it.

 Buen Camino!

My Research: It's Dynamic, Not Static

I'm reading everything I can get my hands on.   As a solo traveler, knowledge is power.   By reading so much, I tend to get a lot of redundant information.  But, each person shares things uniquely and everything I read offers up various tidbits of information that will ultimately help me.

The plans I'd made initially, from the backpack I would carry to my flight destination in Spain, have changed several times...all because of the research I'm doing.

The APOC Forum on Facebook is one of the most helpful.   Here is where actual pilgrims....veteran and hopefuls....share their insight, their fears and their blessings.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/57453722347/   

The APOC Website.  Please join APOC and support their cause.  You will get a free patch for your backpack and a free credencial to take on your journey:  http://www.americanpilgrims.com/   

The Camino de Santiago forum where answers to questions of all kinds can be found :  http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/  

Books I've read:

John Brierley's "A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago"

Hape Kerkeling's "I'm Off Then:  Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago"

Shirley Maclaine's "The Camino:  A Journey of the Spirit"

Joyce Rupp's "Walk in a Relaxed Manner"

Susan Alcorn's "Camino Chronicles"

Cheryl Strayed's "Wild"

 Jean-Christie Ashmore's  "To Walk Far, Carry Less"

Conrad Rudolph's "Pilgrimage to the End of the World"

Blogs I follow:

Patricia Herr "Girls on the Way" is a wonderful day-by-day blog of their journey.  http://www.girlsontheway.com/   

Bill Bennett "PGSTheWay" is an Australian's journey.  http://pgstheway.com/

And, of course, Emilio Estevez's movie, "The Way".

I spend time reading & researching the Camino each and every day.  This list is not inclusive; nor does it end here.  I will update this from time to time.

Buen Camino!

Following My Intuition

I'm often asked what made me decide to plan a walk on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I really can't say. My original plan was to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan, which is a pilgrimage of similar length to the Camino. On the Shikoku Pilgrimage, however, there is not an actual ending place as there is on the Camino pilgrimage. The Shikoku Pilgrimage takes the henro (pilgrim)on a circular journey around the island of Shikoku to visit each of the 88 main Buddhist temples. Being more of a Buddhist than a Christian, this pilgrimage speaks to me.

The Camino de Santiago, in contrast, begins in Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, France and moves across northern Spain until the peregrino (pilgrim) reaches the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela where the remains of Saint James are allegedly interred. People have been making this pilgrimage for hundreds of years. It's a 480-mile walk.

Something was pulling me to the Camino and I kept rebuffing it. I kept researching Shikoku. Intuition is a guiding force in my life, however, and I always trust that still, small voice of God. The pull was so strong. It kept putting things in front of me about the Camino and in early 2012, I acknowledged that I would walk the Camino instead of the Shikoku. I abandoned my research of Shikoku and turned my attention fully to the Camino.

I've long been loathe to visit Spain because of reports of how badly they treat their animals (bulls and galgos most notably) and I didn't want to give tourist dollars to a country that won't protect its animals.

But, trusting my intuition, I began my research on the Camino. I hunted the library for books, hunted for books via inter-library loan, watched videos on YouTube, found like-minded people and groups on Facebook, and discovering Blogs and websites. There is a lot of information about the Camino. Far more than on the Shikoku.

For me, a good chunk of the fun of a trip is the research I do prior to leaving home. I've been researching for well over a year now. I will walk the Camino in October 2013.

By planning this trip, I am following the same intuition that I followed when I made a quick trip to Wyoming in a snow storm to visit my Mom in January 2009. Had I not followed my intuition, I would never have seen her again. She died unexpectedly two months later. Intuition is a strong and powerful force. When it speaks, I listen.

Buen Camino!