Well, I'm 13 days from starting my walk on the "Camino de Santiago".  Ten days until I fly to Paris. The picture is of my pack that I will be living out of for 42 days! It weighs right at 15 pounds. It has just about everything a body "NEEDS", there are some creature comforts there too. In it, among other things are my sleeping bag, poncho, extra pants ( convertible, the legs zip off and make shorts), 2 shirts, a wind suit, 3 pair underwear, 3 pair of socks, a first aid kit, including sutures for wound repair if needed, flashlight, and sewing kit.

     My trip will start with a flight on August 29th to Montreal, then on to Paris.I will arrive in Paris at 0830 Paris time on the 30th. Then I ride 3 trains to a small town in south France called St Jean Pied de Port  (Saint John at the foot of the mountain pass in French). I will arrive at just after 8 pm and stay at a private house Gite Ultreia. There I will rest a day and gather last minute supplies, i.e. food, water etc. The last night in France, I will be staying at L'Esprit du Chemin, a hostel set up by a couple Arno and Huberta for Camino pilgrims. There on August 31 the group will have "The Last Supper". It was my idea to call it that because it is the last meal we have as who we are now, before the Camino changes us. It caught on so much, that a patch was designed and people all over the world are ordering them and sewing them on their packs. I will get mine when I get there.

    On September 1, a group of pilgrims ( peregrinos in Spanish) will leave St Jean Pied de Port. This first day(s) will take us over the Pyrenees mountains up to about 1450 meters or a little over 4700 ft. We will cross over into Spain in the Pyrenees. Not very high but the climb is over about 20km (12 miles). Some of the peregrinos will stop for the night in Orrison about 10km or 6 miles, while others including myself ( hopefully) will continue the entire 25 km (15 miles) to Roncesvalles ( Valley of Thorns). This first day will be very challenging and probably the most challenging day of the entire trek as far as difficulty.

    The other challenges will be blister prevention and the constant pounding on the body carrying a pack day after day averaging 25km (15 miles). That is a half marathon everyday. I have allowed enough time to stop in some of the cities and villages to sight see and rest. I anticipate the entire journey will take about 35 days.

    Right now, I'm fighting the wait!!!! Packing, repacking, trying to weed out any unnecessary equipment. I'm sure along the way, I will cull some stuff and probably pick up some stuff. By the time this pilgrimage is over, I hope to be humbler, wiser and fit!!!!

Buen Camino
Snake