Planning

It's eighteen days till we leave St Jean Pied de Port to walk 800km. 
Thirteen days until we leave Canada. 
Thirteen days to decide what we want to take - what we need to take - with us!
Thirteen days to make sure we are ready!

So we've practiced walking, broken in our hiking boots, practiced walking, invested in quick drying, moisture wicking clothes, done some walking, researched and purchased socks, (lots of socks!) walked some more, read books  about other people walking and then walked again! 
But here in Nova Scotia no amount of practice can prepare us for crossing the Pyrenees! 

I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and dread. I know I can walk, and I know I can walk a fairly long way - but can I do that everyday for six weeks?
What if I get blisters? They hurt and I'm not a big fan of pain, especially blister pain when there is still 20km to walk. My boots seem to be comfortable - after a 26km walk my feet feel tired but they don't hurt, there aren't any 'hot spots' - but will that be the same after a week of walking 20km a day?


This desire to walk the Camino began many years ago when a friend's mother walked it. It seemed a crazy idea for someone's mother to walk 800km, with a backpack! Then my friend did some of it - and seemed to enjoy it! 
It seemed like something we should do someday...
Then a few years ago we took a holiday in France in the village of Lauzerte, in Tarn-et-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France. Everyday we saw hikers passing through the village on the French part of the walk, they were on their way to St Jean. 
So we walked some of the route through France too - but only a little bit!

Bizarrely, around this time we heard about a film staring Martin Sheen and Emilo Estevez called 'The Way'. It's about a man who walks the Camino after the death of his son. So we watched it - we watched it again in France too. That was it - we knew it wouldn't be like the film but we wanted to do it - when we retired!

But when will we retire? What if one of use gets sick? What if we never do it because we never get around to it, what if...

So now we have time booked off work, we have house/pet sitters arranged, we have flights and accommodation booked,we have our rucksacks ready. 

Eighteen days...

(I wonder when James Nesbitt will join us?)