Buen Camino!  I am in St Jean and I am loving every minute. I have met so many new people and this French city takes me back to my days traveling France when living in Belgium in the 80's!  Helen and I just keep saying "Is this a dream"?  "Are we really seeing these flowers and buildings and mountains?  Are we really hearing people speak French"?  It is true. I am a Europhile to be sure!
    We departed Dulles a half hour late, but arrived in Madrid on time.  Picked up our poles from baggage (some took poles on board the plane which we were told we could NOT!!) and took a bus to the Alsa busline.  One bus ride for 3 hours and another for 2, and we ended up in Pamplona.  Istvar (our Hungarian host) picked us up and drove us another 45 minutes around curves and more curves, ending up at his Hostel.  At 7 we had a delightful family dinner with another American from California: Stefanie, and three Germans.  After we shared 5 bottles of wine, we slept VERY well!  Actually the wine is very young and therefore, very low alcohol content!
     This morning we had breakfast at 7AM and Istvar drove us to St Jean.  Great deal.  Have been here all day and have met many Americans, mostly  from the West Coast!   At 2:30, Joseph welcomed us to our home for tonight: Beilari. We are sharing a room with Stefanie, will go to 7PM Mass where we will have a blessing for our walk, then supper at 7:30!  By the way, last night we stayed in Curozon Puro: Pure Heart!  Love it.  Will be in touch.

ALMOST READY!

I think I am ready to go! Amazon Prime has been my evening entertainment!  I order something one night, then the item arrives and I find out it is the wrong size, color, or weight, so I go back to Amazon Prime to get the return label and start all over again!  Helen, Karen and I had "show and tell" with our backpacks last Friday. Then we went for our final shopping trip to REI, and to eat Tapas at a Spanish restaurant in Reston!  It was very, very hot, but we ate outside to get acclimated to the idea of no air conditioning!  My backpack was the heaviest and today I repacked, taking out several items I thought at one time, I could not live without.  I do not want to carry more than 14 to 16 lbs.  Getting close!!

Helen still cannot walk with her stress fracture, but she is going to the pool daily and will soon resume walking.  Karen and I have hiked many parts of the Appalachian Trail and we are now gradually winding down.  I think we are as ready as we will ever be and I know that no matter how much we prepare we will still be preparing during the first few days of our hike.

I believe I started MY Camino the day I said Yes to walking The Way (as it is called).  Talking to those who have preceded us, gathering our equipment, training without our packs and with our packs on pavement and hills and in the sun and the rain: Yes, we have begun the journey.  My cat sitter was over last week end and she is ready to take care of Ranger and CiCi in my absence.  Not only have I prepared myself physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well.  I have prayed for strength and for healing. I have downloaded Laudate to follow the Spanish Liturgies in English, and the Confession App to meditate on while walking.  I have downloaded a couple of spiritual audio books for the long, boring parts of the trail.  I also have Josh Groban and Bocelli and some Country and Gospel songs!

Everyone tells me it is MY Camino and I must walk it MY way.  I am open to see what El Camino has in store for me!  The three of us agree that we do not want to encroach on each other's pilgrimage. Sometimes we will be together and I am sure sometimes we will walk alone. I am excited and a little scared, but not too scared!!!

As for Mai Lara, we are waiting for the results from the second colonoscopy.  I am hopeful all will be well.  I will be flying straight to England to be with her and Andy on 11 October.  Of course all is subject to change, but those are the plans for now!

At the moment, I am excited because my son, Bradley, returns to Fort Hood to his family on 23 August, after a year in Kuwait.  I will be happy when he is home!  I will have to wait to see him after I return, but knowing he is in the USA with Alicia, Peyton, Cameron, Taylor and Sadie (the dog!) is good enough for now.

Buen Camino

Today is Tuesday, 2 August. 

      I have just been working on my template and trying to learn more about this site.

      I have not mentioned why I am walking the Camino. Years ago, our book group, Pages and Sages, read a book about El Camino by Shirley MacLaine.  El Camino De Santiago (the way of St James) sounded like a neat thing to do.  Through the years I have met people who have walked it and everyone had a unique, yet personally rewarding experience.  I started reading books about the Camino.  I thought one day it might be interesting to walk it for several reasons. One reason being I thought I could do it.  I thought I was mentally, spiritually and physically able to do it.  At 71 I am in excellent health and maybe I just want to give thanks for this fact. And, after all, everyone can walk!  I am not a great athlete and just dabble in golf, and tennis and pickleball and other sports, but to walk 500 miles seemed like a doable challenge.  Also, I love traveling and having spent several years living in Europe: in Germany as a child and in Belgium as an adult.  I love the international environment.  I love diversity.  I love learning about people and places. And, I am open to experiencing new adventures.  

      So when Helen and I were walking to the Capitol to get a glimpse of the Pope in October, 2015, it all came together when I asked what plans she had for the new year and she said she would like to make a pilgrimage and at the same time, we said, are you familiar with the Camino!  Then we were standing on the lawn of the Capitol and a young student had a sweatshirt on that said El Camino de Santiago! After talking to her, we turned to the couple on the other side and the woman said that her husband, who was standing right there, had walked the Camino with his brothers!  If we were looking for confirmation, there it was!!!!

     I do want to add that my statement that "anyone can walk" was a little naive!  I can walk, but this

is a whole new ballgame!  This is hiking.  And hiking means going uphill and downhill, over rocks and tree branches, for miles and miles and miles!  It is hard work. Yes, I was very naive!!  Off to bed because I am walking 6 miles with Karen at 7AM.  Buen Camino!

      

Just testing to see if I can write from my iPhone!

Jerry's Journey: El Camino De Santiago

To my family and friends, In the fall of 2015, my friend Helen and I decided we would walk  El Camino De Santiago (The Way of St James) "next year". Well next year is here and we, along with another friend, Karen, will soon be walking El Camino!  I can hardly believe it.  I am very excited and, a little fearful, The task of walking 500 miles at age 71 is a little crazy for someone who is not a hiker, and has done more sitting than exercising in the past few years.  But, since February, I have been gathering my supplies, working out at the gym, and walking. I have walked around Carlisle,   hiked a little in Vail, Colorado and on many parts of the PA Appalachian Trail.  In the beginning I walked without a backpack, and in the last couple of months I have been on the AT with both backpack and trekking poles.  Yesterday I walked 10.5 miles, and at the end wondered if I could really walk this far and farther for up to 45 days in a row!  What was I ever thinking???

During these past months, I have struggled with getting the proper shoes for my arthritic feet.  While most are walking in Solomons or Keens or some other popular hiking shoe, I am walking in Xelero orthopedic hiking boots, with orthotics!  Besides my feet, I have also discovered I have arthritis in my neck and shoulders.  So far, my knees are holding up!  I have vowed to not carry more than 14 lbs in my pack, which seems heavy enough on most days!  A week ago Helen was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot and is now in a boot.  She is having laser treatments and WILL be on the trail. Her podiatrist has suggested she take her boot!  Yes, this has already proven to be an interesting adventure.  It is a good thing Karen is quite a bit younger and in a whole lot better shape.  She will keep us going!

The first two days on the Camino are very strenuous. It was highly recommended that we make reservations at a hostel (albergue or refugio) in Orisson . So on 1 September, after hiking 6 miles straight up the Pyrenees, we know we will have a place to stay.  After that we will just walk and hope to find a place at the end of our hike. The goal is to walk from 6 AM to 1 PM daily. I know some days will be longer and some shorter. 

Many men and women have been supporting me in many different ways.  I took an ultralight backpacking class at Carlisle Barracks and met Bruce.  Bruce heads the recreation center and he and Sue, his parttime worker, have been so very encouraging.  They have taken us on the trails and have been so, so patient as we struggled with the hills.  In early May, I went with them on a three day hike. It was the most difficult physical thing I have ever done and Bruce stayed back with me the entire time.  He and Sue believed in me before I believed in me!  My friend, Kathy, showed me all her supplies and took me shopping at the outlets for my gear.  She has hiked with me and cheered me on when I wondered if I could do it.  Kathy walked the Camino 18 months ago.  Camille gives me all kinds of tips whenever I see her.  She walked the Camino a couple of years ago. Father Forrey, the pastor at St Patricks where Karen and I attend, gave us a blessing when Helen came up to visit.   And there are others who have been cheering us on.  My daughter, Mai Lara, sent me a solar battery charger and a bottle container to add to my pack!  Others have offered love, words of encouragement and support.  Thank you!

We have allowed 45 days which is about ten days longer than suggested, but we are taking into consideration our age!!!  For the past two weeks I was not sure I could even go on the Camino.  My daughter, Mai Lara had a colonoscopy and she has a tumor in her colon.  After a very frightening two weeks, we learned that it has not spread.  At 43, she is very young to have colon cancer.  That it has not spread is a blessing and I am so very thankful.  The samples they biopsied showed the tumor to be benign, but the doctors are quite sure it is malignant so they are doing another colonoscopy.  Either way it has to come out and I am waiting to find out the timing of treatment so I can make final plans.  I will either leave early and stay with them a week, fly to Madrid and meet Helen and Karen, walk the Camino and then return to England, or, just go at the end.  Of course if I need to, I will cancel, or leave in the middle for awhile.  I do feel confident I will be able to walk it, which I did not for awhile.  I continue to hike! And, I continue to pray for Mai Lara.  I ask you to do the same.  Thanks!

I am starting this blog to see if I can figure out how to use it and how to introduce it to you all.  I am not sure how usable it will be on the Camino, but Camille had a blog and I will check with her for more assistance.  We shall see over the next couple of weeks!  Buen Camino!!