rambling the Camino

          May ,2015
                                                       THE BEGINNING

1100 miles (1800 kl) , a hike along three of the most famous routes used by the christian pilgrims, since the discovery of the burial place of St James the apostle in the 9th century.
I am excited to undertake this challenge, a journey that will answer the question people continue to ask me,"why", well, maybe Ill have an answer.
They say that being called to walk the Camino is no accident, thats not for me to question, its long been a desire to take this walk and now is the time.  I dont have any specific reason for taking this journey and I am not looking for any Ah-haa moment along the way. In Buddhism, there is a great saying, "Never have I felt so good, since I gave up all hope", for some that may seem negative, but really its about expectation, If you have no expectations of this in life, you cant be disappointed, and without expectation, your mind will be most open and willing to hear the subtle messages that most people noisily rush on past .
For most, this Jacobian pilgrimage ends in the town of Santiago de Compostela in the north west corner of Spain,   For some pilgrims, the journey continues after Santiago, on to the western corner of Galicia (Costa de Morte-the coast of death)where some burn their clothes and toss their shoes into the ocean. I plan to take this final 3 day hike along the Finisterre Way, which at the time was known as the farthest known point west in the modern world, the final stretch of an itinerary traced in the sky by the Milky Way. I do plan though, to spare the worlds oceans the indignity of having me throw another pair of stinky worn out hiking boots into it.
Santiago de Compostela is known as a bastion of European culture, and the burial site of one of the prominent 12 apostles of Jesus , St James, the patron of pilgrims and laborers..
According to history, Jesus named him one one of the "sons of thunder".
St James is thought to have actually been the cousin of Jesus through the sister of the Virgin Mary, he was charged with spreading the word of Christianity after the Crucifixion of Jesus, and traveled into northern Spain to do so, this is why he is so revered and celebrated by Christians and others in the Basque region of Spain.
Upon his return home in AD 44, James was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa for his christian beliefs.
James was later made a saint and his bones were secretly smuggled back to Spain to be buried in Santiago de Compostela., where a large  cathedral stands over his burial site today.
James was later labelled a martyr, there are two kinds of saints, Martyr's and Confessors , the Christian martyr's are those who were put to death for their beliefs, the confessors are those who died of natural causes.
A true pilgrim will take this journey with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and will rely on peoples generosity and kindness to further cloth and feed them along this journey, I personally will be leaving my shaver behind, and taking a credit card.  I predict this hike will take me between two months, or ten weeks to complete. ...really, what am I thinking?.

well, packing the back pack and trying to keep the weight under 20 pounds, dont know if that is possible, but I do know one thing, if it rains Im going to drown as there is no room for my Dry Duck suit. Not that there is much left of that suit after the King Ludwig Trail hike we did in Bavaria two years ago. After that adventure, I think Flop, Burger, Keeps, Deep and myself  all felt like we had swum the hole way, thank god for the German beer and sausage.

As I challenge myself with this blog, I have noticed that the only way it appears on the site is in reverse chronological order, so new posts are at the top. I figured out I can cheat and manipulate the date of the posting, where upon the blog reads in order and is easier to follow. So anyone following the times and dates of the post, you will notice the post times are actually older, but they are really  newer posts, so ignore the date stamp, I will include the actual date in the script at times.
Along with me on this trip will be a dear soul who left us far too early in life, Andrew, at the request of his mom and family, who are wonderful friends of mine, will be taking the hike in spirit.
"Voy a ver el mundo", see the world, was Andrews moto, now he will get a chance and its my privilege,     Deary me, I wonder if his mom knows what mischief he is about to get up to.

Andrew

Each time I pack this bag, I have to eliminate something else to get the bare necessities, so I need to quit before I end up hiking in my underwear (OK , I know, hold the comments)
Boots, (for this kind of distance, be sure to start with boots or shoes at least 1 full size to big, or welcome the blisters as your feet grow)
1 sandals
minimal toiletries
2 underwear
1 speedo (I know, I know)
1 micro fiber towel
sleeping bag ( very light one, mine is 600 grams, take a sleeping bag sock to use most night)
1 jeans
1 decent shorts( you can buy more on the way)
1 decent t-shirts( you can buy more on the way)
2 quick dry hiking shorts with liner
3 quick dry t -hiking shirts
1 cap
2 socks ( easy to buy more) 
electronics
passport and guide book

Well the bag is as light as I can make it and it still feels like my bad shoulder is going to complain. 

The big issue really is where to carry my Ipad without breaking it. Ill have to carry my boots by hand to Europe as there is no way they will fit inside.. I have a feeling that day #1 will be a wake up call, and some of the stuff in my bag will go bye bye at the first village, but we will see.

As for now, its off to the airport                                                                            

                                                           CAMINO PORTUGUES

Originally it was decided to do the northern way first, but seeing as we are starting early in the season, I think we will do the Portugues Way first as its further south and will be warm now, and really hot later in the season. That way, moving north for the second leg should be somewhat cooler, and will miss the early storms while hiking through the Pyrenees Mountains . Attached is the first leg from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostella, looks like the walk starts the morning of the 31st, April.

Arrived in Caruna today  ,April 29. After much messing around with the airlines, and had to take different flights to get here, arrived 8 hours late. Off to Lisbon tomorrow at 5am , will get our Camino credentials , have a night off, then hit the road the next morning.

Tonight john and I went out for supper in Coruna, had 3 beers each, and two pinchos( like bruchetas with squid, sardines, cheeses and veggies)  just wonderful .        Oh yeh 7 bucks

Finally got to Lisbon and found a hostel in town. Then the fun started again, at no Camino office were there any credentials for the Way. Luckily we had copies so we will have to use them till we hit a village where they have some for us going forward.
Its pretty hot but going to take an early night as I didn't sleep worth a damn last night in the crusty old hostel

Found

The start at the old Igraja de Santiago church, but the office there exists no more, so no credentials.

Took about 10 minutes to actually find the first Way marker to get us on trail tomorrow, why is it that all trails lead UP. I need to talk to someone about that

this is the start of the first leg for us, 610km to Santiago be Compostela, before we then head to France for the second leg. The Way markers are somewhat confused at this point, between yellow arrows on trees to this official market hidden on a road sign.

I have a strong suspition this marking

Will standardise itself as we reach the countryside tomorrow afternoon

32km tomorrow, but pretty flat, at least 5 hours in the city though before we get to the first beer............did I just say that.

Buen Camino

Today was a big day in Lisbon as they were celebrating May Day, so as I'm struggling with this new neck injury from a crash on my motocross bike in the mountains,when I have the pack on, and we had a bit of a gathering last night with a bunch of South Africans, we gave it a rest and will start tomorrow as the weather will be better too. L

lisbon from the cathederal today, and some of the traditional folk dancing in the square

John being himself again, a great bunch having dinner at the hostel.

and this live artist was being very clever.

tomorrow May 2nd,,got to start walking no matter the issues