I’m currently writing on a subdued but steady adrenaline rush. Paying $35 to go from Corpus Christi, Texas to Madrid, Spain and back could be an influence. Or that I officially got tickets and decided to do this yesterday. And that in less than 2 hours I’m away from internet access and all technology for 2.5 weeks, and I haven’t finished packing. There’s also the whole walk one or two hundred miles on the most famous trekking pilgrimage, The Camino, in the world thing I’ll be starting Friday morning, too. And that I’m carrying everything I need with me, apx 15-20 pounds only. Plus, I’ve never been to Spain, and I’ll be huffing and puffing in spring flowers through villages in the countryside.
This is a rare instance for me- no need to say “long story short,” and then make a long story longer than necessary. I started thinking seriously about doing this trek a week ago, due to hearing stories from a couple folks who’ve done it, watching a movie and doing research. And I leave town today. Ta-da!
The plan: Corpus to Houston to Dallas tonight. Staying with my friend Lauren, whose advice and gear saves me hours and hundreds of dollars. Our only plan for tonight: imparting of wisdom in how to use athletic tape. Leave Wednesday Dallas to Houston to New York to Madrid, arriving Thursday mid-morning. Then a bus to Leòn, where I’ll get my pilgrim’s passport, probably buy and begrudgingly use my first walking stick, and stay at a hostel run by Benedictine nuns. Friday, hit the trail!
Here’s a map: http://images.altiplanobooks.be/images/9783763348350B.jpg
So it’ll take me around 2 weeks to walk to Santiago de Compostella. Look online for details- there is an arguably unreasonable amount of information that will explode across your computer screen with its ancient history and hiking traditions. Hopefully I’ll have the extra 2 days to walk to the ocean!
Expectations: walking 20-30 kilometers per day most days, a body that hates my spirit of adventure, being alone but meeting other pilgrims, varied weather, stumbling through survival Spanish, probably not looking thinner/more muscular afterwards
The only thing I bought specifically for this trip was hiking boots. For a great price :) Yesterday :/
What I’m bringing:
-Bible &
-head lamp, 1 sq. inch
-the most minute size of toiletries known to mankind
-moleskin and themed band-aids of awesomeness, 4 pairs of socks (varying thickness and materials), 2 different kind of insoles (and I’ll still get blisters in spite of it all)
-2 sets of clothes, beanie, hankie, rain jacket
-flip-flops
-decent over-the-counter pill supply
-journal, pen & sharpie
-miniature scissors
-tweezers
-ultra-light (>1 lb), compact sleeping bag
-sham wow compact towel
-foam ear plugs & face mask
-camera & iPod (and their chargers)
-smallest and lightest possible backpack
-water bottle & trail snacks
-a small rock, from the beloved railroad tracks & Oso Bay, a couple miles from the house I grew up in: “In Spain they were called milladoiros, and were placed there by pilgrims to show the route for those following. This practise was thought to have originated with a pagan rite to invoke the protection of pagan spirits who protected travellers. There is a tradition on the Camino to bring a stone from home and rub all your fears, hurts and sorrows into the stone which you can place at the base of the Cruz de Ferro.”
-oyster shell, a half mile from the same house, on the Laguna Madre: http://otherspain.com/pages/writing/scallop.asp
That’s it, no mas! Walking stick aside, this is all that I’m wearing and using and buying for 3 weeks across a foreign land. So excited!!!*
Please pray for:
*my health. 22 was a bad age for my health, and the past couple weeks of being 23 my new chiropractor told me I probably have a pinched nerve(s?) in my lower back. So, lots of walking, carrying my stuff, and sleeping in sub-par hostel bunk beds, it’s not looking too good. And with the varying amounts of rain and temperature extremes, I don’t want to get bronchitis, which I get annoyingly frequently in similar conditions.
*People I’ll meet: that we would be blessings for each other, through sharing guide books, stories, laughing, fatigue, whatever
*Safety: more from myself than any creeper (in human, insect or animal form), and also in traveling
*Whatever it is I’m going to take away from this internally. Also that I would resist the urge to take pieces of nature as souvenirs that are historical/rare and illegal to take (pretty difficult)
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