Less than 1 day now

Confession:  I love Spain, and I really love the French route.  I often catch myself wondering why I chose Portugal this time, and missing sections of Spain (particularly the Meseta), but then tell myself that I have walked most of it (except St. Jean to Roncesvalles and Samos to Sarria), including all of the alternative routes, and it's good to go new places.  Anyway, went and looked on the Camino forum yesterday and someone had posted gorgeous photos of Portugal, and I was reminded of why I chose this 2 years ago, when I did.  All the pictures I have seen over time have made me want to go here...I just need to be reminded, and be open to new places.  Would like to walk from Lisbon, but at this time having to stay in hostels every night would be too expensive for me, so it's Porto to Santiago to Finisterre to Muxia to Santiago...at least that's the plan:) Walking the Camino doesn't always go as we plan, I think I'll be fine with that (at least after the fact:)

Seem to be overpacked as usual...can never really figure it out, the sleeping bag takes up a lot of space, but I don't think that's it.  Got about 20 more hours to figure it out.

Peace, L

5+ weeks and counting

Went for a walk at lunch, and we've hardly had a summer at all, got tired from what little warmth there was. Will have a few days to acclimatize before heading out of Oporto, a 28-30km day, I think. I am alternately excited and terrified. It's funny, as I've written before, I had hardly any qualms before the first trip in 2005. I have more every time I go, still, I'm excited to see a part of the world I haven't before. I'm excited to walk a route that isn't heavily traveled (yet), though admittedly, some of my fears are based on the same thing. And I'm still trying to learn a little portuguese as well as trying to decide what to pack, since I'll be walking in September and October. I got a little cold in late September, but do I need warmer clothes? Dont' expect it to snow.

On another note, I am really looking forward to going to Padron, Galicia, where the Padron pepper was developed from seeds brought over from the Americas. It's funny, I didn't actually try them in Galicia, but farmers here, at least of the west coast of the United States, have recently been growing them. I've bought them from River Farms at the U. District Farmers' Market in Seattle, WA for the past couple of summers. Unlike what the guidebooks say about the ones in Spain, EVERY one I've tried here has been a scorcher. They remind me of Spain, so I eat them anyway. I think there is an alternate place to stay near the monastery, it increases the mileage, but maybe I'll be in shape by that time.

Fingers crossed

Well, after waiting a year, I finally bought a ticket to Portugal. Well, technically, to Madrid, where I'll bus or train over to either Lisbon or Porto. Wanted to go, but it was feeling more and more like a pipe dream as plane tickets to Europe have been out of my budget, I've been checking for a couple of months. However, a few weeks ago I signed up for a service that checks ticket prices for you if you put in an itinerary, and suddenly last week I had an email notification for a $537 rt ticket to Madrid. I had to fiddle with the dates to find it, and it's later than I had originally thought about going, but after checking with a travel agent, I bought the ticket, solidly in the shoulder season. Now I'm excited and a bit scared. I like to tell myself that you have to be ready for opportunities, and you have to make an effort (buy the lottery ticket, sign up for the alert, study the language, practice the art, and the hardest one, sometimes you have to ask) but then I feel that I should have done more. I got that hard, stubborn puritanical streak.

The route is the second most walked way after the Camino Frances, and includes the area where St. James preached before his death as well as the place where the boat came ashore with his body. If I start in Lisbon, I'd like to walk to Tomar if time allows, although my guidebook has that leg as 5 days, so might have to bus it. Then bus to Porto, and walk to Santiago, and then out to Finisterre and back via Muxia...technically, I have about 24 days, not including travel to and from Madrid. I'll have to reread the guidebook, but I think the estimate is 12 days from Porto to Santiago, and 5 rt Santiago-Finisterre-Muxia-Santiago. I'd really like to do the last part, as I haven't managed in my last 3 trips to Spain, but I'm also open, I know that we can have plans, but when you or I choose to walk the Camino, other plans emerge.

Peace

Convergence #2

Convergence #2, a photo by amgirl on Flickr.

Okay, so it's odd that this picture created it own entry on April Fool's Day. I was trying to post it to an earlier entry and couldn't get the function to work. This is Castrojeriz, Castille y Leon, Spain. Taken from up at the castle, late on a Friday afternoon. The hillside is lined with caves, and the teenagers were partying as I walked up the road to the top. I had earlier joked with a bartender at the entrance to town that I had been here 2x previously, in 2005, 2007. He laughed and said I'd be back in 2011. Well, it looks like I will be back, but I don't think I will be in the meseta, but then again, it could happen.

Rewriting of "blog"

I'm going to be doing some heavy-editing of "blog". If I travel again, it will be a true blog, hopefully, but for now I'm still trying to figure out what story I want to tell, all of it taken from journals and emails from the trips, though not "live" per se. (When I travelled in 2009, I had meant to blog daily, but computer access wasn't always available, and I ended up sending out group emails when I did have it more often than not. It made me feel more connected to people.) I'm also still in the process of culling all the pictures, so will try to post more of those as well.

Peace, Isabel