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