For Real

Finally got the official "okay" and bought a ticket.  Was so excited to find a reasonable ticket, I chose the wrong option, which:  1) gets me to Madrid in the late afternoon, and I wanted one in the morning, so will need to stay a night in Madrid, and catch a morning bus.  Or could catch an overnight bus, and start walking in the morning;  2) has a 12 hour layover in Dallas/Ft. Worth coming home (I meant to chose the flight coming through Chicago, shorter layover)...I can buy a thick novel, like "War and Peace," or "Moby Dick," or "Don Quixote."  Maybe I can go into Dallas for a couple of hours.  Have never been there.

I'll still have to skip something, but I'll play that by ear.  I only have about 30 days.  If the snow is bad, I'll skip the Pyrenees, once again.  I might still try to get to Roncesvalles, though, I want to see the Basque horses.

I still wake up in the night, wondering, "What have I done?"  And then am fine during daylight, excited, even.

Maybe I still need resolution from both 2009 and 2011.  What do people say:  it's physical-external/personal on the first part, internal/personal in the middle, and I would say "integration" in the end, whatever you learned, applying that back to your everyday life, back to community.  (Which is why I kinda' like the crowds in the last 100 kms, even if it is jarring after so much silence: you can't live there.  We don't live there.)

Gotta figure out the boots, too.  Did a long walk on cement on Sunday, and ended up with a big heel blister.  My heels slip, I've read that in reviews of these boots, but they are the only ones wide enough.

Oh, and still need a guidebook.

Coming up fast

Missed the bus by about a block, to meet up with others for a training walk.  Decided to do my own.  Did about 17-18 kms, a little more than half the actual weight I'll be carrying, and in a light rain.  My feet are killing me, possibly have a blister forming, not sure, but definitely a hot spot.  It was a little bit more interesting than walking the lake multiple times.  (Did long hills in Woodland Park.)  I'm tired.  Trying to remember to take iron and vitamin D until I leave, I'm highly likely very low in both.  Stayed fairly dry.  The only section I'm particularly concerned about in the first few days, because of the Pyrenees, and I'm starting earlier than I had originally planned.  At least, I think so:  haven't bought a plane ticket yet, because I don't have an official okay for the actual time period.  I'll ask again on Tuesday, my boss was out sick, and then on vacation, so haven't pinned down an official answer.  And tickets are non-refundable.  Hopefully, I'll still be able to afford a ticket.

This is the only time that works for me, both weather, health, and other commitments this year.  Fingers crossed.

At any rate, the exercise is good.

I don't think I trained at all in 2005, maybe a couple days in 2007 (but in the heat of summer, with a full pack), and I can't remember what I did before the winter trip, perhaps stairs or something, but without weight.  Probably not much for Portugal either, but it was pretty flat.  (I'd been having foot issues, pain in the arch for a few years prior to that trip, stuck them in the water in Caldas de Reis, and they've been better since.)

The though of having to deal with something on the trek, kinda' freaks me out, but we always are.  That's growth, right?  That's why people do these types of trips.  Presumably, that's why I'm doing this one.  Sigh.

Day 1 The Bull

2005.

I began the morning with cheerful optimism, waking up after the shock of my first albergue experience, bed pushed together with a mostly naked stranger, snoring, coughing.  Dawn breaks, the nearest breakfast is Burgette (a favorite of Hemingway, according to my guidebook); the promise of a good bakery leads me out the door.  I walk through beech forest, arrive in Burgette, just post sunrise, wander the main street in search of an "abierto" sign.  I find one at the far end of town.  Not sure if it's the place in my guidebook, but I have a croissant, fruit, and cafe con leche.  The sun is out in full as I make my way back toward the Camino, two men laugh and joke in Spanish ahead of me on the wide, muddy farm track.  I follow behind, a few hundred yards, happy to actually be walking this road, to finally have begun after so many years of talking about it.  They round a bend and I lose sight of them.  I hear a low grunting up ahead.

I arrive at the source, a bull.  Braying.  As I get closer, he begins to paw at the ground, head toward me, the braying increases in volume.  The men are long gone, there is no one to call out to:  I am alone, save a few cows, to confront an agitated bull.

The fence is low, maybe a little bit higher than my knees, if he wanted to he could probably step over it and maul me.  He doesn't, I back up.  He calms down.  I wait, reapproach to pass by, he begins to bray and paw angrily at the ground.  I back up, he stops.  I pray that the cows will somehow get him to leave me alone, they don't.  I approach, he begins.  This goes on for 20 minutes as I try to figure out how to get past, or if this is a gate shutting before me: my dreamed of Camino over on the first day.  I don't know how to proceed.

Minutes pass in this detente, and then I hear someone approaching me from Burgette.  I wait.  A young man, Spanish.  I wave him over, explain about the bull.  Ask if I can walk with him.

The man must think I am a fool, but he humors me, and walks past the bull with me.  The bull minds its own business as we pass by, head down, munching on grass, paying no attention to the two of us.  Acting as if nothing happened.

And so it begins.

Starting to train, no plane ticket yet

Friday:

Looked out the window late last night, surprised by snow.  When I'd been outside earlier in the evening, the sky had been clear.  In the morning, I opened the window to the sound of ice falling, pleasing, since I wasn't outside in it, but it has a soothing sound.  Now it's just cold, with a heavy rain.

Went for a walk to test out my rain jacket, water is getting through on my upper back and shoulders, not sure why.  I'll test the other jacket, treat them both, and test again.  I don't want to buy a new one, it might actually help to just wash and dry it, been a while.  I'm also testing for temperature.  This is the lighter of the two, and it should be fine for April.  I had the other one specifically for winter, much heavier, and if I take it I'll need to get a seam repaired first.

As far as guides go, I'm leaning toward the Confraternity of St. James guide.  I like the German one, and picked up a Cicero guide, but that one was heavy.  I like Brierley's guides alright, but the way my brain processes information doesn't work with his directions (have the same issue with our local transit directions "Trip Planner"), I think there are too many details for me.  I work better with broad swathes of information.  Or maps.  The first two guidebooks I used were very general, and worked fine for me (Lonely Planet, and the old Canadian guide.)

Monday:

Starting out, February 6/L Herlevi 2017

Woke up to an unexpected snowday, email from work saying not to come in.  Decided to do a training walk.  Walked somewhere between 18-20 kms.  I wasn't carrying any weight, but I did walk most of that in the snow.  Much was flat, but took a detour into a park to get trails, hills, and deeper snow.  Also, made myself do a short, steep hill at the end, mostly because I didn't want to, but many days on the Camino end with a hill (or begin with one.)  Stayed warm enough, in spite of being wet.  Was surprised to find out it's only around 36 degrees out, felt pretty good.  Wore the heavier rain jacket, also found it not to be as waterproof as I feel it should be: my arms are wet, through two jackets, and two merino wool shirts.  Shoes have terrible traction on ice, but stayed mostly dry, including after walking through numerous puddles, and 4 inches of snow.

I feel the walk in my glutes, and my toenails (in spite of extra room in front of boots), and my feet started to get sore...and I'm tired.  I took a couple of breaks, one to cook some lunch, and two (briefly) to buy this marzipan bar at a bakery for some carbs, probably enough sugar in that to cover me for a few days.

I need a nap.

Woodland Park, February 6/L Herlevi 2017

Into the Woods, February 6/L Herlevi 2017

So, that's a yes.

Finally worked up the courage to ask about taking time off in the spring.  I was told I could take as much time as I needed, I'll probably just take four weeks, but it depends on plane tickets.  I have to get my rent paid, and I'm not sure how much that's going up, or if I'll stay in current place.  Cutting back spending so that I can save enough.  (I haven't taken a vacation in five years.)

Prednisone worked for the pain, but I went off of it and now the pain is spiking, not sure what I'm going to do about that.  (I was having side effects.)

Just need a new guidebook, or maybe just maps, and an old guidebook.  The only section I'm concerned about getting lost is on the first day over the Pyrenees.  (I'm assuming I'll get lost going into Pamplona, as I always do, but can ask someone for directions.)

I know why I'm going...I wrote it down somewhere.  Now I need to get in shape, and healthier.