The day is now

Gah!  I don't really understand how I fit everything into the pack when I last hiked in winter.  I must be packing fewer things, my sleeping bag is lighter and packs smaller...I even look at other people's packing lists, and they somehow manage to pack it all in a smaller pack.  And I think it's heavy.  I'm now at the point of: halving the amount of electrolytes I'm bringing, pouring soap out of a bottle, taking out batteries, switching out the head-lamp, etc.  I think our scale is off, (it's a smart scale, not sure what it's weighing, exactly), but at any rate, pack it too full, too heavy.

Have a little less than two hours to figure it out.

What to pack

Snowing in Madrid.  Snowing in Castrojeriz.  Was predicted to snow in Burgos a couple of days ago, though never saw an update on that.

It would be pretty to see.  Maybe I'll try to find my other "yak-trak" thing.  I've located one. My boots are no good on ice.

Five days.

Meanwhile, the cherry trees are considering the idea of blooming.

Thinking about it, March 22/L Herlevi 2017

End of the month

It's been twelve years since I first stepped foot in Madrid, to start my first Camino, something I'd been dreaming about for about 10 years by that point.  I sat in a cafe this morning, eating breakfast, alone, but in a crowd, watching the endless rain fall, out the window, savoring the time alone before joining a (welcome) crush of humanity...soon, so soon.

Finally heard back from my landlord regarding my lease ending the day I get back, and I haven't seen a new one yet.  He said he'll get it to me before I leave, otherwise I'd worry I wouldn't have any place to return to.  Trying to tie up loose ends, I don't want to be tied here to unfinished business while I'm gone.  I want to stay present.  Mostly done now, though a bill I thought was taken care of, for some reason has to be re-visited.  My doctor suggested I get a cortisone shot for my left wrist so I'm not hiking in pain.  I was too much of a chicken to get it done then, I supppose I wasn't mentally prepared for it, plus I had to return to work, and if it was extremely painful, I didn't want to spend all day crying at my desk...I have a very public position.  So, I'm going back in, at the end of the workday.  I hope it helps.

I contacted my phone carrier and found out my phone won't work locally in Spain, so not taking it.  Might rent one, haven't decided.  I've never taken one before, but the world is changing, and I don't know if phone centers or internet cafes still exist (what I relied on in the past.)  Been eight years since I used either one there.

Will miss the daily bus to SJPP, so might catch a taxi to Roncesvalles or Zalbadika, or perhaps, just get off the bus in Pamplona and walk to Cizur Menor.  Depends on the weather.  I'll miss the horses, but can detour to Eunate, which I also haven't done since 2005.  The train to Bayonne is also an option.

All minor things.  It'll work out.

Almost gone

Soon, so soon.  I should do a trial packing, to see how much it weighs.  Haven't decided on clothes, for certain.  Going back and forth on the rain jacket (heavier or lighter), will check the weather before I go.  Arrive in SJPP a day before the high route opens.  Either route has a steep climb.  I'm not crazy about walking on the road, though, I don't mind doing the low route.  I saw pictures, there didn't seem to be much of a shoulder.  There are go-arounds, but the guidebooks aren't great on directions for those, and I remember reading about someone getting lost.  I'll figure it out, I'm sure.

Have a bunch of loose ends to tie up (trying to get ahold of my landlord regarding my lease, which ends the day I get back), trying to get some bills paid, have two performances, neither of which I am ready for, etc.  Waiting for my tax return.  Could be a very frugal trip.  But it will all work out.

Started reading "Iberia" again, though I have skipped to the last chapter about walking to Santiago.  Definitely deeper than what I've read before, can't wait to re-see the architecture.