Stephen,
Thanks! I read some of your website: Not bad at all (I am/was a Computer Engineer).
Do not be discouraged that you had to "throw in the towel" on VdPlata last year: Jurgen and I walked from Salamanca and to SdC in that same month of May - There were a few times we wanted to quit: The weather was horrible all the way; rain and wind. EVERY day, except 2 days in the very end. On the highest mountain pass we had a snow blizzard for 1 hour. Luckily there was a hotel with a bar right over the top: We stayed there for 2 hours :lol:
23 days of walking in total: 19 days of wind and rain, 2 days of wind and snow, and 2 days partly clouded. I never used my shorts on the whole trip. And this was MAY 2012!!!
PS: By judging the photo of your feet, your only option was to stop walking. We often met a 3rd man (old) who we frequently had to help with plastering and warming up his feet, but who eventually had to stop only 60 kms from Santiago and go straight to hospital, with bleeding wounds on both feet. He got the Compostela in SdC, though, when he explained what had happened, and actually showed them his feet!
I was originally considering starting from Lisboa, but after reading a few posts here, Porto will be our starting point. Just walking slow, not be tempted by 30 kms/day, but live "in the mood" if you understand.
BTW: It is not a good idea to ask people to download .doc files: They may be a source of virus to people. If you get them converted to .pdf, then they are safe to download and read for everyone.
PS: Stephen, thanks for nice photos: It seems that at least from Porto, the waymarking is very good? DS:
Buen camino!