Ever since I can remember, (and I do no know why) I have wanted to go on some kind of long trek, either going cross country by horse or by foot, or walking the Appalachian Trail, walking across Tibet, and so on. I devoured every book that people had written about their long distance treks which only whetted my appetite.
But, kids, jobs, move to Germany in '86, and trying to be a responsible adult put those walking desires on the back shelf. Living in Germany though, meant I have had a chance to travel much more than I would have if I had stayed in the US, plus gave me the opportunity to learn German. (hope this comes in handy on my Camino) and it satisfied my love of history.
In 2008, my husband and I created a walking tour company in Frankfurt and have been super busy with that every since we began. One of the stops on our tour is one of the oldest churches in Frankfurt, St. Leonhards, built in 1219. Standing out in front of it is a brass sculpture of 3 pilgrims, staff in hand, funny hats, and scallop shells. Since this was part of our tour, we read up on these pilgrims and found out that this church was a stop on the Jakobs Weg (the German name for the Camino Way) So, interest piqued, the thought of doing this walk has been perking and bubbling away on the back burner of my brain every since. Then along comes this movie on Netflix called "The Way" as well as my 60th birthday looming in front of me faster than I wanted it too, and the deal was sealed. I decided that I was going to go do this adventure to celebrate being 60.
Husband was cute though. About 2 weeks after I said I was going to walk to Santiago and we were busy shopping for all my gear, he says "you know you only have to walk that last 100 km to get your Compestela". I sort of laughed and said, "I want to walk more than 100 km honey, I walk that far at work in less than 2 weeks". He then asked "200 km?"
My answer,"Well no, I want to start in Pamplona and walk to Santiago, the Muxia and Finesterre, I will be gone for 5 weeks."
Fortunately, he is an understanding and supportive kind of guy who knows that I need to go do this. So, will be winging my way to Pamplona on the 21st.