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Recent content by John Crawford Howell

  1. John Crawford Howell

    Where to stay the night before Santiago....?

    I stayed at the Hotel Platas at the far end of O Pedrouzo on my penultimate evening. It was a pleasant experience. Among the pilgrims, anticipation and optimism were in the air as we felt we could crawl to Santiago from here if we needed to. Everyone seemed pretty chill. We were going to make...
  2. John Crawford Howell

    Overtaking étiquette.

    I understand many folks have a limited amount of time to dedicate to their pilgrimage and, therefore, must travel at a certain pace. I have the advantage of time. I think of the Camino—and by extension, Spain—as a friend I haven't been with in a long while and there's some catching up to do. I...
  3. John Crawford Howell

    So why am I addicted to the Camino?

    Beautifully expressed, Adelina.
  4. John Crawford Howell

    So why am I addicted to the Camino?

    You've accomplished a great deal Damien. Your numbers 2, 3, and 4 resonate. Especially # 3 which may explain why I have travelled to Spain more than any other country beginning in 1970 and continuing to this day. My journal keeping on the Camino recounted each day as it unfolded, but also...
  5. John Crawford Howell

    Overtaking étiquette.

    The Camino was a solo enterprise for me. Purposely. Had I a companion, I would have been sensitive to that person's rhythms. I wanted the ability to leave when I wished, stop where I wished, travel at the pace I wished. In essence, callous though it may seem, I wanted the freedom to compose and...
  6. John Crawford Howell

    Things I'd bring, who cares about the weight

    A Brazilian showed me that app on my I-phone outside Leon. Would that have made a difference? Nah, I'm still old school. Cheers, Damien, down the coast to you from Anacortes!
  7. John Crawford Howell

    Things I'd bring, who cares about the weight

    I know it''s old school, but journals. I don't travel anywhere without one. I've kept journals since 1968. On the Camino Frances in 2017, I brought four which, when I transcribed them back home, turned into a draft 345 page manuscript. I ran out of Pilot V-5 pens in Carrion de los Condes, but...
  8. John Crawford Howell

    Darn those downhill stretches suck - some ideas to strengthen your body for downhills

    Excellent point, Trecile!
  9. John Crawford Howell

    Darn those downhill stretches suck - some ideas to strengthen your body for downhills

    There is a one-way single lane loop road that meanders up and down through the forest park adjacent to our home. Before 10:00 a.m. it is closed to vehicles. People with whom I may be walking know that at a certain point I peal off to go onto a root/rock gnarly trail for some distance. I refer to...
  10. John Crawford Howell

    Camino awesome, Santiago not so much

    Our experiences with time, place, and circumstance are bound to be different. I loved Santiago. Part relief at accomplishing my goal, part the return of my appetite for food (seems I could not get enough Pulpo and Pimientos), and part the ability to consume more than a half Caña of beer. In...
  11. John Crawford Howell

    Can I use a liner only?

    Sea Gal: fellow Washingtonian here (Anacortes). I hiked the CF starting on Earth Day, 2017. I am slave to the goddess of all things light weight. I used a silk liner and on those occasions when the albergues had no blankets and I felt a bit of a chill, I simply layered up under the liner. There...
  12. John Crawford Howell

    How much break-in for shoes is enough?

    When I hiked the Camino (CF) in the spring of 2017, I wore Saucony model Peregrine 6 trail runners. I loved them so much that when I came home I went straight to REI and bought another pair to keep until my next Camino. I had a 80 km (50 mile) break-in period. No blisters. Meanwhile, It56ny, I...
  13. John Crawford Howell

    Notre Dame de Paris, new finds

    After I completed the CF in June of 2017 and spending 5 blissful days in Santiago, I rode the train to Paris. It was a strange feeling to trace by rail part of the route travelled on foot sipping a cold beer as we passed the westward flow of pilgrims. I stayed a few days in Paris before flying...
  14. John Crawford Howell

    Which Camino for my 80th year?

    For me, on my 80th, it will be the Frances again. It will be different, just as a river is different than when you first crossed it. I felt great at 75 walking the Frances in 2017. But I know, largely through this forum, how much I missed owing to my zeal to complete the journey and cross the...
  15. John Crawford Howell

    Camino legs

    Hi delaplana: To all the wonderful comments and advice above, I'll just add this to, hopefully, make you feel even more confident about your journey. I was 75 when I hiked the CF out of SJPdP starting on Earth Day 2017. I was suffering from food poisoning I contracted in Bayonne (my own fault)...
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