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Thank you for the update! If there is a lot of rain in the forecast, you might want to trade in your too small poncho for an Altus poncho. I did this mid-Camino one year and it made all the difference in the world to be dry and comfortable. Buen Camino!
I brought new "metaphorical baggage" on our second walk and happily left it behind on the trail (same as the first walk). All these years later, that baggage has never crept back on my back.
For walk number three I carried a lot of extra actual baggage on my back, two dresses for our son's...
I think this was after Villamayor de Monjardin in April 2015:
Approaching Villamayor de Monjardin (I have taken multiple photos of this scene over the years; one of my favorites on the CF).
The road seems a bit longer when it's wet and windy (purchased an Altus poncho in Santo Domingo the...
Slow down everyone. Take a nap along the trail; take a rest day as often as you can . . . . It is your Camino as well as everyone's Camino. What you will come to love is knowing that you shared a journey, and it was "our" Camino you shared.
You obviously have been through an enormous amount of trauma given the recent murder of your son and the loss of many of your family members. I hope you will find some peace during your walk; I know you will find compassion and kindness. IMHO if possible, maybe plan for May 2024 and start...
I visit this forum daily with the hope of getting my Camino fix. Sometimes it is frustrating reading the commentary knowing that I may never be able to walk another Camino. Shortly after our last walk in 2022, my knees decided to quit on me; I can barely walk a mile.
But when I think of a...
I have a feeling you will be back. Like many of us, you will return again and again. During one of those walks, someone will ask you for directions. You'll reach for your well-worn, torn out page that has all of the "stages" on a single page (because you won't need a map of every stage anymore)...
As you are lying there focusing on the guy making noise with his crinkly bag, perhaps, you might say to yourself what a privilege it is that you are on a very long walk with people from all over the world during which you GET to listen to them snore, cough, and sometimes cry all night long. How...
Some of us unfortunately seem to attract flies and bugs. Regardless of what season we walk in, I am constantly swatting at a swarm of flies while my husband walks beside me without a single fly buzzing around his head. I even carried the extra weight of bug repellent this past June which did...
Our first Camino was not planned so everything was a surprise. Thank you for the nice reminder.
What surprised me most was how good a long walk is for one's well-being.
Why don't you just make the reservations via Booking.com and then cancel them as you go thus meeting the criteria required? You do not have to pay in advance, and you might just be happy to have a reservation. And I agree, human borders are disappointing and frustrating and unnecessary. Best of...
Thank you Navy Blue! We have only planned the first five days and the stages you listed are what we have planned so far . . . . The first day of the TMB (Les Houches to Les Contamines) which is "only" 16 km. was quite a shock! We arrived at our hotel after 9:00 p.m. although the hotel was...
I'm glad you asked this question! We are walking the Le Puy route a few days after my 58th birthday in mid-August. We did the TMB a couple of years ago and found it really difficult - mostly the ups and downs. Has anyone done both the Le Puy route and the TMB who can compare the two? We have a...
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