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Thanks Grayland. I always appreciated your support. I found so many answers here myself before I walked- and was thankful to those who eased my worries and gave m advice and info before I walked. It was great to have an opportunity to 'give back' once I had walked.
Margaret
I was a Veteran Member I think, and a moderator for a while, but don't post here often now. I guess life has largely moved in other directions. In 2015 I walked ten days in Italy near Assisi, on trails of St Francis- beautiful countryside to walk in. I still find myself in Camino-land every so...
I remember staying at the newish Jesus Y Maria albergue in Pamplona in 2008- and the door was actually locked until a certain time so you couldn't leave before that. (Can't remember the time now.) I was frankly quite scared by this, as I wondered what would happen if there was an emergency...
Mooncat, your very sad account has reminded me of the morning on the Camino when I met a young woman pilgrim who was clearly thinking about suicide. I had stayed the night before in San Martin del Camino, and unusually, nobody I 'knew' was in the same albergue, so I departed early, alone, to try...
My New Zealand bank is really 'onto' it with respect to credit card fraud, and seem to quickly pick up on unusual transactions. (It's essential to let them know when and to which countries I am traveling for this reason.) I tried to use the SNCF website once when I had just returned to France...
Well, I can't believe I haven't seen this thread before. Have just spent quite a bit of time here looking at all the photos instead of doing other Sunday night things I 'ought' to have been doing... I loved so many of the photos, from so many varied places, though I probably had a special soft...
"Very nicely expressed Margaret.
Maybe you are now becoming a "lapsed" long distance walker :)Colin"
Not too lapsed Colin. Walked for ten days in Umbria in April. Didn't carry my luggage, but did walk up and down a large quota of steep hills with stunning views. Might try something nice and...
"Who is a real pilgrim?" is a question that tends to cause heated arguments on the Forum- but I will say my bit nevertheless! I would have to say that as a lapsed Catholic I tended to think of myself most of the time as someone on a long walk. There were times when the 'pilgrim' bit broke...
Mostly I am too busy teaching my primary school class to do anything much else- but when I go walking I generally carry my camera. Here are some photos I turned into a calendar as a present for various friends and family.
Margaret
Another "I was hungry" moment. I was about an hour past the Santiago airport- and came across a bar. It was the day of the week they 'weren't cooking', so I just ordered a drink of some kind. I was delighted, when quite unexpectedly it was served up with this soup kind of tapas. Absolutely...
The day I left Triacastela to go via Samos to Sarria, for a couple of reasons I didn't get breakfast/lunch. By 2pm I was ravenous (and also very thirsty.) I walked by the most beautiful back country route from Samos, and finally re-emerged back onto the route for Sarria. Soon after I came across...
When I was new I imagine I asked questions that had been asked before as well. But the fondest memories I have of my time on the forum are not just the threads I was part of, but also the 'private conversations' I was able to have behind the scenes. I was planning to walk the Le Puy route, a...
Gitti, really sorry to read your news. I know your treatment will be difficult, but I hope your body responds well to it. I will make sure Rom and Aideen know- and I know Rom will light some candles for you in the Abbey in Moissac.
Margaret
It's quite common for many Europeans to walk in one or two week stints so that they can fit the Camino into their normal holidays. Thus those that start somewhere like Le Puy fully expect to take 5 or 6 years before they will reach Santiago.
If you want to break the journey in parts, somewhere...
I wrote a note to two friends in one village, hoping they would find it and see I had gone ahead to the next village. I wrote the note on paper and put it under a stone on a seat. It seems that my note was noticed by some locals: when my friends turned up, they were shown the note. I assume the...
Could you deposit money into his account via some kind of internet banking? I am able to deposit funds into the account of anyone in New Zealand this way, whichever bank they use.
Margaret
I am going to go the whole have-pack-carried hog next time. Have ten days, going via walking tour company in Italy, self-guided, to walk on a bit of the St Francis trail near Assisi. My pack will have room for extra souvenirs I might buy along the way and I won't even have to carry them. I might...
Congratulations to you all. What a journey you have had! Well done especially to the littlest of the children. I told my class of 8-9 year olds about you today, and they were highly impressed!
Margaret
I was interested to see that Nell from Ireland was the first to respond to this thread. I read this same interesting article about 'thin places' by Weiner in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/travel/thin-places-where-we-are-jolted-out-of-old-ways-of-seeing-the-world.html One...
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