Hi Everyone!
My name is Suzie and I am planning to walk a little of the Camino in September. I have always wanted to do this, since I was very young, although I could never say exactly why. I am beginning to understand my Christian faith properly and explore it further and I hope that this short pilgrimage will help me do some 'proper' thinking and maybe even take some decisions.
But laziness (and other things like work, a chronically sick child, and various family problems) have held me back. A couple of years ago I thought I should start talking about it out loud, so that eventually someone in the family would say - ' well, why haven't you gone yet?' and force me into it. I also thought I would like to do the Camino before I turned 50. That milestone is coming up fast (20th September to be precise). Then my young cousin died (of a Strep A infection - from fit and well to dead in 36 hours, leaving a widow with 2 kids under 4), which has been hell for all of us, and he had been so encouraging about me doing this when I spoke to him last.....so I have finally booked my flights and made some hotel reservations, and planned my route.
I am not known for my sporting prowess although I am a very active mum and youth group leader, so I am starting training next Monday.
I would have been happy to go alone, but quite out of the blue, my friend and neighbour Angela has decided to come with me - although she is not 'religious' as she puts it, she felt a 'pull' when I was talking about it - and 'hurrah!' for she speaks fluent Spanish and has visited Galicia before. So God has sent me a real gift there.
I am feeling very happy and excited about it, apart from the sad fact that I can only do 9 days away from home - and that includes 2 days travelling, so we have decided to walk from Samos into santiago de Compostela. It's not very far, is it? I so wish I could do more - you are all doing so much further than me and I admire you all immensely. I was reassureded by a lovely man I met in Guildford, Surrey, the other day, who was carrying a very small pack with a seashell on it - it turned out he was on his way the day I met him (and astonished to be approached by anyone in Guildford who recognised what the shell was about). He said the first time he went he could only do a few days, but 10 years on he is walking from Surrey to Santiago - arriving in SdC in July - say hello if you meet him!
Anyway, Angela and I will be setting off from Samos on 5 September, so if you are there round that time - we may meet up with you. Angela is 'allergic' to the concept of albergues, so we have booked some little B&B's (well, it was either that or lose her fine company!).
Good luck to you all, and God bless you.
Suzie
Sorry - bit of rambly post - hope you can make sense of it
