Signs that your Camino is close

[Al the optimist]

When you start looking at the weather forecasts?

 

[RobertS26]

When you take your passport and Euros out of your home safe and place them on the kitchen counter.

 

[Kanga]

When you get your legs waxed.

 

[Al the optimist]

I'll pass on that one Kanga!

 

[WayWalker63]

When you get your legs waxed.

Kanga, I'm doing that 2 days before I leave. I'd do it the day before but the wax place isn't open on Sundays.

 

[Annapolis]

Leaving Aug 19 from Washington DC to Madrid, I have done the first 2 and getting a haircut now instead of a leg wax.

 

[Bobbi]

When you start looking at the weather forecasts?

inner voice changes from an occasional whisper to an increasingly steady commentary asking in the middle of the night what the heck am I doing..... Plus get my legs waxed.

 

[bsmorgan]

Start weighing my backpack. Empty it. Put everything back in. Weigh it again. Repeat daily till departure.
Wax legs.

 

[Bobbi]

inner voice changes from an occasional whisper to an increasingly steady commentary asking in the middle of the night what the heck am I doing..... Plus get my legs waxed.

LOL!!!

 

[Bobbi]

LOL!!!

 

[jsalt]

When the house gets cleaned from top to bottom in case my husband decides to invite friends / relatives to stay while I’m away

 

[West Coaster]

I'll wax my legs if it will take some weight off. Could be close to 1 kg.

 

[tomnorth]

No waxing, but lots of weighing and re weighing.

 

[Tessera]

Oh boy is this thread timely! Today the 10-day weather forecast covers St. Jean Pied de Port for my arrival there! Estoy muy emocionada!

Tomorrow: housecleaning, haircut, leg wax, weigh the pack, and *take some things out, weigh it again* (repeat from * to * until it feels light enough or it's time to go to the airport).

For those keeping score at home, €25 Euros in notes (two tens and a five) weigh 20 grams. Euro coins totaling €4.45 weigh 78.9 grams. Hmmmm.....

 

[Sherrie]

When you get your legs waxed.

And that is futile b/c it lasts only briefly. LOL!

 

[Sherrie]

Believing and then reneging on the belief that the training has been enough. Dreaming about missed flights (always figure it's good to have an anxiety dream that "covers" that possibility). We're 25 days away from our flight to Paris enroute to SJPP. God only knows what to expect b/n now and the actual departure.

 

[Anamya]

When I move the backpack to the living room, and the cat insists in sleeping over it until my departure, so I can have a furry jacket for my Camino.

I don't wax my legs (good point, though), but taking off the nail polish and cutting nails very short is a last-night preparation as well.

 

[Meroe]

Reading everything above - its one week to go. OMG.

 

[Al the optimist]

Oh boy is this thread timely! Today the 10-day weather forecast covers St. Jean Pied de Port for my arrival there! Estoy muy emocionada!

Tomorrow: housecleaning, haircut, leg wax, weigh the pack, and *take some things out, weigh it again* (repeat from * to * until it feels light enough or it's time to go to the airport).

For those keeping score at home, €25 Euros in notes (two tens and a five) weigh 20 grams. Euro coins totaling €4.45 weigh 78.9 grams. Hmmmm.....

I think you need to pack a calculator to know how much more/less you are carrying every day!

I don't weigh my bag any more as I know it weighs 2.6K. So I quite miss the daily packing/weighing/unpacking ritual.

 

[trevorcc]

To all those nervous nellies out there I am so excited for you I know you will find Peace Buen Camino I wish I was walking this year. But 2016 will come around, is it here yet.

 

[WayWalker63]

Leaving Aug 19 from Washington DC to Madrid, I have done the first 2 and getting a haircut now instead of a leg wax.

I'm also getting my hair cut really short. It is short already so shorter is the only way to go.
Just 28 more days.

 

[WayWalker63]

And that is futile b/c it lasts only briefly. LOL!

Waxing might be futile but it lasts longer than shaving. I might have to get them done again along the way but at least I won't have to take time in the shower shaving every other day.

 

[amorfati1]

hm --- interesting question - and my response also surprised me: The camino never feels not close.
the departure date might be some time off - that's a different issue. But the camino always does feel close. I keep meeting pilgrims (not the ones I've met on the camino) but who walked other routes and times, and we connect ...with great ease. quite marvelous indeed.
And soon, when in the UK for 14 days, godwilling, other encounters with pilgrims will come about that i am looking forward to mucho. such a blessing.

thank you for asking this question - made me realize in another form just how deeply the camino has become part of my life.... or as I call it: "has pitched its tent underneath my skin' - always there.... (same with some people i cherish ....and who have pitched there tent under my skin ;-) their presence is always there/felt ... as much as the camino/spirit of the camino.)
on a practical level --- i suppose it's when i'd start to created lists w/ checkmarks next to words/sentences
buen camino -

 

[malingerer]

cant match the leg waxing but DID shave the skull AND started speaking spanish to my favourite barrista in the cafe i use! she being Polish and me being Irish the results are pretty predictable But the best bit is having gone on line and done the online check-in and printed off the boarding pass, one gets up in the middle of the night just to have a peek at it n then sneak back to bed mangling one's mirth lest the white coated ones come and getcha!

the malingerer

 

[Draganban]

I'm just over a week away and I have stopped planning and evaluating - the die is cast and all I have to do now is walk. Quietly excited !!!

 

[Griffin57]

When you start looking at the weather forecasts?

"Interviewing" the special stones you have been collecting to accompany you to see which one is 'the' one and very sad to say .... weighing them!

 

[Al the optimist]

LOL

 

[mikevasey]

When the stiffness in my left achilles tendon goes from a 'it will be all right' to 'what are those excercises again?'

 

[ShellsG]

Leaving a week from today and start my Camino shortly after !! So excited and nervous ! Did I train enough I ask myself? Is my pack to heavy, should I re-evaluate everything again? Do I know enough Spanish to get by?? How do I see all the things I want to see?? Experience all the things I want to experience. How do I find the path that diverts from the most used one and then find my way again? I don't want to rely on one guidebook because there are so many other ways and places and things ...... lol
For those of you who live with relatively easy access to Spain some of the answers are that you will do it "next time" etc. but when you have to travel 1/2 way around the globe you want to do it all now in case there isn't a next time available.

 

[Fredlinton]

Glad the last boring training walk is finished. Haircut but no leg waxing.

 

[Obilix]

I start walking in a week, and checked the forecast for SJPdP this morning. Noticed that it suggested thunderstorms, so quickly closed my browser.

 

[Michael Islander]

When you get your legs waxed.

When I get my extra short haircut.

 

[C clearly]

Start weighing my backpack. Empty it. Put everything back in. Weigh it again. Repeat daily till departure.

What!!! Are we supposed to wait until the camino is "close" before we do this?
Maybe Amorfati1 explained it...

The camino never feels not close.

 

[david buedts]

leaving in ten days !!! woohooo
haircut indeed. something easy to maintain because I won't be taking my blowdryer...

 

[LisaWalker]

LOL!!!

Yesssss!

 

[Julie H]

Forget the leg waxing, I'm getting a hair cut and going to the dentist! Because I'm not taking any pictures of my legs.....

 

[Jaelyn]

I'm with you on this one! Plus worried about that new ache in my hip and learning new yoga stretches!

Believing and then reneging on the belief that the training has been enough. Dreaming about missed flights (always figure it's good to have an anxiety dream that "covers" that possibility). We're 25 days away from our flight to Paris enroute to SJPP. God only knows what to expect b/n now and the actual departure.

 

[Jaelyn]

I'm trusting all will be well! That I've trained enough, That no one will care if my legs are hairy, That I have time to be slow if I need to so my knees and hip will be fine. That I will meet fantastic people and see what I was meant to see. Trusting the process. But acknowledging that I'm nervous and have no idea what will happen and that my biggest challenge is letting go! !

 

[LisaWalker]

"Interviewing" the special stones you have been collecting to accompany you to see which one is 'the' one and very sad to say .... weighing them!

I nearly forgot the stone! So i was leaving in the dark at 3am on way to airport scrounging around the driveway with my iPhone as atorch to find one! I'm I transit right now!

 

[tomnorth]

When I get my extra short haircut.

I'll be getting my short haircut in a few weeks.

 

[malingerer]

I nearly forgot the stone! So i was leaving in the dark at 3am on way to airport scrounging around the driveway with my iPhone as atorch to find one! I'm I transit right now!

did anyone collect stones before a certain film or book was released? after all u will be standing on millions of the damn things! my favourite piece of lunacy at the moment is counting my euros by candlelight and i have three weeks to go!
the malingerer.

 

[suzannejmartin]

When my mind says "Enough already" with the planning and angst. Feet are saying "Let's go". Nine days to go though.

 

[Julie H]

I'm trusting all will be well! That I've trained enough, That no one will care if my legs are hairy, That I have time to be slow if I need to so my knees and hip will be fine. That I will meet fantastic people and see what I was meant to see. Trusting the process. But acknowledging that I'm nervous and have no idea what will happen and that my biggest challenge is letting go! !

I can assure you on one will care if your legs are hairy....

 

[jpflavin1]

Find my travel wallet and make sure I have Passport, Euro's, Medical insurance card, travel credit card, travel ATM card and Spanish phone.

 

[Al the optimist]

When my mind says "Enough already" with the planning and angst. Feet are saying "Let's go". Nine days to go though.

Today is 9 for me too. Unfortunately my 91 year old Mom fell in the bathroom last night. Luckily only slight bruising but cause for concern that she is going through one of her "Unsteady on her feet" patches after her pain killers have been changed. Still, we normally get the dosage right in a few days after a change so all being well I should still manage lift off.

 

[Tia Valeria]

When you start looking at the weather forecasts?

When you start to listen to the 16.00 (approx) aemet forecast on rtve to re-attune your ears to Spanish.
Trusting all goes well with your Mum Al.

 

[Al the optimist]

Thanks Tia. I expect it will be OK. We go through these episodes quite often and I have never had to postpone yet. We have come close to doing so and no doubt it will happen one day. Let's just hope not this time as I am really looking forward to revisiting the Ingles.

 

[LisaWalker]

When my mind says "Enough already" with the planning and angst. Feet are saying "Let's go". Nine days to go though.

What is your start walking date? Mine is 2 Sep

 

[suzannejmartin]

Today is 9 for me too. Unfortunately my 91 year old Mom fell in the bathroom last night. Luckily only slight bruising but cause for concern that she is going through one of her "Unsteady on her feet" patches after her pain killers have been changed. Still, we normally get the dosage right in a few days after a change so all being well I should still manage lift off.

Thoughts are with you. My mother is 95 and although she is stable, it tugs that I will be so far away. I hope all resolves for your mother quickly.

 

[suzannejmartin]

What is your start walking date? Mine is 2 Sep

Start out of SJPDP on the third. Stopping at Orrison though, so I'll be a bit behind you, but we may still meet up somewhere along the way.

Buen Camino Lisa!

 

[tomnorth]

Just got my "Camino Cut" today...shorter than my hair has been for a long time.

 

[Mike Savage]

Just got my "Camino Cut" today...shorter than my hair has been for a long time.

It's okay, it will grow back. Wish I could say that about mine.

 

[tomnorth]

Thoughts are with you. My mother is 95 and although she is stable, it tugs that I will be so far away. I hope all resolves for your mother quickly.

This rings close to home for me. We just moved my 93-year old Dad into a care center. I'm close with my Dad. If he could tell me, I know that he'd want me to finish my Camino regardless of what happens with him.

 

[suzannejmartin]

This rings close to home for me. We just moved my 93-year old Dad into a care center. I'm close with my Dad. If he could tell me, I know that he'd want me to finish my Camino regardless of what happens with him.

He will be close to you always. Buen Camino.

 

[Al the optimist]

Thanks for your kind thoughts people. Hard time for you Tom and you have my sympathy. I occasionally drop into a heavier care mode than normal and dread when it becoming a more permanent state. But hopefully we still have some quality time ahead together. May the Camino ease your pain and guide you forward.

 

[Sherrie]

When the stiffness in my left achilles tendon goes from a 'it will be all right' to 'what are those excercises again?'

Ooohhh, this hits quite close to "the bone"....my (quiet for years) Morton's neuroma has begun to make trouble again. Less than 3 weeks to deal with it before we launch. Am surmising it may be boot related a/o that my feet already have begun lengthening as a result of all the training distance with loaded pack and boots. Fingers crossed for both of us. Buen Camino.

 

[TaraUltreia]

Well my trip only came together less than 2 weeks before my departure date, so I've gone from being disappointed that I wasn't going to make it again this year to full on GO! GO! GO! Went out to replace some of my worn gear last night, got my camino haircut yesterday (decided to go with a totally crazy faux-mohawk style because it's meant to be messy - no fussing or styling needed - plus shaved sides = way cooler!), still haven't bought my travel medical insurance (eek!) or my train ticket down to Paris (double eek!). I know my training wasn't enough because I just did occasional hikes (but 20km on the flat is pretty easy for me now so that's much better than last time). I'd say I'm in more of a panic than a relaxing and letting go. I'll just be so relieved to actually get to St. Jean!

 

[Sherrie]

We're one week away! Having felt like "forever" it's now realistically close at hand--our first Camino! Feeling excited and simultaneously newly calm. What will be will be. A few days ago in a grocery store far from our own home, I saw a woman with a Camino t-shirt and just blurted out a hello to her. We had a wonderful conversation and I felt an immediate kinship and an inkling of what it must feel like to be part of such a community of souls. Buen camino to you Tara.

 

[TaraUltreia]

Buen Camino Sherrie! You'll love the Camino I'm sure.