El Camino

 The Countdown.

 One week from today I leave for Porto, Portugal to meet up with my daughter, Greta, and my sister, Eva, and embark on our “epic pilgrimage” – 150+ miles on el Camino de Santiago. 

If you are unfamiliar with the Camino, it is an ancient route walked over the centuries by pilgrims beginning in France and ending in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. In more recent times, newer routes have been established and we will take the path from Porto, Portugal, 150 miles north along the Atlantic coastline over 13 days. (I picked the Portuguese Coastal Route due to its lower elevation climbs. Call me chicken.) 

 

I became enamored with this undertaking in the late 90’s when I read The Camino, by Shirley MacLaine. At the age of 60, she walked 500 miles from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Ever since, I have been determined to make this trek. Finally, turning 70 this summer, I will fulfil my dream. 

 

As I approach our October 6 start, I realize this journey actually began more than a year ago when Eva and I sat down in Montana with her husband, Steve, to lay out our plan. I have to say his first reaction was not “Hey, okay. Good for you. You go girls!” I guess he would like to have had a couple of decades to wrap his arms around the concept, like I did. I can’t really blame him. 

 

Over this past year I have worked with a personal trainer twice a week. I have walked and walked and walked. I have fallen down in training and broken my front teeth. I have experimented with different shoes and finally settled and broken in a pair of Brooks (I guess you could say I am now broken in from top to bottom - teeth to feet). I am ready! 

 

In the planning process, I set what I call my “princess parameters.” We will stay in AirBnBs or hotels – no hostels. I will carry a day pack during the dat and transport one larger backpack with necessities (I refuse to be a beast of burden). No sleeping bags. No singing around the campfire. No bedbugs.

For Shirley, el Camino was more of a spiritual journey. For me, it will be a test of my true and Sweet grit, both spiritually and physically.

Stay tuned for blogs (which I will keep brief but try to capture the essence of el Camino) and wish us luck. Buen camino!