Ummm, it seems you finally had use for some of my advices

I'm happy you enjoyed the Camino. It is one of those experiences in you life that marks your soil forever, now you know why "Spain Marks"



Fernando

Fernando and everybody, yes this journey has marked my heart and soul. I will always remember what the priest told to us Pilgrims in San Juan de Ortega and being served Garlic Soup with Bread after the mass. It is not the destination but it is the journey itself. Well just as we live, in my interpretation:
we live to die but it is how we live before we die.
If any of you like you may go to this link
http://www.thelancasternews.com/features
I have not finished writing my story about the camino, too many things happened upon my return and I am still working thru some tings. I did keep lots of notes and I have actually already written about my first day, but there are many days more to write about. To all enjoy life is incredible no matter where you are. Thank you for letting me share this with everybody

Great thread and great piece of writing Mecky!

BTW, is anybody as crazy as myself to be planning to do El Camino at the end of August?

No no Pim you are not crazy. Where would you start from? I think that would be very important as it will take you days to get to Santiago DC.

For any of you that are interested here is the 2nd installment of the article in my home town paper. Enjoy look uder features http://www.thelancasternews.com/
A great weekend to all

Hi Mecky, I'd like to start off in Ponferrada, and take 9 to 11 days from there....I'm starting to really fear I won't be in enough good physical condition, though (anybody who's in Madrid right now will understand me, it's so hot it can take an effort to even move, not to mention exercise! ), besides, instead of preparing for my trip, I'm going to just relax on the beaches of Mojacar for the first part of my vacation, and I feel that's not exactly the way to go

Dear Pim
If you are starting of in Ponferrada I really dont think you will have much of a problem to do journey in the time you have allowed. The hardest part of the journey will be from Ponferrada to Sarria. El Cebreiro is very challenging from what my friends told me, just because of the mountains. I started after having taken the train from Burgos to Sarria in Sarria early that morning.
If I follow by my guidebook you would start in Ponferrada to Villafranca approx. 24km day 1
day 2/3 Villafranca El Cebreiro 28km, that I would make a short day simply because of the terrain,
4/5 O Cebreiro - Sarria 39km 2 days forsure
1 day for Sarria to Portomarin
1 day for Portomarin to Palas de Rei
1 day for Palas de Rei to Arzua (Ribadiso)
1 day for Ribadiso to Arca
1/2 from Arca to Santiago de Compostela, left by 7 in the morning an made if for the 12clock pilgrims mass

I see nor reason while you could not make it in the time you have scheduled for it. For you to get your pilgrims certificate you must have walked aprox. 120-150km. Let me know if you need more detailed info I will be glad to detail it out more for you. Also if it really gets tough you can always take a bus to the next town. I had to do this on my third day as I hurt my leg while walking in the rain thru the mountains in mud. So you should just go. You will find yourself having incredible inner power pushing you. Buen Camino.
It will be great.

Hola - telephone tag and I'm resorting to our fav website to touch base!!!!

I'm awaiting the second part link to the Camino - FYI, the link you posted here doesn't have the article .....

Hello Wendy
Well we are playing phonetag. In any case sorry about not being able to pull up the second part, so here it is. I hope that this ok to be put on the board. My friend from Idaho is walking on the camino and everyday I go to the webcameras, I know I will not be able to see her, but it gives me a nice connection anyway. well here it is

Journey rough, but worth taking

By Nita Botzenmayer - For The Lancaster News
On April 21, Maggie Bowers flew first to Madrid, then to Pamplona (famous for the annual Running of the Bulls) in the Pyrenees Mountains to begin her pilgrimage.

The Camino de Santiago is not an easy walk. The footpath reflects the terrain, and is rough and mountainous for much of the way. The paths, though rugged, are worn from countless pilgrim feet that have made the journey before, but the reward is awesome sights, sounds and smells, Bowers said.

Boots and clean socks are extremely important. Bowers washed her socks each night, so she would always have a clean pair.

"I saw plenty of raw feet and blisters," she said. "I was glad I had broken in my boots before the trip."

Backpacks for clothing and supplies must be packed a certain way to carry the load correctly. The walk can be a challenge, even for those who are physically fit.

"It was very hard, with some rugged terrain," Bowers said. "The second day out, it was raining, and I pulled a muscle in my leg. But somehow, I just moved on. I could travel at my own pace, and I wouldn't take anything for the solitude."

Bowers said most pilgrims walk alone, and socialize in the evening at hostels along the way. Hostels provide only bunk sleeping quarters and there are no restaurants. Check-out is at 8 a.m. Pilgrims learn to appreciate the simple things in life, Bowers said.

"We knew what it was like to be homeless," she said. "Everything we owned was on us. I learned to live without makeup or daily showers. It got to the point where water and a dry piece of bread sounded wonderful."

Some things were just not important anymore.

The food available along the way caused Bowers to switch to an almost vegetarian diet with some fish occasionally. In the San Juan de Ortega region, pilgrims were served garlic soup and bread by the local priest after evening Mass.

After reaching Burgos, the city of El Cid, in the province of Castille, Bowers took a few days' break to visit friends, and then traveled by train to Sarria for the last leg of her pilgrimage. When she reached Santiago de Compostela, Bowers said she was exhausted, but felt compelled to go to the cathedral for Mass. As she entered, someone tapped her on her shoulder, and she turned to discover a fellow pilgrim she'd met earlier. It was an especially poignant ending to the journey.

"He told me he and two others had saved me a place because they knew I was coming," she said.

Bowers said making the pilgrimage alone was very meaningful to her, though she values the new friends she made in hostels along the way.

"It is the journey that's important, not the destination," she said.

After a short visit with friends in Fisterra, called "the end of the world" because it is the westernmost cape of Spain, Bowers returned home May 21.

Thanks!!!! It was a wonderful write-up - even minus the photos! Congratulations - again.
Beso - W