My Shell

I drilled a hole in a scallop shell today and put it on my backpack. It looks so beautiful and makes me feel so strong.

Pack-tice

I loaded up 15+ lbs. of stuff in my pack and hiked this morning. I did about 6 miles. I have a good pack and it set well. My ankle talked to me a little bit - but I think we can work it out before September :) (Sunday I had my pack up to 20 lbs. {thanks to the brick] and did 3 more miles).

The pack I bought is great - a girl cut. I have full arm movement with out bumping behind me. I can keep my speed up at 3 mph even with it at full weight. Very comfortable.

I'm hanging little Spanish word signs all over my house - I've got to be able to make some full, meaningful sentences. :)

I'm watching El Agente Cody Banks on the Spanish channel. I can only understand about half of it. But the good news is I CAN understand half of it. :)

I downloaded maps, had them printed at the CopyMax laminated and trimmed. I bought Sharpies to make notes about the things I want to see and places I want to stop.

I bought some large "sticky notes" to place in my El Camino books. I plan to journal on those pages and just attach them to the locales that match in the book.

This is a quiet weekend for me. Just taking care of myself and getting ready.

61 days until my camino.

How Beautiful Is This?

A story from my posting boards:

"We went to a pilgrim wedding in a side chapel of the cathedral. All pilgrims were invited - please bring your sticks. After the ceremony the bride and groom walked down through an honor guard of pilgrimswith sticks raised high. Beautiful! The couple then invited all in attendance to a Bar around the corner but we never found the correct Bar."

A few people have told me they feel I will meet "someone" on the Camino. My comeback is that I hope "he" is French then. I could save a lot of money living in France.

Camino Shopping

I read today that Crocs are the perfect evening shoe while on the camino - weightless in the pack easy going on the tired feet while exploring the towns. I swore I would never own any, but I said that about the iPod too. Both are going with me, by the way.

I found a natural fiber, kind of open weave wash cloth. It even has a little hanging loop. It will dry quickly! I found very small, but very usable toenail clippers and....I found a shampoo/body wash that I could have custom scented. Hmmm peppermint! One bottle will do it all!

Counting down!

Every Day

Every day I find myself stronger and more anxious to be on my way. I'm glad I still have the summer in front of me to prepare. I will be ready. I will be wide eyed and I promise to take in every emotion, every vision, every little thing that is waiting to be seen and experienced.

I am walking longer with less fatigue. I'm browning up nicely so daily sun will not conquer me. I have a packing list a mile long that I know will be trimmed nicely by the time I leave. I do not fear what I don't know.

Every day that I feel tired or challenged on the road - I will know that my friends and family will be thinking of me and that I can call upon their strength to make it to my daily destination. This is the greatest adventure of my life. It started as someone else's story in a book, grew to a whisper, evolved as a wish, became a hope, and then began shouting loudly and pushed me from behind and will now become MY story. MY life.

Many, many of my dreams have come true. I learned long ago to wish to my heart's desire - because it worked - wishes do come true - you only have to dare to believe they can.

My Pack

I got my pack today!!!!

This pack is so accessible and comfortable. I'd been hiking around town today, errands/garage saling, with just a simple day pack. I threw it in and walked the rest of the way home. Felt a bit like Minnie Pearl with my tags flying in the wind.

This is it. My legacy to my children and grandchildren. I hope I can inspire the same adventuresome spirit in them that my father in law has with giving me his pack.

Dad's pack is too big for me to take and too heavy for the long haul (he was bigger than me). I will take one of his pack straps and his picture with me. I'm not going without him!!

I'm thinking about taking a Sharpie and having people sign it with their countries of origin. We'll see.

And as you can see - it matches my shoes :) all of them!

Mi Zapatos

My shoes are nearly broken in. I have named them: Green, Yellow and Yellow X. Green should have had twin, but the store didn't order two pairs as I had asked. The color changed to yellow when I ordered the next set and hence Yellow and Yellow X. X is such because I put an "X" on the inside of the tongue so I would know the pair matched.

Green has done Timpanogos Cave Trail and is ready for Spain. Yellow and Yellow X will have their turn before the summer is out.

I really have to be conscious of which pair I wore for how long - so that they all are correctly broken in. I have them lined up along my bedroom wall. About every 3-4 days, two pairs move to the left and the ones I've been wearing drop to the end of the line.

Total on the trip I will have four pairs of shoes. The ladies mentioned above (or are shoes masculine in Spanish?) and a pair of sandals for the evening strolls around the villages. It is still less than hauling two pairs of boots.

I have about 6 pairs of socks - so I should be set. I may stock up on a few more because wet socks cause blisters. I don't want to do blisters.

I'm learning more and more every day and I can spit out more and more Spanish phrases (I swear I know how a three year old feels). I'm coming along.

Information Age

I have Internet Posting notes dating back March - October (about 153 still to review) from one site and there's yet another site that I have started scraping information off of and I already have 18 pages of typewritten notes.

From those notes I'll add notes to my guide book/packing lists.

Imagine for a minute what this journey would have been like 1200 years ago or so. The trail was there, the feet were there, the inns were there. But how would you have gotten to the starting locale or known what to see when you passed "that" village.

I'm getting information about what alberques are dirty and where the little old lady is that will have a hot crepe ready to stuff into my mouth for a Euro. I know where the baby cranes are in the cathedral tower. I know if there will be mud on the trail tomorrow because it rained last week and hasn't dried out.

So old will meet new and I will be in the crosshairs. What a great place to be!

You Can Do Anything

I saw a post today that said "If you can do the Camino... you can do ANYTHING."

I had an experience about 10 years ago May 1 that I said the same thing. And you know what? I am - I'm doing the CAMINO!

Bien Camino to all - whatever your road may be.

Chant

The Benedictine Monks who recorded Chant and Chant II can be found along the Camino at of Santo Domingo de Silos. This will be very awesome to witness in person. A live concert!

Trip Partner

Several people have said "oh I'd love to go with you". I've responded the same to all - come on! None have, nor did I suspect they would/could. It's taken me several years to bring this all together.

Last year though, my boyfriend/soulmate/etc./etc., who is also Catholic, had said he would join me for part of the trip. We figured out the beginning would be the best as I didn't know when I would actually hit "the end". Unfortunately, we only got as far as saying it, walking about a total of 10 miles together and trying on rucksacks. We aren't together any more. We hardly even speak even though there's no bad juju between us.

This is the only real cloud for me. I was really looking forward to us sharing this experience together. I wish I could tell him about my thoughts, plans, jitters, triumphs. He, I feel/felt was the only one who understood the spiritual drive that is fueling me.

Team Teri is providing cheers and encouragment. I'm just sometimes sad because there was one person in the whole wide world that I thought might actually get off the plane(s, s, s, s) with me and enter my special world with me. And it isn't going to happen.

Pulling It All Together

Now it is starting to feel like a trip! I have my "official" travel book and I'm adding notes from all the books and postings that I've read. Things like a museum here, an errant description there, stay here/don't stay there, a special church just up the hill a couple of km, etc.

These notes and perspectives will guide me on where I want to stay and how long I want to stay there. It may mean I have a short day one day or a longer day just for the opportunity to see the site.

Also I read up on the Spanish food. I've had Basque cooking before and it is yummy. There are a couple of things that I want to avoid. I wrote them down too. I got a little surprised with some frommage in France once and so I check up on what it is I don't want to have on my lips.

The clock is ticking and the reality is gelling. This will be soooo fun. 38 days of nothing and everything all rolled into one.

2007 Pilgrim Guide

My 2007 Pilgrim's Guide arrived today. I bought one a couple of years ago - when I started noodling this trip around. The one I received today is THE ONE. It will be my map, my places to see guide, and most importantly - where to stay. Evey little hamlet along the way is listed.

I also ordered a scallop shell pin. It is the replica of what pilgrims used to receive from the cathedral at the completion of their journey. These days the Compostela is given out at the cathedral.

The only trip piece left to receive is my Credential - the book that I will have stamped all along the way that shows that I did the El Camino de Santiago as defined. This will allow me to receive my Compostella and indulgences at the pearly gates. I will receive this next month.

Altreya