Hills, hills and more hills

Well, here I am in hill country...Co Durham, in the north east of England...land of my birth, so beautiful, wild and green. I had never realized till this week when I came back to do some hill training just how hilly it is. I am staying with my sister Carole and her partner, Alan. It is so remote here...so country, sheep, cows, farm yards, tractors, stone walls and horses and the so healthy, invigorating smell of the barn yards as you pass by. There's hen eggs and duck eggs for sale up the road and an abattoir of sorts over the hill two fields up. There's a random peacock that struts around the field next door accompanied on some mornings by fat pheasants. My sister reckons the peacock got lost somehow but nor sure from where. A quaint little village with a pub and no shops. A mobile library and post office visit the village once a week.

I walked for two days with full back-pack et al. First day through Hamsterley Pine Forest managed by the Forestry Commission. A beautiful walk along by the river and one fairly long exacting hill.

Am amazed at just how much water there is here. Australia be very jealous. The river here is so free and fast flowing even with warning signs telling how deep it is in places. There are little brooks and water falls tumbling down from the hills that run along the Forest Drive lined with stately pines. It is off-season but already the mountain bike riders are testing out the new bike runs that Alan has created over the past year. Right of way seems to be given to the bikies so walkers look out. Was pleased to see though that only walkers were allowed along by the river. I covered about 12 kms and just to add to my training experience it rained quite well for me and happy to say my Rainbird jacket held up really well....but not only did it rain it also HAILED. So I suppose you could say I walked through rain, hail and shine ha ha! The sun did come out for brief moments.

I packed a lunch which I scoffed down asap as I decided bananas weighed too much. Had a boiled egg and two compressed buns. I was surprised how much I started to chill down after I stopped for a while. Was warm enough while walking but was by now so wet from sweating that as soon as the cold air hit my back I realized how cold it was. A good enough motivation to keep moving.

On day 2 I decided on another route that Carole had showed me earlier. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn and ended up back where I started...needless to say it still covered 8 kms. Having a map is certainly a good policy! Good lesson learned. Returned to base for lunch and over the rest of the day covered about another 9 kms. My goal was to do at least 15kms as that is what I am aiming to do on the Camino each day. More hills on this route and I can say quite emphatically that going up the hills is definitely better than down. Walking poles are now definitely on my must-get list. I was quite stiff by the end of the day but pleased that I had accomplished my goal. I did it, and with killer hills to boot. I had a revelation somewhere along the way that I didn't need to cover the 15 kms all in one hit. Where did I get that idea from? So took my time and had plenty of breaks. Was OK - though I was quite weary by the end of the day. Dont care if I never see another hill. Walking in Cambridge will be a breeze after this.

Tomorrow I will walk a little section of my previous walk and call in for coffee at The Cross Keys pub on the way home. Maybe I will ask for 'cafe con leche' but maybe not!

Six weeks to go!

Only six weeks to go.....training practice has been accelerating this week and walked average 10 & 1/2 kms two days in a row. Took under two & half hours so am very happy with that considering I had near enough full weight in back pack including water. Am aiming to keep total weight to six and half kgs. Seemed to manage a fairly steady pace (for me anyway) but was feeling quite weary after two hours walking without a prolonged rest. Will have to do at least that again every day!!!! The mind boggles!!! Can she do it? Yes! she can!!

There are some lovely walking paths around Cambridge...hope to discover some more in the next few weeks.

Am heading north this week to my sister's and hope to get some hill training in...that will be the big test....aiming to do 15 kms a day for at least two days.....will at least prove to me I can do it. Will pack a picnic lunch and eat with the sheep Baa Baa!! Lamb season too!

Packing again!

                                                                                                          
 My 32 ltr OMM backpack arrived a few days ago. It has a lean weight of 600gms and 750 gms full weight.   When I first saw it I thought eeeek! it's too small, but  it accommodates a lot more than you would think. In any case the whole point of the Camino is to carry as little as possible so this is enforced minimalism I perceive. And I thought I was incapable of travelling light....well this will surely put me to the test. It has a whistle too...in case I should get lost on the mountains when the freaky mists descend....Ooooo! And also a half sleep mat just in case I end up sleeping on the ground somewhere (God forbid) or for when I collapse along the way from deadly exhaustion and foot rot. I took a chance buying it over the internet as my freedom to shop around, now I am in the UK working is very limited; but, on good feedback about the backpack I took the risk.  I am a small frame and weigh 62 kgs and it sits really well on my back.http://www.theomm.com/products/packs/classicMarathon32L.html


I have done a couple of practise walks with a near full back pack and it was OK...in fact seemed curiously quite light...but I only walked for an hour and a half so hardly a reliable measure of comfort. I have had to buy a cheap set of kitchen scales off e-bay to more accurately measure what I am putting into the backpack. The 50 year old set from the downstairs kitchen don't quite cut it or maybe I just dont want to believe they could be right....7 kgs so far.

My job assignment has been quite kind to me thus far all things considered and I have heaps of free time to walk, rest and browse the internet on my fantastic Mini Dell laptop.

The Camino Santiago forum has been just wonderfully helpful in answering all those niggly little questions about what to pack, trains, buses, etc. http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/

So on this pilgrimage journey where am I up to thus far? Emotiionally I feel like I have been on a roller coaster ride for the past two weeks or so and have finally learned (I hope) that I can no longer expect that some emotional support I had trusted may in fact not be there for me in the future. This has been quite confronting and a struggle to come to terms with but in a spiritual sense it has released me to walk the Camino more by faith now which is what it is all about! As the old hymn says 'Trust and Obey for there's no other way.....'

Finding my Feet for the Road to Santiago de Compostela

Well, have been in Brit nearly two weeks. Gosh have done so much in this time. No wonder I have been a bit disoriented and all at sea. Was warmly welcomed by Carol and Sue in Harrow, London and spent a whole day in my PJs browsing on the internet. Felt quite good and not so jet lagged as I expected and better still my ankles hardly swelled up at all - how amazing is that! Booked my flight to Bilbao with Easy Jet for the 6th May and booked into a hotel at Burgos for the first night - my first and last treat for 12 days. Then booked into Hotel Paris at Leon on 18th May. The name really appeals to me and is in the centre of the town centre and near all restaurants, cafes etc I am told.

On Saturday morning I caught a train into London city to Blackfriars on the Embankment to attend a Practical Pilgrims Day held by the Confraternity of St James.  The timing was amazing really being in between my arrival in UK and starting work the next week so was fortunate to be able to attend.   a very interesting and informative day meeting many different people, some curious about the Camino, others like myself well into the preparation of going and others who had already experienced the challenge of the long journey.  It was encouraging to see so many others there my own vintage.  At least I'm not the only one whose crackers! Lots of questions were asked from the weather to accommodation concerns and what to pack.  The key concerns being feet and weight of back pack.  Less is best!

On the Sunday after I arrived I travelled to Saxmunden on East Anglia coast in preparation for a days mandatory refresher training ready to start work assignment on Wednesady. Such a long ridiculous journey...never travel by train in Britain if you can help it on a Sunday....track maintenance abounds...three trains and a bus to get there. Three and half hours for a two hour journey!

Stayed with my son Scott, and Emma for one night on my return to London. Great excitement as we all anticipate the screening of The Dinner Party at the Australian Film Festival in Sydney in early March. His first big screen movie. Such a great achievement and has taken many years of persistence and patience to get there. A good lesson for me with the Camino ahead....nine weeks to go.

Feeling so much better today....feelings of sadness and flow of tears have all but subsided...just odd pangs of longing for the familiar, the sound of the surf and home.

Have started walking again round the familiar routes I discovered last year. The track I take is akin to some parts of the Camino through the fields. Regrettably the mindless machine of progress has created another scar through the Cambridge countryside - hopefully it will get rid of the heavy snarl of traffic around the city otherwise cant see the point of it all. Anyway walked solidly for one hour two days in a row and half hour tonight- three miles trip - about 5 kms. Not bad but with a full back pack on will probably slow down to four kms an hour. A far cry from 15-20 kms a day with a full back pack but training practice in Australia was encouraging especially the climb up to Eagles Nest from Thredbo in Snowy Mountains with John my Camino companion. What an ordeal that turned out to be but so exhilarating and rewarding. Will always treasure the special moments of that day.

Spring is in the air....three days in a row of blue skies and a burst of colour in the garden with a patch of irises suddenly standing to attention by the front door.

Spring, the season of new birth and hope.