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.....'