:):):):):):):) :):):):):):) :):):):):)

[Al the optimist]

I fly in 19 days! Sorry folks, maybe I am just in a frivolous mood but I just feel how close it is today.

 

[wayfarer]

I am delighted for you Allan, have a safe and wonderful Camino. Tell it I'll be back. .

 

[gracethepilgrim]

Al, you're very sweet. ...... I love to see what you are going to pop up with next. Buen camino

 

[sriyantra]

I fly in 19 days! Sorry folks, maybe I am just in a frivolous mood but I just feel how close it is today.

I know the feeling. I kept waking last night feeling really excited. I can't remember the last time in my life when I have felt like this. In fact, I don't think I have ever felt so excited - apologies to Miracle Man (husband) if he reads this!!!!! 23 days for us. I know how you are feeling.

 

[peregrina2000]

Wait a minute! Weren't you just posting about your walk on the Salvador? You get to go back so soon? How is this fair to the rest of us?! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Angelo]

Hi Laurie,

I remember in another thread Al started that he is embarking on another Camino once again as he is a friend of St. James. Right Al?

!Buen Camino!

 

[Al the optimist]

Sorry Laurie, yes I did walk from SJPdP To Oviedo via Leon in May/June . I am walking from Leon to SDC Mendi. Feel free to send your credential back to me if you want more sellos Pat. Sorry everyone life just isn't fair is it? Some of us have all the luck don't we. Actually I think I'm having everyone else's share too but I'm not complaining. Enjoy your Caminos sriyantra. PS Not often I get called sweet Grace so thank you, you've made my day.

 

[GerFol]

I think I have more luck.....I fly in 18 days

 

[Al the optimist]

I think I have more luck.....I fly in 18 days

Haha one daymanship!

 

[clearskiescamino]

I'll be a week behind you Al
Enjoy your Camino!

 

[pdxjxm]

I

I'll be a week behind you Al
Enjoy your Camino!

I'm leaving in 2 days! I hope by the time I get to the last 200 km (in September) that the bed crisis will have eased up as I am not taking my sleeping bag!

 

[Urban Trekker]

Al which Camino? I start mine on the 5th after a few days in Lisbon and Porto and like you I can barely contain myself.

 

[Alyssa]

Oh gosh, I returned home from my first Camino a little over a week ago and I am envying you all! Buen Camino!

 

[Rachael]

Have a marvelous time, Allan. I can hardly wait to hear of your adventures.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

19 Days EXACTLY for me too. So psyched. I've only packed and unpacked and weighed and wondered about 50 times by now. The beauty about my trips on the Camino is I start feeling the buzz the minute I make my flight reservations... which for me was December of last year.... And then... as it approaches... its like I'm there already...

 

[grayland]

Eleven days until start of Camino del Norte. (August 20)

I wonder how you will all get by without "sweet Al" and me

 

[FurnessTravellers]

8 sleeps for us until we begin our journey to Europe, and 37 until we begin our Camino on September 15th!!! So excited, bit nervous though as we haven't had a packing practice yet and the pile of things on the spare bed continues to grow. May have to ship some things through to Ivar in Santiago before we start, I'm thinking. Sriyantra, still hoping we can catch up somewhere.

 

[natefaith]

So exciting, Al! Enjoy the anticipation and Buen Camino!

 

[pilgrim b]

Might I say Buen Camino to all of you: Sweet Al , sriyantra, Ger Fol, Clear skys, pdxjxm, Urban trekker, grayland, Furness travellers and all have a wonderful walk pilgrim friends. Don't forget to send me and wayfarer a card

 

[Al the optimist]

Al which Camino? I start mine on the 5th after a few days in Lisbon and Porto and like you I can barely contain myself.

Continuing Frances from Leon.

 

[Al the optimist]

Eleven days until start of Camino del Norte. (August 20)

I wonder how you will all get by without "sweet Al" and me

HaHa

 

[sriyantra]

8 sleeps for us until we begin our journey to Europe, and 37 until we begin our Camino on September 15th!!! So excited, bit nervous though as we haven't had a packing practice yet and the pile of things on the spare bed continues to grow. May have to ship some things through to Ivar in Santiago before we start, I'm thinking. Sriyantra, still hoping we can catch up somewhere.

We will be ahead of you but we will be taking it slowly so if you see a backpack with a forum badge and a kangaroo patch it will be us. Today we had a "dress rehearsal" walk. We were advised by a Spanish lady, who has been following our training, to be careful at ATM's, particularly in the larger places. She told me to be the one to get the money out and for my husband to stand with his back to me, facing outwards so others can see him being "the minder". That way no-one can bump me out of the way and grab the cash. We did have a laugh because I needed to get some money so we jokingly practised that as well today. She is envious as she walked three days of the Camino but became lost and suffered so badly from blisters that she didn't go any further. Every time she sees us, however, she has lots of tips for us.

Buen Camino. Enjoy it all.

 

[sriyantra]

8 sleeps for us until we begin our journey to Europe, and 37 until we begin our Camino on September 15th!!! So excited, bit nervous though as we haven't had a packing practice yet and the pile of things on the spare bed continues to grow. May have to ship some things through to Ivar in Santiago before we start, I'm thinking. Sriyantra, still hoping we can catch up somewhere.

What are you doing re phone, taking an international SIM, using Telstra from here or buying a SIM in Spain? I really only want my phone to take photos because it is better than my camera, but have little need otherwise. I will call into the Telstra shop tomorrow and see what they say. Enjoy your travels.

 

[Al the optimist]

Feeling it again today. A dangerous mood to be in. Off to the pub to have a drink with two friends who have just booked a few October days in Barcelona. I wouldn't be surprised if I got persuaded to join them!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Al, my response was almost the same as Laurie's - didn't you just chase me up the Salvador?
Enjoy your walking - we are reading up on St Paul's Trail in Turkey, the E2.....and the littlest wants to do the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland, so we are really reducing our chances of bumping in to you on the Camino!

 

[Al the optimist]

Oops! Guess what? I succumbed to temptation with very little persuasion! So off to Barcelona for a few days in mid October!
Yes Rachael, I did go up the Salvador and got to Oviedo at the start of September. I had intended to walk the Primitivo afterwards but succumbed to temptation and went to Bilbao with a friend who works in Tineo but lives in Bilbao. After a few days R+R I got a taste of the high life and so I went to Madrid to visit other friends. That is why I am going back to walk to SDC from Leon next week.
I fell in love with Spain when I worked there a while back and then have visited friends who live in a lot of places around it. Walking the Camino in recent years has meant that I am neglecting them. So by going to Barcelona with them I can at the same time catch up with someone I know there and introduce my friends. One of whom had his wallet stolen last year when he visited there. The police recovered it along with his driving license, cards etc. She kindly collected it from the police station and sent it to him. So he will be able to thank her in person.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

This forum has gone on long enough!
Please stop it immediately.
I've got 278 days left before my next camino.
[I say "Stop it!" but I'm reading every post. Personally, I think we're all bonkers ..... and jealous!]
Buen camino, Al!

 

[Al the optimist]

You are right we are all bonkers.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Common comment as we walk here in the UK 'We must be mad'. By the time we get to Spain we are convinced of our sanity. Roll on next year................don't have days counted as no date yet.
Buen Camino Al

 

[Al the optimist]

Thanks Tia

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hope when you get there you can 'smell the roses' None of your title smileys seem to have noses . (I assume they are smiles) : -)

 

[David]

Dang, Al! I had hoped to finally meet you! I am going back this September, to do the first aid thing, should be down on the Frances by the 12th - but I will be around Puenta La Reina and then Castrojeriz - and you will be way over in Galicia!!
Drst.

Buen Camino! - give cheer to all you meet (I know you do )

 

[Alyssa]

What is it about the Camino that makes it so captivating before we have ever set foot upon it and so difficult to leave behind once we have?

Al, in a few more days you will be in León and just knowing that calls to mind images of the beautiful buildings, the streets crowded with people drinking café con leche, eating sopa de ajo, strolling through the cobblestoned streets, everything slow and easy and relaxed... I imagine the pilgrims greeting one another and taking pictures in the church plaza, grimy from the road or glowing and eager in anticipation of beginning their journey.

Three weeks "home" and I am still there... Thank you for keeping it alive!

 

[sriyantra]

You are right we are all bonkers.

I am really questioning my sanity this week. All the last minute "what ifs", "will it work wearing this", "have I done enough training", "why can't you go on a cruise like everyone else"!!!!! etc. etc. 7 sleeps until we have a 4 hour drive to the airport then hours hanging around......but at least then the journey will have started ...

Buen Camino Septemberites

 

[sriyantra]

What is it about the Camino that makes it so captivating before we have ever set foot upon it and so difficult to leave behind once we have?

Al, in a few more days you will be in León and just knowing that calls to mind images of the beautiful buildings, the streets crowded with people drinking café con leche, eating sopa de ajo, strolling through the cobblestoned streets, everything slow and easy and relaxed... I imagine the pilgrims greeting one another and taking pictures in the church plaza, grimy from the road or glowing and eager in anticipation of beginning their journey.

Three weeks "home" and I am still there... Thank you for keeping it alive!
View attachment 12957 View attachment 12958 View attachment 12959

Thank you. I needed to hear that this morning and to see the beautiful photos. I am so pleased that your Camino went so well. Didn't your dad question whether you had done enough training before you left? If it was you, then you proved you had... You are a pilgrim well and truly.

 

[Al the optimist]

Thanks all. Sorry Tia I have a problem with smelling the roses as I have inherited my Mother's poor sense of smell! But it is very useful in the albergues though! :--)

 

[Alyssa]

Thank you. I needed to hear that this morning and to see the beautiful photos. I am so pleased that your Camino went so well. Didn't your dad question whether you had done enough training before you left? If it was you, then you proved you had... You are a pilgrim well and truly.

Sriyantra, what a memory you have! Yes, my dad did indeed question the quantity of training I did before embarking on this journey. And you are right...it was plenty, although it would have been worthwhile to wear my full pack more during my training.

In seven sleeps you will be having the time of your life on the journey of a lifetime....

 

[sriyantra]

Sriyantra, what a memory you have! Yes, my dad did indeed question the quantity of training I did before embarking on this journey. And you are right...it was plenty, although it would have been worthwhile to wear my full pack more during my training.

In seven sleeps you will be having the time of your life on the journey of a lifetime....

Thanks Alyssa. At our age we cannot afford to say "one day" because it is now or never. As we realise that our "one day" is actually now, we intend to try and live each day fully on the Camino and appreciate everything. In all probability we will never do it again. Literally this time next week we will be on board the plane ready to start the long flight from Brisbane Airport to Dubai to Madrid.

I had a short haircut today in readiness, and I told the young hairdresser to start her "bucket list" now and not to put it off, because life has a habit of speeding up as you get older.

Any chance of walking with your dad?

Buen Camino

 

[sriyantra]

Dang, Al! I had hoped to finally meet you! I am going back this September, to do the first aid thing, should be down on the Frances by the 12th - but I will be around Puenta La Reina and then Castrojeriz - and you will be way over in Galicia!!
Drst.

Buen Camino! - give cheer to all you meet (I know you do )

David, are you going to be around Puente La Reina on the 12th? When in Castrojeriz? We might see you. If everything goes to plan we should be in Puenta La Reina around the 11th and Castrojeriz on the 22nd. Look for the backpacks with a forum badge and kangaroo patch.

Thanks for all the advice and help.... I am still having problems with cramping in my feet which no-one/nothing can fix. Any last minute ideas?

 

[Kanga]

Al, you are a ray of sunshine! Enjoy, you dear man. Carry me in your thoughts please - when an unexpected breeze catches you, that's me, flying along the path beside you.
And I will be there sometime next year, God willing.

 

[Al the optimist]

Al, you are a ray of sunshine! Enjoy, you dear man. Carry me in your thoughts please - when an unexpected breeze catches you, that's me, flying along the path beside you.
And I will be there sometime next year, God willing.

I pray for you getting there every day. Bless you for your selfless attentiveness to your family.

 

[Kanga]

Not selfless I assure you. I get paid back in spades. Love is a great investment.

 

[David]

David, are you going to be around Puente La Reina on the 12th? When in Castrojeriz? We might see you. If everything goes to plan we should be in Puenta La Reina around the 11th and Castrojeriz on the 22nd. Look for the backpacks with a forum badge and kangaroo patch.

Thanks for all the advice and help.... I am still having problems with cramping in my feet which no-one/nothing can fix. Any last minute ideas?

Heya! I am not quite certain when I will be down there. Hoping to go on the 9th, which will place me on the Camino by the 11th-12th - but may be able to get away earlier. Do look out for me - I will be dressed in brown and have a large green first aid kit with me.

Cramping of the feet? Well - there would be lots of answers to that - I suggest starting a new thread about it - but - usually it is that the footwear is too narrow if cramping sideways or too short if cramping end to end, and sometimes footbed shape can cause it - if you have unhappy feet problems now you may have real problems walking day after day!
If sideways and towards the front remove the laces and put them back again but ignore the first two sets of holes, which will allow the boot to open more at the front ... but .. unless you are curling your feet for some reason - it happens, so try to walk with your toes flexing - it does sound like you have a footwear problem - gulp!

One thing you can do with boots to widen/enlarge them is to put water into a gripseal bag and stuff it into the boots so it is a nice full fit, then put them into the freezer. As you will remember, water expands when it freezes so will gently stretch the boots!

I have limited knowledge about most things, expertise in a few areas and guess work in others - like all of us - so I really do think you should start that new thread!! I would like to hear the answers from those who know.

Hope to see you down there - Buen Camino!!!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Buen 'first aiding' Camino David if you don't make the Camigos get together on the 8th

 

[Al the optimist]

this time manana in Leon!!!! Bag packed, watch moving sssslllloooowwwllly

 

[Jennifer Juniper]

Thanks for letting me share your happiness!

 

[sriyantra]

Heya! I am not quite certain when I will be down there. Hoping to go on the 9th, which will place me on the Camino by the 11th-12th - but may be able to get away earlier. Do look out for me - I will be dressed in brown and have a large green first aid kit with me.

Cramping of the feet? Well - there would be lots of answers to that - I suggest starting a new thread about it - but - usually it is that the footwear is too narrow if cramping sideways or too short if cramping end to end, and sometimes footbed shape can cause it - if you have unhappy feet problems now you may have real problems walking day after day!
If sideways and towards the front remove the laces and put them back again but ignore the first two sets of holes, which will allow the boot to open more at the front ... but .. unless you are curling your feet for some reason - it happens, so try to walk with your toes flexing - it does sound like you have a footwear problem - gulp!

One thing you can do with boots to widen/enlarge them is to put water into a gripseal bag and stuff it into the boots so it is a nice full fit, then put them into the freezer. As you will remember, water expands when it freezes so will gently stretch the boots!

I have limited knowledge about most things, expertise in a few areas and guess work in others - like all of us - so I really do think you should start that new thread!! I would like to hear the answers from those who know.

Hope to see you down there - Buen Camino!!!

Thanks David. I have been experimenting and I think it is because my legs and feet are too cold !!! Yesterday I kept my legs warmer when I walked and even wore two pairs of socks to walk the dog on the beach (instead of just my crocs) and I had no cramping the last two nights - again wearing 2 pairs of flanelette PJ pants and two pairs of socks to bed (very attractive I am.....(not)....) On cold days on the Camino I will try wearing tights with my walking pants over the top. I don't get cramping when I am walking only when my feet come out of the warmth of the boot.

We will look out for you. Thank you for all your hard work on behalf of pilgrims.

 

[David]

Oh, cramping as in getting the cramps, not as in being cramped!! Sorry, English versus Australian speak! My bad! There are a lot of thoughts about feet cramps, especially at night after walking. No one actually knows why they happen - some say muscle fatigue - which would mean having a serious and deep foot and lower leg massage at the end of the day - the word joy comes to mind! - One thing I read was that it was a water imbalance so to elevate the feet (and legs) for half an hour or so in the evening, which allows the circulation (and water) to flow back into the rest of the body. I have also heard almost the opposite, dehydration, suggesting drinking loads of water before and during walking and a large glass of water before bedtime if they come on in the night.

And, of course, the invisible and mainly unknown bane of many pilgrims - electrolyte imbalance. We sweat a lot, walking, and think we replace with pure water but this can also drain electroyltes so can make it worse. In the Merchant Navy, when we sailed into the tropics we had to take salt tablets every day - punishable by a fine if we didn't. There is this mad modern craze for limiting salt - a terrible thing to do. If we take too much we excrete through the urine, if we have a little too much we get thirsty and dilute it, if we don't have enough in hot climates, especially if we are expending energy we get ill - weak, faint, cramps, exhausted and so on. So keep the salt up, as high as you like if you have a healthy body, and also something to provide potassium and magnesium, bananas are really good! - this may be your problem, electroylte loss/imbalance, allied to dehydration? Drink that water, before rather than after - I have seen many women who can only sip for some reason - men don't seem to have that problem, we just knock fluids back (especially schooners!).

Of course, the old remedy was putting the feet into a hot mustard bath in the evening.

 

[petitewalker]

this time manana in Leon!!!! Bag packed, watch moving sssslllloooowwwllly

"Buen Camino" Al.

 

[peregrina2000]

Ok, you're there. Lucky lucky you. Buen camino, Al.

 

[FurnessTravellers]

Hi to all already on the Camino. We have twelve sleeps to go and I am becoming more nervous every day. We will have had four weeks of holidays in Europe leading up to our Camino. Tried to walk most days albeit without our packs, but still feeling moderately fit.
Have you started yet sriyantra? We plan to be in carrillon de los condes on the 15 September, hope to see you somewhere.
PS in regard to phone, plan to buy a SIM in Spain, unless Orange will operate there, and have also had the short haircut!!!