Tom on the Camino

There is a big difference from Bonjour to jHola, from Merci to Gracias.  The difference on the Camino is over a 4,100 foot climb and about a 6 hour walk covering nearly 20 km.  But on the Camino “Buen Camino” is universal!  I walked a total of 7 hours and 15 minutes covering 25 km and 36,600 steps according to my FitBit.  Not sure when I entered Spain but the walk was arduous to put it kindly. These picutes show the fog behind me after walking for about 4 to 5 hours.   The other one shows that I ONLY have 765 km to go.

I’v heard that you need to be broken down to be rebuilt.  Today was part of the breaking down.  I continued to meet wonderful people, Chris and Jade from Canada and walked for most of the day with Ray and Ewan from Astralia.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers and know that you are in mine.  And please go tho the Alzheimer’s site by clicking the DONATE button.  I wore the Alzheimer’s shirt today because it was a long day for me.

The road over my shoulder is where I start in the morning.  I arrived in St. Jean Pied de Port this Sunday afternoon and am really excited to get going.  I hope I get a reasonable night’s sleep tonight in spite of my excitement.  Most of the people in SJPdP seem to have trekking poles and backpacks.

I talked with a woman and her son on the airplane, this is her second time to walk the Camino.  I asked he why she did it the first time and she said that she and her husband had vacationed in Santigo de Compestelle and noticed that all the arriving Pilgrims had a look of calm and peace.  I hope I come away from this journey with that feeling.

I am so inspired by the many blessings and prayers I’m receiving as I get ready to leave for my Pilgrimage.  Yesterday I received some really special blessings.  The St. Christopher Medal is from our daughter Julie, her husband, Nick and their four kids, Emily, Anna, Molly and Gus.  The St James Medal is from our son David and his wife Michelle and our son Dan and his partner Ethan.  I know I will be especially touched to walk into Santiago de Compostela Cathedral wearing these medals.

Last Sunday, Dan, our parish pastor, blessed me with these words:

Loving God, we are all pilgrims, seeking to appreciate the quiet immensity of your presence.  

We pray in a special way for our brother, Tom, as he undertakes this pilgrimage to and through Spain.

Watch over him; guide his steps; and help him to awaken each day to the beauty of your creation and the inner dignity that we all carry within.

May he remain open to the generous graces you offer him through nature, through the people he meets, through the quiet conversations he has each day with you.

May he never feel alone but always experience the prayerful company of his family, his friends and his Bellarmine community.

May you go forth with the blessing of our God.

On Monday, my fellow Vincentians also gave me a blessing for my pilgrimage.  With all these prayers and those of so many others, I leave on Saturday to start the walking portion of my pilgrimage on Monday with confidence and hope.  Thank you all and God bless you.

I have to admit that I have a bit of anxiety about the first day from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles because it’s a 15 mile walk but an ascent of about 4,500 feet.  That’s a bit of a hill!  I did come across this video of the first day so now at least I know what it will look like.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZNrSdO33QQ&feature=youtu.be  Cut and past the URL and skip the add when you can to watch.

Pray for good weather.

Final preparations are proceeding as planned.  I walked 16 miles today to see what that feels like.  That will be a typical day on the Camino.  Have a little soreness but nothing from which I won’t recover with a little Tempranillo wine.  I have discovered that rain and cold are no big deal on the trail.  But wind is another matter.  I am most sore and tired if the winds are 15 MPH or more when I’m walking.  Pray for calm or gentle breezes in May and June in Northern Spain.

Hard to believe that this adventure is starting so soon.  I’ve been training for 9 weeks and I think it’s paying off.  There was a bit of a transformation this week.  I’m walking 8 miles a day with my backpack almost every day.  This week I noticed that the last mile was actually easier than the first.  Yea!  And I discovered that listening to my footsteps was every bit as engaging as listening to the “Four Seasons” on my iPod.  There certainly seems to be a calming solace in hearing your left foot follow your right and then your right follow your left.  I did calculate that the total adventure will be about 1 Million steps — 500K on my left foot and 500K on my right.  Doesn’t sound too bad that way!

Clicking on the “Why the Way” tap will show you my route.  Keep me in your prayers.  You’ll be in mine.

I’m scheduled to arrive in St. Jean Pied on May 10th and start out to Santiago on May 11th. I’ve confirmed the details of the route and am really looking forward to the adventure.  The first night in Spain I will be staying in a town with a population of 30.  Many of the towns in which I plan to stay have fewer than 1,000 residents.   I will go through several towns each day but there are a few stretches where there are no towns and no houses all day. Great time to think!

There are may routes to Santiago.  I’m taking what is known as Camino Frances.  One of the tabs at the top of the page and a buttons along the side of this blog shows the route I’ll be taking.   Keep me in your prayers.  You’ll be in mine.

In just six weeks the adventure begins.  My Credencial or Pilgrim Pasport arrived today. This is the document that is stamped at least everyday at cathedrals, churches, hotels, bars and town halls along the way.  It is necessary to receive the compostela (certificate of completion of pilgrimage to Santiago.  I hope I’m still this excited after two or three hundred miles.

Pilgrim Passport

I’m continuing to get as much walking in as possible.  I was able to do almost 40 miles in the last 8 days and four of those day were 7+ miles each and many with my backpack.  No real surprises (like blisters).  The emphasis is to be in good enough condition that this is and adventure, not an ordeal.  Time will tell!