Well boys and girls, here's the last post before leaving in one week to start Our Camino. I've actually had several queries from some of you as to when the next post would be, so here goes.
There have been a few hiccups in our training and with some of our equipment. Turns out that after a week or two of walking with her Osprey back pack, Cathie started experiencing some back pain. We tried all the usual adjustments, but it wasn't working so we headed back to REI. She ended up with a 45 liter Deuter pack and it seems to be working well for her as the back pain has disappeared. Both of our packs have a hydration bladder inside to allow us to drink from a tube as we walk. We like this option best as it's difficult to remove a water bottle from a side pocket with the packs on. So with 1.5 liters of water and just about everything we plan on taking with us, Cathie's pack weighs in at 19 pounds and mine at 21 pounds. Some might say this is a tad bit heavy, but it's the same weight I carried last year without any problems.
The scallop shell on my pack is a symbol of the Camino. There are several legends about the shell and one goes like this: After Saint James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops. It is also believed, by some, that the lines in the shell leading to a point, represent all the different pilgrim routes leading to one place, Santiago.
Speaking of a storm, Cathie had another issue during our training. After a recent storm, yes a storm in Southern California, a very large tree was toppled over across our normal training route. While climbing over the downed tree, Cathie hyper-extended both knees outward. At first she didn't even know she injured herself, but a couple of days later she was in extreme pain. She was hobbling around doing the Camino Shuffle, a condition suffered by pilgrims when starting out each morning. Off to the doctor who told her, only time will make the pain go away, time and a Cortisone injection in each knee. At first she was feeling no improvement and we were considering postponing our departure for a couple of weeks. That would have created many problems with reservations, some which we couldn't re-schedule. We were within in a couple of days of postponing when Cathie's nurse suggested the use of knee braces. There was a big improvement and now with another 2 weeks of recuperation she is pain free and we're a go.
I also had a problem with plantar fasciitis in my left foot, but some new insoles recommended by my podiatrist seems to have rectified the situation. You know what they say about pain at our age? The pain is there to let you know that you are still alive.
I've been following the weather and it's been iffy over the Pyrenees. Apparently there has been lots of snow this year. If the high route over the mountains is still closed when we start, we'll opt for the lower pass. Here's a photo taken a couple of weeks ago of the lower pass, the one with less snow.
This second photo was taken in Roncesvalles, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees at the bottom of the pass. The pilgrim pictured is obliviously a Canadian.
On April 3rd we will hop aboard our flight to Madrid where we will recoup for two nights before heading by train to Pamplona and the start of the Camino. So following along and feel free to share our blog with others.
