Another Camino!! Here we go again!

Dear Friends,

Much has happened since I last posted to this blog site.

In January I retired from the best parish in the world, St. George’s, Clarksburg.  This was a difficult decision for me but I know it is the right one.  Georgina and I had been living apart for the last 7 years and, as life is short and uncertain, I felt I wanted to spend some time with her.  So, we crunched the number and decided that, while tight, we could afford to have me retire and move to our house in London.  We had a wonder time of “goodbye” in Clarksburg and now I am here.

Besides doing renovation work on our house, my main priority has been to get ready for another camino, which starts on March 24th. On that day Georgina will drive me to the Toronto airport and I will be beginning a new adventure.  After flying to Faro, Portugal I will take a bus to Sevilla, Spain.  When I feel I am rested and ready, I will be setting out on the Camino route called the Via de la Plata; a journey of 1000 kms north to Santiago de Compostella.

This is my second “Camino”.  I completed the French route in 2013 and found that the Camino experience gets into your soul.  When I returned the first time and was asked to describe the experience, I said “it was a long frickin’ walk”!  Soon after my return home though I realized that there was a voice calling to me and I decided that another was in my future.  That future is now.

The VldP is a longer route and much more isolated.  It doesn’t have the same infrastructure and requires longer stages, some up to 39 kms, which I am not sure is within my limit at this point.  I have been walking 6 hours a day to get ready but still feel that 39 kms is possible.  I guess I will just have to find out.

The length and difficulty of this route has me worried.  While last time I was quivering with excitement, this time I am shaking with anxiety.  But it will be what it will be.  This time, if I do not finish, I will not be upset… I will just do my best!

At Christmas I received a “gopro 4” a small video camera that I can use to tape daily vlogs and then upload to youtube.  If you would like to follow my vlog, it is here: www.youtube.com/channel/UCn3O_a39Lc4fROcnEAGMG3A  All you have to do is open it and subscribe.

I cannot promise to be regular in updating this blog or my youtube vlog but this luddite will give it a try!

I have some walks planned for this week, but suspect that some of my training will have to take place on the early stages of the walk.

So… thanks for following along.  I will use this to keep in touch and allow you to do the same.

I wish you a Camino of your own someday, if possible.

Yours

Slow Walking Stevie Wonder