The Way of St James - a pilgrims blog

[DeletedUser13231]

Ok...let me say this first to get it out of the way...some will not have any interest in my blog whatsoever for whatever reasons they may have. I respect that and give you a friendly wave and a 'God Bless' as you pass on by

For those who are interested in a blog written by a pilgrim whose first journey along The Way of St James (the Camino de Santiago) has..in a way...already begun...welcome Here's your chance to kill some time waiting on your goods and whatnot And who knows..maybe it'll inspire you to do your own Camino some day! Buen Camino! if you do!

Sit down and I'll pour you a drink on this wonderful Friday evening (this is a Tavern after all)... whilst I continue sharing my real life true adventures. Lots of ice cold beer to go around Cheers!!

I say already begun thanks to my Catholic priest who has pointed out to me that my pilgrimage actually began on the first day of the start of my training for it...which was Dec 1..whether I was aware of it or not. I wasn't. I didn't think it started until the plane lands in Toulouse France. Nope says he...Dec 1st it began.

For those unfamiliar with the Camino de Santiago and who don't know what it is...it is the Way of St James along the route St James (disciple and Apostle of Jesus Christ and brother of St John) took on his way to Spain to spread the Word of God after Christ's crucifixion. Pilgrims have been retracing his steps for over a thousand years...and ending in Santiago de Compostella Spain where his body is entombed. St James began in Jerusalem Israel...but modern day pilgrims commonly begin the trip in St Jean Pied de Port France...500 miles from Santiago de Compostella. Rarely some pilgrims do actually begin in Jerusalem...but 4000+ miles is just a tad too much for most.

A good way to get an idea of the Camino is to watch the movie "The Way" starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez..it can be found on Netflix. The movie was my inspiration to actually do the Camino. Years ago I had read about the Camino vaguely and had dreamed of one day doing it...but it wasn't until I saw the movie that the overwhelming desire to go on it came over me enough to seriously budget and plan for it. I mean..to me this is a major undertaking for a woman my age and in my physical condition! 500 miles...wow! Every step of it will be walked if..God willing...all goes well.

Physically I am not in the best shape to begin with so training is a must. I am active but not athletic in any way. Whether I make it to the end of the Camino will be interesting... I wonder!! The actress Shirley Mclane did the Camino...that gives me hope for me! If she can I can too! And Martin Sheen..bless his soul...and Emilio Estevez...hunk of hunks

Over a dozen people have died on the Camino trying to complete it. I very well might be one of them although unlikely. Some die from heart attacks..others from being caught unprepared in severe weather conditions in the Pyrenees mountains. The weather there is unpredictable and can change suddenly. Unless you are very athletic it takes at least two days to get through the mountains. A lot can happen in two days. My plan is to spend the 3 months prior to departure getting prepared.

So training began Dec 1st in the gym on a treadmill. My plan is to increase distance endurance slowly and incrementally. One mile at 2.2 mph with no incline was enough for the entire 1st day. Then I boosted the incline as can be seen in the pic..the number of rows of green lights are indicative of the amount of incline...here it was a 3% incline. For those unfamiliar with treadmill digital dashboards the numbers from left to right mean I had been walking for 24.42 minutes..had gone a distance of .89 mile (just under a mile)...at 2.2 mph...and had burned 93.1 calories. The remote control is for the wall mounted tv in front of the treadmill. Sorry the pic turned out crappy..was walking when I took it and used my Ipod camera.

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Almost two weeks later and I am now at two training sessions per day doing 5 miles each at 2.5 mph with an average incline of 3%. Sometimes the incline is boosted up to over 6% and sometimes I drop it down to below 3% to prepare my leg muscles for a variety of terrain. This is not easy!! So far at 5 miles I 'hit the wall' and have to stop for a few hours to rest. Been trying for the past couple days to get past that wall. It'll happen..I just gotta keep believing it'll happen!! On the treadmill I've been burning a little over 100 calories per mile. 5 miles at a time x2 per day is just over 1000 calories. One lb of body fat equals 3000 calories. In 3 days I've lost a lb. In the course of the past 13 days my jeans are baggy and feel a slight difference in my core and leg strength...the training is definitely helping!

So I'm jazzed! I sent off for my Camino credentials...aka the Camino Passport (not to be confused with a regular passport) earlier this week. Should receive that within 3-4 weeks by mail. The Camino Passport is what is required to receive the Compostella diploma at the end of the pilgrimage on the Camino. The Compostella diploma is a reproduction of the original medieval document written in Latin that is given to each pilgrim...with their name and date of completion included on it..to certify that the pilgrim completed the Camino. The diploma can only be obtained by the pilgrim having his or her Camino Passport stamped at each Albergue (hostel) the pilgrim stays in along the way. Only those who do the trek on foot..bicycle...or horseback can obtain stamps and a diploma and the pilgrim must have done at least the last 100 kilometers of the Camino just before Santiago de Compostella. The Camino Passport will be full of stamps by the end!!

I haven't mentioned yet why I'm doing this...the 'Why' is one question asked by the clerk who fills out the diploma at the end to every pilgrim. There are two different diplomas...one specifically (the one in Latin) for those who do it for spiritual reasons..and another (not in Latin and not true to the original medieval wording and format) for everyone with other reasons. My reasons began as spiritual and will end as spiritual. Sure..500 miles is a challenge..but it doesn't change my spiritual reasons for this trek. A person can do 500 mile treks anywhere...but this one..along the Way of St James..is spiritual in its own right.

The timing of my Camino has personal significance to me as well. (A lot of thought and effort has gone into it by me. It took me weeks to decide on start and end dates!!) It begins the first week of March 2015. Events such as my birthday...Holy Week...Good Friday...and Easter will all occur during my Camino and I will (should) arrive at the foot of St James on April 17th (hopefully if all goes well)...the day theologian scientists think is Jesus Christ's real birthday. Once completed...each pilgrim attends Mass at Santiago de Compostella...receives communion..and is individually blessed by the priest. What better day to do this on than on the day that is most likely Jesus' real birthday!! How better to honor St James..Disciple and Apostle of Christ... who lived until his death doing God's work! Crazy cool!

Until next update...Cheers!! *pouring another round*

LeatherAndLace

 

[DeletedUser9433]

Just one question: In which life did Shirley make her Pilgrimage? She has had so many it's hard to tell the players without a program.

 

[DeletedUser13231]

Shirley Mclaines book.."The Camino: Journey of the Spirit" which is about her Camino. I haven't read it..just the reviews. You can google it and pull up info and pics of her on the Camino when she walked it some 20 or so years ago.

 

[DeletedUser13231]

*sipping red wine tonight*

So today was a rest day...pushed it a little too hard on the treadmill yesterday and now my knee is slightly hurting. Kind of kicking myself too for not booking my flights 2 weeks ago...airfare was $200 cheaper than what it is today. Crap! I cannot believe airfare has jumped that much when here it's still two and a half months out from departure date but it has!

So I got them booked today before they go up again and took care of some other minor transportation details in getting to St Jean Pied de Port France from Toulouse France. Toulouse is the closest international airport to St Jean..but it's still quite a ways away from St Jean. My plane will land in Toulouse and then I'll have two hours to get to the station to board a high speed Euro-train for a 2.5 hr ride to Bayonne France. There is no direct train from Toulouse to St Jean....have to go from Toulouse to Bayonne then Bayonne to St Jean. I figure by the time I get to Bayonne jet lag is going to hit hard so a hotel reservation was in order. Got that done. The next morning will have to catch a bus for the 1.5 hr ride from Bayonne to St Jean. Once in St Jean will walk to the Pilgrims Office to get the first stamp in my Camino Passport and then the trek into the French Pyrenees begins.

Spent part of today going over my new backpack too to familiarize myself with it. Had to get a new one...my old one isn't the type for such a long trek and definitely not big enough. The type needed is one that has a mesh padded stiff back frame that is arched to allow for airflow between it and the spine...has a thick padded waist belt and a front chest belt with heavily padded shoulder straps. The hip belt is needed to keep most of the weight on the hips and off the shoulders. It also has to have plenty of ways to secure other items on the exterior of the pack...like sleeping bag..sleeping bag pad...walking poles...and whatnot. My new one is a Kelty brand and almost identical to the one the blonde gal in the movie "The Way" uses except mine is a different color. Mine is a gun-metal steel color. I wanted a North Face brand but this one was on sale for a lot less and it's just as good of quality from what I can tell. And coincidentally the color matches my sleeping bag to boot! This pack is much more comfortable than my old one too.

I've been training to carry 30 lbs in my pack but when it comes time to do the actual Camino my max pack weight will be no more than 24 lbs. Probably less than that even. By training with a heavier weight the lesser weight later should come easy. I'm also training with a goal of 15 miles a day on the treadmill...but have actually built in enough time on the Camino to only have to do 11.5 miles per day if I were to not take any rest days. By training for 15...and if I actually accomplish 15...I'll have some free days to spend resting and seeing the local sites on along the way. 15 miles is an average of 6 or 7 hrs of walking at a steady pace. Build in brief rest breaks and that's a full day before crashing in an albergue for the night.

Every single item I pack into it has to be chosen with careful consideration. It has to meet the criteria of...absolute necessity..lightness..and durability. My winter sleeping bag only weighs 2 lbs and stuffs into a little nylon bag into the shape of a basketball (but much smaller than a basketball) and the bag has straps to secure it to the pack so I'm good there. The weight of the pack itself when empty is 2 lbs. That leaves me with no more than 20 lbs available to work with but it should be fine. 20 lbs is actually a lot as long as each individual item is lightweight.

I also bought some Camino embroidered patches from Amazon to sew onto my pack for some added style and individuality to go with the seashell that I've already added to it...and for later nostalgia after the trek is completed. Who knows..maybe years from now I will pass the pack down to one of my two granddaughters who might want to do her own Camino when she's old enough. My oldest granddaughter turns 10 soon...the youngest is 5.

So I'm even more jazzed now that my flights and stuff are secured and good to go!


LeatherAndLace