it's my fourth day on the road and things are settling into a nice pace. I've met so many lovely people from everywhere and since the distances between towns kind of decide for you where you'll sleep, I often meet people again at night and we talk about the day and the road ahead.
I get up around 6:15 - I don't usually need my alarm, someone else often wakes up or it's just time. Trying not to disturb the other people in the room, I get dressed and head to the kitchen for whatever form breakfast takes that day, sometimes bread and jam, sometimes fruit, coffee or tea if possible. I pack up and head out by 7:30. It's light by then but the sun's not up. It's also usually COLD and misty. The other morning the mist was so thick I had to search for waymarks and couldn't see what was happening twenty metres away from me. I try and walk about 15kms before I stop for coffee and a sandwich. It's great to stop for a while and baguette with thick slabs of cheese or paté has never tasted so good. I'm back on the road in about twenty minutes and I walk on another 12 to 16kms to reach my rest stop for the night. I find shady spots along the way to take quick water breaks and fil up my bottles from the fountains in the tiny towns along the way (yes;,it's drinkable and safe). When I reach the town I find the Gite and see if there's space for me. No problems so far, thank god. I take off my shoes which simply the best feeling EVER on earth and shower, wash my clothes and wander around the town. Dinner is greqt fun, as all the pilgrims (many familiar faces) gqther together and pass around food and wine and chat in whatever language we share. It's not uncommon for the non-French among us to bumble along in french so as to be understood by the others. By 8:30 I'm tired and pretty much ready for bed, so after sorting out my stuff for the morning I crawl into bed and sleep like a log. At 6:15 it starts all over again.
PS Sorry for any strqnge typos, but French keyboards are different from English ones and it's really confusing!
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two and a half months, 1600kms, one long walk
From Le Puy to Santiago
The Camino
From September to December 2008 I'm walking from Le Puy in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain - a journey of about 1600kms. Walking around 25kms a day and staying in local pilgrim accommodation, I'll be following the ancient pilgrim road known as the Camino de Santiago.
After 2 years in Tokyo - the world's biggest (and craziest) megalopolis - I want a bit of time out of the crush to remember who I am, what I came into this life to do, and how little we need in life to be happy.
After 2 years in Tokyo - the world's biggest (and craziest) megalopolis - I want a bit of time out of the crush to remember who I am, what I came into this life to do, and how little we need in life to be happy.