Two Weeks to Go!

Maybe you missed it in the fine print, but Tina announced that she wanted to go back to Gijón, Spain to pick up the Camino where she was forced to abandon it last July.  When she said it, I practically fell out of my chair.

My scallop shell from 2015

 

Here's the plan: We're going to fly to Spain on July 9th, and get acclimated to the time change, and continue our training regimen in Madrid. We'll take a train to Gijón on Saturday the 13th.  The plan is to take an Uber to the exact spot where she was forced to give up last Summer.  We were in front of a restaurant in the Eastern suburbs.  It looked popular.  Damn it, we're going to eat there this time.  Then, after lunch, we're going to walk the five remaining kilometers that eluded us last year to the very same hotel where we stayed and where she called it quits.

On the morning of Monday July 15th, we're going to start the Camino for real, with a few changes this year.  For one thing... it's not a race!  We're going to savor the moments as they come.  Maybe it'll take a day or two longer than last year.  AND, we're going to keep going until we reach Finisterre, the end of the earth.  It's something we've never done before.

Tina will finally get credit for the entire walk from last year plus this year's portion, over 500 miles.  I'm just along for the ride.

Training

We've been walking for the last month or more to get in shape for this trek.  We took our show out West, first to the Badlands.

And then to California:

And now, hot and humid Baltimore, MD.  Yesterday we walked over 14 miles wearing backpacks. (Mine weighed over 20 lbs... that's a problem.)  But, we're getting there...  Stay tuned for more posts when we get closer to the start!