I'm On My Way . . . .

I purchased my tickets (Roundtrip, non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Paris, France), reserved two nights in a hotel in Saint Jean Pied de Port , paid for my first night at Orisson Refugio, and booked a room at Hotel Roncesvalles. 

I'll need to find a hotel in Paris to stay for one night and purchase a train ticket from Paris to Bayonne, then on to SJPDP.  I decided to spend an extra day in SJPDP (2 nights) before starting my Camino. I want to have an extra day to deal with jet lag, mail my post Camino clothes ahead to Santiago de Compostela and pick up some snacks.  But mainly I just wanted an extra two days to enjoy the Camino experience. 

I am so excited to finally say that I'm going to walk the Camino de Santiago! Whoo Hoo!  I'm retiring in July and will have a little over a month to train, to trim down my packing list and to prepare my documents.  I've already started to train but I will begin to train with my backpack so I can get used to the weight.  I'll be purchasing a few shoes to practice with in hopes to find "the" best shoe for my journey.  

I plan on writing more often in order to document and to share my amazing journey with you all. Until next time, I want to wish you a Buen Camino!

Sharing My Camino Story On Social Media

My Camino de Santiago pilgrimage will be a very personal and spiritual experience.  It is a journey that I have dreamed of taking for many years.  So why do I feel a need to post about it on social media? Shouldn't my pilgrimage be experienced in a private manner, like in a diary?

Maybe this deep personal experience is private for some people, but for me, my Camino is a story that I feel a need to tell and to share with anyone who wants to listen.  That makes me happy.  

Now, my only dilemma is deciding which Social Media to use on this journey? I have so many! Ha, Ha!

Why Do I Want To Walk The Camino de Santiago?

This is the one question asked of anyone who dreams and plans on walking the Camino de Santiago. Some people do it for the adventure, some do it for religious/spiritual reasons, some do it to reflect about their life (past, present and future), some do it to resolve things in their lives, some do it for the joy of walking and the love of Spain and then there are some who do it to find their "way".

I honestly don't have "one" overpowering reason for doing this pilgrimage.  All I know is that I have always dreamed of walking the Camino de Santiago for many years and now I'm finally going to do it!

In his book, "I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself On The Camino de Santiago", Hape Kerkeling wrote about a quote he stumbled upon while on his Camino and in the most simplest of terms, I think it says it all.     

Why do I deal with the dry dust in my mouth, 

the mud on my aching feet,

the lashing rain and the glaring sun on my skin?

Because of the beautiful towns?

Because of the food?

No. Because I was summoned!

~ Anonymous
  

Welcome to my Camino de Santiago Blog

This is my newly created blog dedicated entirely to my Camino de Santiago Journey that I will be embarking on this fall of 2016. I have my other main Trekcapri Blog, which I use to blog about my travels, other interests and random thoughts.  But this journey is such a huge deal to me that I wanted to have a dedicated blog site to journal every meaningful, fun, logistical, and insane thought as I inch closer to fulfilling my Camino dream. 

Thank you for stopping by.  I look forward to sharing everything about this amazing journey here with you all. Buen Camino!