500 miles  , a hike along 0ne of the most famous routes used by the christian pilgrims, since the discovery of the burial place of St James the apostle in the 9th century.
I am excited to undertake this challenge again, a journey that I so enjoyed four years ago as part of my 1000 mile journey.
They say that being called to walk the Camino is no accident, thats not for me to question, but I do believe it "calls" you when your ready. Its long been a desire to take this walk again as I always felt that when I last did it, as wonderful as it was,i had that feeling of,"" job not finished",and now is the time.  I dont have any specific reason for taking this journey again, and I am not looking for any Ah-haa moment along the way, nor am I religious, I am spiritual in my way and always open to learning. I approach this the same way as I  did last time, open minded.. In Buddhism, there is a great saying, "Never have I felt so good, since I gave up all hope", for some that may seem negative, but really its about expectation, If you have no expectations of this in life, you cant be disappointed, and without expectation, your mind will be most open while walking, and willing to hear the subtle life messages that most people noisily rush on by.
This walk, the Frances Way, was listed as  a UNESCO world heritage site in 1993.

For most, this Jacobian pilgrimage ends in the town of Santiago de Compostela in the north west corner of Spain,   For some pilgrims, the journey continues after Santiago, on to the western corner of Galicia (Costa de Morte-the coast of death)where some burn their clothes and toss their shoes into the ocean. I made that walk last time and will not do it again, (as far as I know right now anyway), last time I walked to the cliffs and burned my clothes, but spared the ocean the indignity of having to accept my set of worn out and stinky hiking boots. Our oceans are already polluted enough .

Santiago de Compostela is known as a bastion of European culture, and the burial site of one of the prominent 12 apostles of Jesus , St James, the patron of pilgrims and laborers..
According to history, Jesus named him  one of the "sons of thunder".
St James is thought to have actually been the cousin of Jesus through the sister of the Virgin Mary, he was charged with spreading the word of Christianity after the Crucifixion of Jesus, and traveled into northern Spain to do so, this is why he is so revered and celebrated by Christians and others in the Basque region of Spain.
Upon his return home in AD 44, James was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa for his christian beliefs.
James the Greater as he was known, was one of the first of Jesus's apostles to die. The son of Zebedee, he received the nickname "elder", because he was taller than the other apostle named James.
His beheading at the command of Herod is detailed in the bible (act12)
His remains were transported back to present day Galicia as the legend goes, and its only rumor that his remains are at the Cathedral in Santiago.As his remains arrived in 44AD, Queen Lupia, the Celtic queen who ruled Galicia would not allow him to be buried there, she sent troups to intervene and they were all killed when a bridge they were on collapsed. This frightened the Queen and she became a christian,therefore allowing the burial . she sent an Ox and Cart to transport the body, and when the Ox stopped to rest under a tree at the top of a hill, they saw this as a sign and buried the remains where the Ox lay down, and this is where it was decided to build the cathedral today.
James made a saint later,, before being  labelled a martyr at an even later time.
 There are two kinds of saints, Martyr's and Confessors , the Christian martyr's are those who were put to death for their beliefs, the confessors are those who died of natural causes.
A true pilgrim will take this journey with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and will rely on peoples generosity and kindness to further cloth and feed them along this journey, I personally will be leaving my shaver behind, and taking a credit card.  I predict this hike will take me between 26 and 30 days to complete, and Im not walking alone.
I am taking the journey with a wonderful long time friend from Tasmania, Kaz,who has walked the Portugues and Norte Caminos before, and my buddy from Colorado, Bill, who has also walked this Way before, We often spoke of the walk and its affect on our lives, so it was a no brainier to come back and finish something that didnt feel "done", and to share the journey  with people you love. ...


So once again I am going to manipulate the dates on my blog to ensure that the blogs read in a top to bottom manner, usually the newest blog appears at the top of the page, but this makes it hard to lay out and read. Do everything in reverse to follow the chronological way it is entered. So, at the bottom of the pages,  when it wont scroll down anymore, click on OLDER POSTS to continue to the NEWER posts.
For those who dont know, Leonard gets a number of mentions, and Leonard is my backpack. Yup, I named it, sometimes you just need someone to talk to on those long days, and Leonard doesnt talk back.
today is about preparation and what did I carry last time that I didnt need, what to expect now Im older, and a sense of wonder,"will it be as fantastic and meaningful as the last time I walked it"
I guess we will see.
Some hikers refer to this walk as a 500 mile journey to meet yourself, this is true in so many ways, and I will attempt to blog the journey as i always do, sometime with insight, sometimes historically, sometimes silly, 
Buen Camino

GETTING READY
sitting in my office upstairs and trying to figure out what’s missing and where everything will go.

Well, my old legs are about as ready as they can be, Leonard is clean and ready to be stuffed full of sweaty and dirty hiking gear from about day 3 onwards, I got a bunch of Euros from the bank, brought a new water bladder to go in my backpack and took a tour of the cosmetics section at the local market in search of tiny containers of toothpaste, shampoo, sunscreen, and a comb. A comb is important, I may be stinky and sweaty for over a month, but one has to at least look good, and even that will be debatable.

Last time I walked I carried a possession and memory of a friend who left us way to early.
Since I last walked this Way, I have lost too many friends, but two are of particular pain. Recently we lost Dianne, ( Brrrrr)a friend who smiled and moved forward with grace and humor, no matter what this life threw at her, and it threw at her, challenges far greater than I think I could have carried. Maybe one of the strongest, kindest people I, and many of you friends reading this may  have known.
Then there was Caroline ( wenchie), my best friend and confidant, a love and a soul mate, someone I miss and think of daily, gone too soon ,
On this trip we climb onto the plateau of Monte Irago, to the Cruz de Ferro, a 100ft tall wood/iron cross, the most spiritual of places on this trip. Here, for years pilgrims have layed stones they have brought from home, which represents the loss of a loved one, to rid themselves of a personal burden, or to simply say goodbye. I will carry a stone for these two special people, and for myself as most do, and honor them in the way I hope they would like. Cruz de Ferro is about day 20, I hope they enjoy the walk with us, I know they would if they were here.  To paraphrase words from a great old blues song,,,,,,,,,,
HEAVEN DONE CALLED ,ANOTHER SWEET ANGEL BACK HOME.

On to Biarritz to meet Kaz, then a train to Sr Jean where we catch up with Bill before an early start on the 15th up and over the Pyrenees, 4500 ft climb with a 3000 ft descent on the other side, sounds like hell but I can’t wait

 May 13th 2019

Its day zero, time to get to France and man do I have a punishing schedule to get there,  guess thats what happens when you use frequent flyer miles. Four plane rides and a train.

Just spoke with Kaz whos in France with a Rose Wine in her hands. Seems the girl is a little confused already, apparently she flew Australia to London, then to the south of France before she realized that one shoe was Blue and the other Black, one patent leather and one suede. Bill and I will have to keep an eye on her I think or there is no telling where she may walk to when we are not looking

Its time to leave for the airport , Blog will start for real on about the 16th, depending on internet regularity and how hard Microsoft are going to make it using Blogspot. Oh yeah, I have a small Ipad and big fingers so forgive the spelling and auto correct which I hate.
The start is in the village of St Jean Pied du Port ( saint Johns. At the base of the pass)  at 4500 ft climb with a 2500 ft descent over the Pyrenness Mountian range to complete day one.
St Jean is only 8 km(5miles) from the Spanish border and lies on the banks of the river Nive. This medieval village is very quaint and a popular start to this walk.
First things first when we get there ,is to sign in at the Pilgrim office and get our credentials, without these we cannot use the Alburgues ( pilgrim hostels). It is at each night stop that the credentials are stamped to prove at journeys end, that you have walked the pilgrim route.
With this document ,which you produce at walks end in Santiago de Compostela, you are given a Latin certificate with your name on it stating that you are indeed a pilgrim.
Right now I’m sitting in a lounge at a London Heathrow airport hoping Leonard the girl Elephant( my backpack ) will arrive on the next plane in time for my flight to a Paris, Leonard has gone AWOL.
5/15/2012
Today Kaz and I arrived in St Jean and immediately went to the pilgrims office to sign up and get our credentials stamped at the start.

 Heard the lecture on safety etc etc like before, and now I am finally getting excited. We went out to lunch and a beer, then the supermarket to get breakfast for tomorrow’s early start. We got some food for the road too as there is nothing between here and the other side of the Pyrennese. St Jean is a really pretty place, but once we cross that old bridge tomorrow, only climbing will be on my mind.

Early night and it’s time to go
I am fired up.

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5/16/2019
Day one and off we go. Left St Jean at 6am this morning . It’s been four years since I was last here and two years since we as a group discussed walking it again together. It’s hard believe that that time has come

Except for the sound of our boots resonating off the Roman cobbled street, it was deathly still and quiet and we walked out onto the bridge to start

 6am and we are walking out of the deserted street, down through the Bastile Gates and onto the medieval bridge over the river Nive, the start of the Camino Frances.
It was a chilly, brisk start to the day. And after about half an hour, as the sun started to peak over the horizon, the view was amazing.
 I felt motivated to blast up the mountain,but reality set in and in no time I was sucking for oxygen
I forgot how steep this route was. This was the Napoleon trail, it came to fruition when the ancient pilgrims had to climb this route to escape the criminals in the Valley below.

 We stopped in Orozon for a coffee after 8 km, but this is a super steep gradient.
I was obviously fitter last time. Never the less, we pushed on and got to the summit after 7 hours of climbing, I was knackered

Wild horses and the scenery as we climbed higher

Coming back down the back side was a whole new deal, it’s so steep that I started to wish for an uphill again.
We arrived n Rancevalles and found the albergue where we were staying, but there was a pub between the trail and hostel. Oh dear
 Ran into marylou, turns out she is a friend of my friends john And Yvonne from Darwin
Small world.
It was a long and draining day, but glad to get here because because it know tomorrow is easier.
The Alburgues here is the collegiate church,  a monetary dating back to medieval times and in my opinion, the best hostel on the Camino
We had dinner tonight next to the cathedral, and made a whole  bunch of new friends, it feels good to be back on the Camino.  Predicted rain tomorrow...????

The Augustine Monastery of Ransevalles founded a n 1130

May 17th
Bloody cold and wet when we woke this morning, I didn’t prepare for this kind of cold so I wore what I could and we headed out at 7 am. The WAY was so muddy that we decided to find our way along the road using a map to get us back on trail after about an hour. It’s amazing what happens when you look like you know what your doing, all the Chinese hikers follow you. You speed up, they speed up, you stop for a coffee, they stop for a coffee. I didnt mind really, except for the bloody click clack of their walking sticks on the asphalt behind me.

Bill and Kaz at the start of today

My legs still hurt from the climb yesterday, so I didn’t relish the hills each time we had to climb one.
The rain kept falling all day and it’s what we have to look forward to tomorrow apparently.
I eventually had to break out my gloves as my hands started hurting from the cold.
The paths were like little rivers on the downhill sections but these boots which I bought when on my cross Ireland Hike are the best, I never got wet feet all day, can’t say the same for my butt as the water was running down my pack and into my back pocket.
 We are going into Ziburi today for our overnight, then on to Pamplona tomorrow.

If you can read the English, just know it was too chilly for  me to drop my drawers and donate my underwater 

This is where I met my Italian Pilgrim Brother 4 years ago, Francesco, and we walked to the end together. We are still good mates today, in fact he is following the blog and wishes he was walking. I even met his Mom who joined us in Burgos, and was riding a bike along the Camino, what a great lady.

Yesterday I took this photo of one of many memorials to pilgrims who walked.from St Jean and only made it thus far before for some reason, life for them ended, there are many memorials to people who died on trail along the Way, but it serves as such a reminder that life for us all is sometimes very fleeting, and we should not take it for granted. Live out loud,. Taken

From my Facebook page, I love the words once spoken by Buddha “I find it funny how people think they have time”

Pamplona

May 18
We are walking into Pamplona today ,about 28 km and it’s starting off wet, I’m praying for a break in this weather.
Pamplona is the capital of the NAVARRA PROVINCE and home to the festival of San Fermin, “  running of the bulls”something I did in the late 70s when I could still run.

Founded by Julius Caesar in 75BC, to rival Pompey as a military settlement. This town fell into ruins after it was sacked by the Moors and the Franklish, Charlemagne put the final touches to its end in 778. Today it is the center for agriculture in this region.
Beautiful town surrounded by the remains of it’s battlements and paved with cobbled streets, great place to visit.
It was a long wet walk today into Pamplona with a number of significant hills, every trail was wet, but as we got into Pamplona, the weather gods gave us break and the sun came out
Below are some of the street scenes of Pamplona and Kaz and I sitting at the first cross depicting St James on this journey, this is a lovely town and very vibrant.
The streets here are vibrant with life and color, and the people are friendly and encouraging when they realize you are walking the pilgrim Way

We stopped for lunch and in Spain , Tapas is the famous small food snack, but not in this region, here it’s called Pintxo, and is the best of the best, served on baguette,

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We made it to Zariquiequi by about 6 pm after we lost Kaz, I got the name of the town we were going to wrong, and when it was all said and done, we had done 33 km, jus over 20 miles and the others were really grumpy at me, they said don’t let that happen again, and I promised it wouldn’t.

Zariquiequi

Town of Obanos in the distance, good for lunch I think

May 18
We left early this morning in the rain, and the first call of business was a long and steep hill to the top of Alto Del Perdon, this is the site of the famous statues of the pilgrims fighting the elements called, “Where the winds from the east, meet the stars in the west”, a magical place. The downhill after the climb was a long brutal descent over wet slippery rocks for about an hour. I was cold and miserable and my butt was chapped from the walking and wet, I think my mother when I was young called it “ cherub Cheeks”, feels more like Monkey Butt. ....Really TMI, I know you watch National Geographic.
Just so we are clear, we did 45.5 km today , 28 miles, and no one is grumpy, they are all passed out.

Which way home

Even the snails were climbing to dry safety

These are shots of the statues at the top, but man was it cold,

Freezing and slippery trail down

Where the winds from the east, meet the stars n the west

Obanos was one of the bigger villages we walked through today, but was very sleepy being a Sunday.

The bridge we crossed leaving the town in of Obanos, stopped for a coffee and leg break

Spring is obviously here along the way, May be cold today, but the blooms smell great

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Coming into Estella and seeing the most beautiful, but abandoned, cathedrals, such a sad sight

What the end of a very long day looks like.

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