Camino Prep and info

For those interested in our trek across Spain, whch is now a week away from beginning. 

I've posted up a map  of all the trails of The Camino de Santiago. From the map, you can see the veins leading to Santiago - so it looks like the veins on the conch shell - a symbol of the pilgrim.

We are taking the French route - so starting in France at St Jean Pied De Port..then straight up over the Pyrenees, through Pamplona, Burgos, Leon and onto Santiago. We will go on to the coast after the Pilgrims Mass at the Cathedral.

We plan to do 10 - 15 km a day - sometimes less.. sometimes more.. with just under 60 days - we hope it will be a blessed, relaxed time for the three of us to bond and focus on our future... and to clear the minds.

The camino is a metaphor for life, how you 'do it' how you show up for it, how you handle things. So much learning and so much  peace to come to terms with. I am both  nervous and excited about the teachings which will be handed down to me along the way.  One of the biggest ones I am hoping to clarify is the theme St James Way is known for - that of love. I have done a little research on the various routes and sacred spots along the way and was both surprised.. and not surprised to find that it has a strong feminine energy and pathway throughout. 

Morgan is in charge of the trek - he will be planning every day where we stop, and where we will end up each night. He has been practicing his Spanish too and is really exited about the responsibility.

Please do follow our trek here - I will try to post every second day at least - and instagram photos will be loaded up onto facebook as we get internet coverage hopefully every day.

Muddy Mucky walk

Its all excuses - I do realise that... but we have been a bit slack on the Camino Training program. The kids have a specialised program, and I have been given one specifically designed for core strength and endurance.. by my personal trainer.. and I'm embarrassed to say, I've probably done it a half dozen times since he gave it to me.. Sorry Michael...( embarrassed face) but as he says, the only one who will be hurting will be me on the track, and every day I don't do something in training, will mean more pain and suffering up there.. great.

Rachael took us for a gentle walk round the lakes nearby today. With so much rain happening, there was a considerable amount of mud along the track, and it got to the point where we just couldn't go back because we KNEW how bad and deep it was behind us; and had to hang on to the hope it would be drier ahead.. ha ha.

The shame of it was that I didn't have my special camino boots on, only my convos, which got extremly muddy and mucky.

But we had a fab time.. which is all that counts.. huh?

Doing the packing for the Camino

Well.. The kids and I have been busy ensuring we have only packed exactly what we need for the camino and have packed our backpacks accordingly.

What do you think?

PS.. ha ha... April Fools joke....

we have a MUCH more petite backpack each nealry sorted out... can't believe its in 25 days

Dewestone on Dartmoor - 2nd training walk

Cousin Tamsin and her fiancée, Jamie, took us to a hidden gem of a walk - The Dewestone - which hugs the outskirts of Dartmoor.

Imagine a place so green, thick with soft moss and rushing streams, and one you are certain you are about to bump into a unicorn or fairy at any moment.

Simply breathtaking.  I am sure Tamsin got quite sick of waiting for me as I took yet ANOTHER photo.

The Dewestone traack takes you over the streams and then winds up round mossy rocks to the top of a gorge. Did I mention it was beautiful?  It is hard to imagine that this area had been a quarry in the early 1900s and a large producer of limestone.  There are still the footings of these buildings, slowly being covered with moss and ivy, at the bottom of the gorge.

It was the first uphill training walk for our upcoming Camino trek in April/May. I am pretty nervous about the first day - its the longest and the hardest - straight up the Pyrenees. But I guess ther is only one way to tackle it huh?

Keep on training - a little... every day.

First training walk for the Camino - Kynance Cove

With such a beautiful day ahead of us, we decided to explore a nearby coastline walk called Kynance Cove. Its only a few Kms from The Lizard and is considered by many as one of the most beautiful parts of the coastline in the UK.

Even with the grey skies and the crashing seas, I could see that it would be a glorious spot in the summertime ( as is, arguably anywhere in the UK)

Kynance Cove has been a popular spot for sightseers for eons.. though Queen Victoria made it a definite tourist destination after she made her trip here. The stones - a black shiny type called serpentine is - apparently - the highest concentration in any place in the world here. With the crashing waves into a tiny stony cove and hidden caves,  its a romantic spot screaming to tell tales of pirates and smugglers. Whether there were any actually here is another story, but the Victorians loved a good story.. and truth often just got in the way of a good one.

The teahouse and buildings which stood on the cliff face for nearly a century have been pulled down by National Trust in order for the natural beauty to return to the spot.

At the moment, the hills are covered in gorse - all brown and spiky; and I had to explain to the kids how beautiful it will look in the spring when the heather and wildflowers come out.

In anycase.... the track was slippery and muddy, and I need to remember to actually get our walking poles out and use them next time.. they are in the boot of the car - so no excuses!  It was a few Km round walk - down to the cove and back up over the cliffs - so a perfect starter training walk for us and the Camino. We plan only to be walking 12 - 15 km a day - so nice and steady with opportunities to stop and enjoy the scenery - for me to take LOTS of photos and to explore the little villages we go to.

It was nearing high tide when we got down to the cove. The waves were crashing in every seventh - so it was a good opportunity for me to let the kids watch and predict when it was a good time to try to cross over the stones and to safety to the next rocky beach.

I felt so blessed we had a great day weatherwise today. After a few days or dreary misery, it was good to get some fresh air and warm the leg muscles up.