“Best Laid Plans” : 44 Days to Departure.

They say ignorance is bliss, and frankly I tend to live my life that way, more of a big picture person, not getting too mired in the details. Whenever I head out into this big world of ours, I tend to rely on my traveling companions to figure out the minutia.

But that’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to do this El Camino trip solo. Even starting this blog has caused me to dig way deeper into the details of the trip than I normally would have and just in time too, as I might not have been prepared for the “rolling” rail-worker’s strike that has swept France, affecting public transportation that may leave me stranded in Paris an extra night (woe is me).

But one thing I’ve learned so far is that just deciding to do the Camino trip leads you to all the people and advice you might need to make your “plan” a reality, as long as you are willing to listen. So, thanks to one friend, I had already planned a couple of nights of leeway before the start of the walk. And, thanks to another friend, I was able to find out that my day of train travel out of Paris may very well be affected by the train strike and so I’ve gone ahead and made arrangements for an exchangeable, refundable ticket for the following day in case the strike isn’t resolved by my date of departure.

I’ve also learned through my research that there are options when choosing a Camino route, including one that leaves from Paris and so, if all else fails, I can just start walking. So I guess what I’m learning is to stay flexible, keep your ears open and be prepared with backup plans.

And even though I was immediately griping at the potential expense of adjusting my itinerary, the world doesn’t revolve around my schedule and the biggest lesson life can ever teach you is how to adjust and overcome. Having said that, today’s entry is an attempt to get back to some of the facts of trip itself and what you can expect if you ever decide to make your own plans for El Camino.

As seen above, a pilgrim wanting to take on the Camino has a variety of routes to choose from regardless of motivation. These routes range from 100 kilometers (62 miles), the minimum length to qualify for a compostela (certificate of completion) to 1000 kilometers (621 miles) and can be completed in one to six weeks depending on how hard and fast a pilgrim is determined to travel.

All routes aim for the town of Santiago de Compostela where it is believed the remains of Jesus’ disciple, St. James the Elder, are entombed in the town’s historic cathedral. Some pilgrims will venture even further, over another 87km (54mi) to the coastal town of Finisterre where it is believed St. James’ remains were delivered by two of his followers to the shores of what we now know as northwestern Spain before being taken on to his final resting place in the town that would eventually adopt his name, Santiago (Saint James).

I will be following A Pilgrim’s Guide to Camino de Santiago: St.Jean – Roncesvalles – Santiago by John Brierley who has also published eleven other guidebooks covering a majority of the trails seen above. My path, the most popular, known as the Camino Frances, begins in the French town of St. Jean de Pied which can be (God-willing) reached by train from Paris which is generally the most affordable flight option from the States.

St. Jean rests around 500ft above sea level and the route immediately sets forth on an ascent, known as route de Napoleon, over the Pyrenees, peaking at col de Lepoeder around 4750ft. Mr. Brierley has broken up the trek into 33 stages, ranging from 11.5 miles on the shortest stage from Mansilla to Leon to just over 19 miles on the longest stage from Mazarife to Astorga. At the end of each stage, Mr. Brierley provides a detailed list of all the available lodging a long your way as well as pricing and available amenities.

According to Mr. Brierley, the average time of completion of the Camino Frances is around four weeks which means completing 28km (17.4mi) a day on average. However, I have given myself a ton of wiggle room and so my current itinerary has me leaving St. Jean de Pied, walking four to five hours a day, averaging 9 to 17 miles and reaching Santiago in about six and half weeks.

Mr. Brierley’s 1st stage ends in a “steep descent” into the town of Roncevalles for a total of 25.1km (15.5 miles) but it has been strongly suggested to me to split this stage in two. So I’ll be stopping short of the French and Spanish border with pre-booked accommodations at the picturesque Refuge de Orisson http://www.refuge-orisson.com/en/. While this albergue is located only five miles from the starting point in St. Jean, it is at the end of a 1700ft ascent added on to what I have heard described as an already emotionally tough first day.

Apparently, it is all too common for pilgrims like me, who begin this journey without a ton of hiking miles under their belt, to suffer all types of injuries ranging from blisters to shin-splints to sprains and broken ankles from pushing themselves too hard right out of the gate. The risk inherent in the 1st stage, one of the toughest, is heightened by the fact that accommodations are scarce before reaching Roncevalles and it’s not too uncommon for there to be more pilgrims than beds for this leg of the trip.

I should note that I was warned that getting reservations at Refuge de Orisson is essential before departure. I sent three emails, one in French, one in Spanish, but it wasn’t until I sent the third in English (go figure) with my credit card info attached that I finally received a response and secured my reservation via PayPal.

Many pilgrims without reservations are known to backtrack to St. Jean rather than continue on to Roncevalles if they don’t happen upon a bed for the night in one of the few hostels located around Orisson. But don’t let me stop you from wanting to power on to Roncevalles if you find yourself planning your own trip, as pilgrims come to El Camino for all sorts of reasons and testing physical limits is one of the biggest.

I recently read an article in College Avenue, a Colorado State University/Rocky Mountain Collegian Publication (Vol 13/Issue 3), entitled Buen Camino: El Camino de Santiago, written by Jenna Fisher. The article details the author’s recent trek on the Camino as well as discussing how CSU students can receive college credit for all or part of the journey. Talk about a cool study abroad program!

Jessica completed her variation of Camino Frances as well as the additional trek to Finisterre, totaling 566 miles, in just four weeks, averaging 15-18 miles a day with her longest day peaking around 25 miles. So, way to go Jessica! And if you are a college student, I would definitely encourage you to find her article and/or see if such a study abroad program exists at your school and if not, check out CSU here in Fort Collins which also happens to be my alma mater.

But if you are still not impressed with Jessica’s story, Mr. Brierley mentions an encounter he had with another “manic pilgrim” in Finisterre who had just completed the entirety of one of the longest routes, Via de la Plata. Beginning in the historic town of Seville in the south of Spain, this route caps out around 1000km (621mi). Apparently this gentleman had completed the entire trip in 19 days, averaging over 50km (31mi) a day with his “credencial” or compostela to prove it (9th ed, p 13)!

This credencial, compostela or pilgrim’s passport is acquired at the onset of your journey. It is advised to take an extra day at your chosen starting point to locate the pilgrim office (and fit in unplanned worker strikes) to secure your “passport” where officials will ask if you are walking, biking, or riding horseback and whether or not you are doing it for physical or spiritual reasons.

Assuming you have 30 days before your planned departure, you can even obtain your credential online. After learning about the rail-worker strike, I went ahead and ordered mine just yesterday via American Pilgrims on the Camino http://www.americanpilgrims.org/ in case I can’t make it to St. Jean in time to go by the “passport” office where queues can be quite long.

This document, though not essential to making the journey, is used to track your progress throughout the walk, and is stamped at various locales including cathedrals, churches, town halls, hostels, and even bars. The credential also grants you affordable stay at “pilgrim hostels” for as little as $8-9 dollars/night. The stamps are proof of mileage and are turned in at the end of your journey in order to receive a final certificate of completion in Santiago.

While mostly planning to stay in “pilgrim hostels,” I have made my own alterations to Mr. Brierley’s guidance, having loosely booked a few hostels, or albergues, through Booking.com https://www.booking.com/ in places where I hope to spend a couple nights of rest and recuperation every three to five days, taking time to see some of the bigger towns and cities I’ll be passing through, such as Pamplona and Leon.

Booking.com allows you to cancel or make adjustments to your itinerary with relatively short notice depending on where you book. Although, I was warned that you may be at the mercy of the hostel owner regarding whether or not you’ll actually be refunded your money if you pay ahead. So buyer beware and read all the fine print.

The entirety of my “planned” walk covers a total of 789 kilometers, roughly 490 miles getting me to Santiago around mid July where I hope to spend some time to fully absorb the journey before heading south to Portugal for the remainder of my post-camino adventure.

I currently do not have plans to continue on to Finisterre by foot although I have definitely left enough time in my itinerary to add on the additional mileage if the calling arises. And of course, I write all this knowing that the “best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.

So, I guess I can only say that these have been a few of my intentions for the trip thus far but what actually happens when and if I get there, remains “a mystery to be lived”. And though I have every intention of sharing the actual journey with you, utilizing my “planned” leisure time to write and reflect upon my journey, I have to remind myself it is all hearsay at this point, having yet to step foot on the physical Camino itself.

However, I will do my best to keep the momentum going and forge ahead, allowing the writing process to direct me as it sees fit, knowing full well there is plenty more to cover. For instance, I haven’t even mentioned travel budget or what to pack! So, stay tuned and thanks for reading :-).

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Running Home to Mommy: 61 Days to El Camino

When life lead me to uproot myself from Denver back in August, 2017, all I knew for sure is that I wanted to do this El Camino trip. However, money was an issue. So, as hard as it was for my ego to take, I ran ‘back home to mommy‘ in Fort Collins and have been sleeping in her office ever since. She took me in without question and continues to pay me to do the cleaning and yard work around the house even though she lets me live with her rent free. Not to mention she buys me groceries and takes me out with her friends for lunch and dinner just because she loves spending time with me. This too, can be especially hard on my ego, thinking that she is only enabling my questionable life choices.

You can imagine that a 38 year old living with her 70 year old mother is not always easy and patience can run thin for both of us. The biggest difference between living 60 miles a away and living in her house is that I can no longer ignore that the physical work I do without much thought is an increasing struggle for her. Pain has become her everyday acquaintance an wreaks havoc on her mood, sometimes leading us to bicker over inconsequential things. The pain has been unrelenting and simple activities such as walking to and from the car or up the stairs to her room has become overwhelming. And now, having had her second hip replaced just days ago, my Mom is dealing with the pain of healing, and the medications they prescribe her at the hospital only seem to leave her feeling tired and nauseous, without much relief.

I have a tendency to withdraw from all her woes, pretending I don’t notice her griping or complaints about everything that hurts, locking my eyes on whatever is in front of me, appearing lost in thought, not knowing what to say and avoiding her when she is in the thick of it. I know this makes me seem indifferent, the worst expression you can ever demonstrate to a loved one, but it’s a bad habit I picked up as a kid in the public school system. No one can hurt you if they don’t think you care. A sometimes useful survival skill that got me through high school and basic training but not so great when used on family or significant others. Being vulnerable is painful too.

But of course I CARE and I AM affected by her pain, seeing that there may never be any relief for her no matter how many surgeries she endures, that getting older is just plain hard. And it makes me question everything I do or don’t do that could affect my own health down the line. I find myself feeling guilty for allowing myself to use any kind of ‘bandaid‘ even though I know its what we humans resort to, one way or another, to cope with the pain of everyday life. And my guilt leads to blame and I find myself judging my Mom and myself for all the choices we’ve ever made. I nag at her to eat better, exercise more, all the while feeling like a hypocrite for not making more of these “healthy” choices either.

But I know my frustrations with my Mom are just fear-based, that I’m mad at her for getting old, as ridiculous as that sounds, but that, deep down, I just really want her to be okay! I want her to be able to do something like El camino if she wanted to, like her friend, her contemporary and my mentor for the trip, did last summer. I want to travel with her and take her on long walks in far off places or even just for coffee here in town. I don’t want her to have to worry about finding close parking spaces and whether there’s ice on the sidewalks.

I know she getting more and more fragile and that’s just an ever growing reality in the cycle of life. But she’s always been a fighter, already having survived two bouts of cancer. And she has really begun to thrive in other areas of her life after all these years, having just discovered a latent talent in her ‘golden years‘. It turns out my Mom’s an amazing painter. An accidental discovery at a couple of random wine and paint nights. And thanks to her aforementioned friend’s invitation to a painting class, she has been able to hone this skill over the last three years, watching YouTube videos on the side, and has improved dramatically in such a short time. It leads us both to wonder just how good she could be if she had figured this out earlier.

But painting (a word I just noticed starts with PAIN) has lead her to branch out in other areas of her life too, joining a book club, a Mah Jong group, and a travel club that has taken her to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Paris, and even a tour of the Holy Lands where she hobbled along at her own pace as best she could. Having moved away from Fort Collins in 2011, I have come home to Mom’s only to find her life changed for the better, surrounded by good people who care about what happens to her, and who are willing to share her pain, having had endured their own versions. I guess the pain of growing older seems to subside the most when you have people that empathize instead of blame and shame and I suppose this has been the biggest lesson I’ve received since being forced to really see what getting older looks like up close.

And though my ego can only see it as enabling, maybe my heart can finally see now why my Mom has been so supportive of me making this journey on the Camino. Maybe it’s because she knows just how fast life can pass before your eyes and that she desperately wants me to figure out my sh*t now and not wait till I’m 70. That dreams not pursued, especially physically challenging ones like El Camino, sometimes can be missed completely if you wait too long. I know my Dad would agree.

So, yes, I do want to ‘grow up‘ and stand on my own two feet and provide for myself and my family, doing my equal share in this world, giving back instead of just take, take, taking. But I think the first step is to truly learn how to be grateful for all the good people I find myself surrounded by, especially my Mom, who has always believed in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself. And I know when I go off to do this solo trip, this ‘mid-life spirit quest,’ I won’t have made it there on my own, that I will have only gotten to do it because of the love others have shown me along the way, especially my Mom, who I’ll never be able to thank enough.

I love you, Mom.