The Camino Countdown Commences
/One week from today, we board our British Airways flight in Las Vegas, bound for Lisbon, Portugal via London Heathrow. We’ve been in ‘scurry’ mode trying to get things done before we head out for five weeks to walk the from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Comparatively speaking, it’s a short pilgrimage walk of ~160 miles (260km), and we’re very excited to walk it.
There’s lots to do on the home front before we leave. We’re pacing ourselves and scheduling chores daily to make sure everything gets done. Yardwork is a biggie, and we’ve been doing it in chunks. We’ve had a plethora of medical appointments lately, which have required additional appointments… labs, X-rays. We’re healthy enough; it’s just that some of our parts seem to be wearing out. Marcie’s knee has been hurting, and David’s hip and ankle are a bit of a challenge. We’ve both been cleared for the walk, however, and we have every confidence that all will go well. Pain meds are packed just in case.
As far as preparing for the Camino walk itself… wow, the preparation seems never-ending. Other than walking 5+ miles every day, we’ve tried to do longer walks at least once or twice a week. I’ve been trying to learn some Portuguese, and David has been brushing up on his Spanish. We’re not doing well in that department, I’m afraid. We have Google Translate loaded up.
We’ve made list upon list upon list of what to pack, what to carry, where to stay, and how to get there, and we’re fairly convinced that we’ve thought of everything. History would tell us otherwise, but we remain cautiously optimistic. We figure if we forget something, as long as it’s not critical, like backpacks or eyeglasses or each other, we can probably find substitutions and make do.
We have extensive packing lists which we’ve checked twice, thrice, and maybe ten times… adding or modifying something with each review. We’ve packed our backpacks (and then unpacked them) to check weights and make sure everything fits.
I’ve purchased our Camino patches and sewn them onto our daypacks and backpacks.
To be granted our ‘pilgrim’ status, which allows us to stay at albergues (pilgrim accommodations) and receive our Compostela, a certificate certifying our walk to Santiago de Compostela, we must have a ‘credencial’, a kind of pilgrim passport, which needs to be stamped at the Porto Cathedral and daily at places along our walk. We have our credencials and they’re ready to be stamped.
We each have a Credencial for the Camino which need to be stamped along our route
David has been downloading apps that we’ll need. He’ll do a blog on that topic in the near future. There seems to be an app for everything these days… from Camino maps to sending postcards from the road. He’s also researched international roaming and subscribed to a 2-month plan which will allow us internet, texting, and voice while in Europe. We’ve also uploaded WhatsApp, which seems to be the communication app of choice in Europe (and most of the rest of the world), and encouraged relatives and friends to join so we can be in touch.
We’ve been in frequent contact with Catherine and Mike, our sailing friends now living in Portugal. They have our flight plans and will meet us in Lisbon, whisking us away to their home for a couple of days of de-jetlagging. They’ll also chauffeur us from their home to Coimbra, where we’ll catch a bus to Porto. We’ve reserved seats on a Flix Bus for the 1.5-hour trip to the station in Porto.
It is at the Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral), a huge, historic Romanesque-Gothic Baroque cathedral perched atop a hill in Porto, that we’ll get our first ‘credencial’ stamp and begin our walk. We’ll check in there after we drop off our luggage at the hotel in Porto to orient ourselves, tour the Cathedral, and get that first important stamp. The next morning, we’ll be on our way.
We think we’re ready, but then again, we can always think of just one more detail to be handled, and then we’ll be ready. The departure date cannot come fast enough. We’re psyched and raring to go. Let the countdown begin.