June, 2012: After 37 days walking Spain’s Camino de Santiago, every pilgrim knows what a mochila is. But maletas? I’d heard the word, and knew it had something to do with luggage, but I wasn’t clear on the exact definition. Until . . September, 2021: Dad and I were on our second Camino. Our bags…
Tag: walking
Camino: By The Numbers
78: Age of the oldest pilgrim I’ve met (from France, walking with his daughter – they do two weeks of the Camino each year. Have also met a 73 year-old South Korean woman travelling alone, a 74 year-old Italian man with his son, and an American who will turn 70 on Sunday and is doing…
A Camino Q&A
I realize I have yet to write a post about the ins and outs of the Camino, so here’s a little Q& A for you all. What is the Camino? A pilgrimage route through Northern Spain. How long is it? The route I chose, the Camino Francés, is 480 miles from St. Jean Pied-de-Port to…
Learning to Walk
“The book says it’s good to walk with two walking sticks – better for your balance than just one.” My mother sat in the chair in the corner of my bedroom reading my Camino guidebook. As she read, I tried to organize my pack. “I’ve only ever used one, but I guess I’ll bring both…
And She’s Off…Again
While most of you are sleeping soundly tonight, I’ll be 30,000 feet in the air trying to do the same. At 10pm, I leave JFK and head to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. From there, it’s a bit an adventure to get to my starting point for the Camino: St. Jean Pied-de-Port. Thursday, May…
On Walking
As we walked toward Piazza Venezia, I flipped open the pedometer on my belt. “How much?” Daniel asked. “Nine miles.” I’d made a mistake earlier of telling him that I set a personal record ten days ago when my sister Jessica and I walked seventeen miles one day in Rome. He, of course, wanted to…
Slip ‘N Slide
Maybe hiking a steep stone trail in the rain wasn’t my best idea. But it was my first afternoon in the Cinque Terre, and I wanted to get out there. So off I went climbing up and up and up towards the Madonna di Montenero Sanctuary high above Riomaggiore. The light rain didn’t faze me….
Back on Track!
The backpack I’ll use when I walk the Camino was bought at an outdoor gear tent sale. It’s a used pack – clearly indicated by the words “Rental EMS” written across one of the pockets. I was thinking it’d be nice to have something to cover those words. Today, I found one thing that will…
10,000 Steps
“You’re doing the Camino?” he asked. “Did you start practicing yet?” “No,” I replied sheepishly. “But it’s not until May, so I’ve got time.” He looked at me with wide eyes. “You should be out there – at least an hour every day.” It was August, 2011. I was not planning on starting my preparations…
RenaissanceRebecca 