YEEHAAA!!!!!! 2009 - 21 weeks, 6 days, 4 hours and counting!!!

The FIVE are down to FOUR. Kathy can't make it. She is doing her Ph.d this year, has a son graduating and does not have time to make the walk in June. We will miss her - she was our map reader, mountain goat leader and great fun on the VF. I've promised her that when she has time to go walk-about again, I will organise a walk on the Via Romea from the South of Italy to Roma. (She LOVES those Carbinieri in their tall black boots!)


So we are now down to FOUR - Marion is thrilled that her foot has improved so much that she managed two back-to-back hikes in the Drakensberg over New Year without any pain or discomfort.
Val still has to ask her boss for four weeks leave in June. We are all holding thumbs that she will get it. If not, she might still make the first two weeks from Lourdes to Pamplona.
Marion has been considering whether to go to the UK before we walk to do a few weeks of care work. If she does, she won't have to re-register with the Agency here and won't have to renew all her papers.

Linda wants to wait before she books her air ticket and will buy her clothes ' later ' so it seems that we are not completely ready for booking of tickets and making our final plans yet.
But, we are having our 2nd get-together here on Sunday 18th January and we should all know by then where we stand.
I am considering doing a two week hospitalero stint at Corcubino after the walk. That means that I will be away 6 weeks.

JUNE - JULY 2009 CHEMIN / CAMINO

Here begins the journey
now begins the day
with one step upon the path
my soul is on its way!
© JS Selfe

EARLY STAGES OF PLANNING

The VF Five will be going walk-about again next year. Once again it will be Marion, Kathy, Sil and Val but this time Linda Mead will be taking Rayna's place (Rayna is 2nd from right) and this is Linda.

We are planning on walking part of the Arles route along Chemin St Jacques from Lourdes to the Somport Pass and then the Aragones to Punete La Reina and Pamplona.
We will then take a train to Ferrol to walk the Camino Ingles to Santiago. This way, Kathy, Val and Linda will be able to earn their "Compostela" when they reach Santiago.








In 2001 Val, Marion and I walked the Wainwright's Coast to Coast in England from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea.



In 2006 Kathy joined us to walk parts of the Via Francigena from Switzerland to Rome.
Marion and I walked the Camino Frances from Roncesvalles to Santiago in 2007 (my second Camino Frances but third walk to Santiago).

We had our first meeting - over lunch at Val's - last Saturday. Val is our food reporter and prepared a delicious lunch. She started in France with Potage of our Good Lady – perfect pilgrim food. Then, a walk through Spain with Paella, (with a separate dish of seafood as Kathy is allergic): then back to the Pyrenees of France into Spain…we celebrated with a desert of Mont Blanc’s…small meringues in the shape of the great mountains. Excellent!!













We had a backpack demonstration using my OMM 32L Ultralight, fully packed for a 30 day Camino. It weighed 4,075g - YEE-HAA!!!
Add 500ml of water, a chocolate, apple or Madelena cup cake or two and it will still be under 5kg.
Val gave it a try - in time to "... do the locomotion"
Lin wasn't so sure??

We will soon go shopping for their shirts, shorts, socks and boots.

Marion is sad and worried. She has an injury - a posterior tibia tendon problem and can't walk for 3 months!
We just hope that it heals so that she can do this walk.
She will swim and do aqua-sizes every week and will keep fit this way.