Meetings, training, paperwork etc

Preparations: There is a lot to do in preparing for a long trek (or a series of short ones!) When you live on the other side of the globe you have to make meticulous plans in order for everything to go smoothly. Only then can you walk with peace of mind knowing that the groundwork has been done, that you will make that connection between airport and train and there are no uncertainties about planes, trains or sutomobolies! Once you have decided on an itinerary of sorts - start and end dates agreed upon - all the travel plans have to be made.

Meetings:
We've now had two meetings - the first at Val's place and the second a lunch meeting here last week. I did a vegetable stack for lunch with scallop shell polenta and served it with assorted pestos.
We started off deciding on which airline to fly, where to fly to, how to get to the start of our walk.
We have booked on Iberia from Johannesburg to Toulouse. We will get a train to Lourdes and start walking from there. We've discovered that the times of our flights from Johannesburg to Madrid have been changed from 22h30 to 20h30. Our connecting flights from Durban to Johannesburg will get us there with time to spare. We get to Madrid earlier and have a longer wait for our flights to Lourdes, which have not changed.
We get to Lourdes at 11h10 and we agreed not to rush to get the midday train from Toulouse to Lourdes but to rather have lunch somewhere and get the 14h00 train which is a faster train and gets to Lourdes only 1 hour after the midday train. Making this decision now means that we don't have to bust a gut trying to get from the airport at Toulouse to the train station in an hour.
We have booked a hotel room for the first night, only 15 euro each at Hotel San Etienne, so it won't break the bank!
We've agreed to get a bus from Puente la Reina to Pamplona rather than walk there as this gives us a few extra hours in both towns. We've booked a room at the Hotel Maisonwave in Pamplona (78 euro for the room) and will have a slap up dinner - courtesy of Val who leaves us there to return home, via Barcelona, the next day.
Marion and I leave for Lugo on the 20 June. When I first checked the train times from Pamplona to Lugo, they left at 12h36. Between now and the 13th June they leave at 13h07. We'll have to check the departure times again before we leave Pamplona on 20th June.
Because Marion and I will arrive in Lugo around 10pm, I have booked us in the hotel closest to the railway station, Hotel Muralla. There is only one bus in the afternoon to Ferrol so we'll get an early morning bus to A Coruna and from there a bus to Ferrol. We've decided to start walking to Neda in the afternoon which will leave us with a short walk to Pontedeume the next day.
I have booked us into the Hostal Paza de Agra (where I've stayed twice before) in Santiago, 40 euro for a double room. Marion leaves me the next day and I start walking to Finisterre. Because I plan on leaving after the midday mass, I decided to book into the hotel Tamara in Negreira which has a special rate of 25 euro for pilgrims. The albergue only has 20 beds and its bound to be full by 6pm.
I am planning on taking 4 days to Finisterre and back to Corcubion, arriving there on 30th June.
Training:
We have done walks that we did earlier in the year and have found that we are flying up the hills and are coping with long distances. We are still walking on the beachfront twice a week - two new wanna-be camino pilgrims, Phyllis and Eugenie have joined us - we walk with Highway AC on Saturday mornings and doing a long walk ± 20kms on a Sunday. We'll have a weekend away in the 'Berg on the 15/16th May to do some proper hiking in the mountains. Our backpacks are comfortable and mine has remained constant at just under 5kg.
Paperwork:
We checked through our e-tickets, insurance, hotel booking confirmations etc. I have sent my tickets, passport etc to the Spanish Embassy with the application for a Schengen Visa. We have all got our FOREX in cash and cards.
I have downloaded strip maps for the route from Lourdes to Somport and profile maps from Somport to Puente la Reina and will photocopy relevant pages from the CSJ & Miam Miam Dodo Arles guide. The three of us will share carrying the maps and guide pages. I've also downloaded guide books for the Ingles which Marion and I will share as well as a guide for the Fistera.
Countdown:
We have got 4 weeks, 3 days and counting!!

GANDHI SALT MARCH FOR PEACE

Yesterday we joined the 5th Annual Gandhi Salt march for Peace - a 22.5km 'march' from the Gandhi settlement in Phoenix to Battery Beach in Durban. The invitation I received for the march was from the Tibetan Society. Geshe Dhonden-la, a Tibetan Buddhist monk walked with the marchers but because of the recent news headlines, when the Dalai Lama was refused a visa to attend a Peace Conference, it was decided that marchers wear the Gandhi-ji t-shirts instead. Val was away down the coast and Marion had a cold, so it was Linda, Glynis and I who did the walk.

We arrived at the beachfront at about 5h30 and were taken to Phoenix by bus. On the bus we were issued with special t-shirts to wear on the march instead of the Peace in Tibet shirts. In the 1980's the house that Gandhi lived in was razed to the ground in political unrest. In the late 1990s, the settlement was restored and substantially reconstructed. It was opened as a heritage site in February 2000 and now forms an important local tourist attraction with a museum containing the old printeing pressed used by Gandhi.

It was a long, slow, shuffling march that took us almost 5 hours walking on the side of the busy North Coast road. The organisers did a great job of controlling the marching mass but a few people fell, tripping over the person in front, or being tripped by the person behind them.

We didn't bother to queue for our medals - or for the free vegetarian meal afterwards - and headed instead for the shady deck of the Suncoast Casino where we had something to drink before driving home.

SNOW, ICE, RAIN AND MUD ON THE ARAGONES

A fellow pilgrim sent me this update on his Aragones walk:


I had one hell of a day yesterday!!!! Arrived in Jaca by bus from Pamplona and settled in for the night in a very nice refugio. I met two Germans who grew up in Spain. They came here two weeks ago to walk, but found that Somport, the starting place higher up in the Pyrenees, was snowed in. So they started at the nearest village about 6 km below. They returned to Jaca and wanted to do that section to complete the Camino Aragon.
That night there was thunder, lightning and pouring rain. They said that probably that meant snow in the upper altitudes, but we all made it to the lower village. There we met a Spaniard and a Frenchman who also wanted to go to Somport. When the bus came to take us up, the driver said that there was much snow and the Germans dropped out. We decided to see for ourselves.
Yes, the driver was correct...in fact a blizzard was still going on. The Frenchman took a bus back, but the Spaniard, with more grey hair than I and mischievious eyes said "Let´s try". He bought me a cup of coffee, and somehow I saw some wisdom in his eyes and decided to trust his judgement.We left and started walking but there were about 6-8 inches (16cm) of new wet snow. We could not even see the path, so walked the road down. There were few cars to dodge, and it was only a bit tense when the snowplows came by. I took a couple of Photos but not more because of the wind and snow. It was really beautiful when you could raise your head to look.
It was a very steep decline so gravity helped us down. It took a bit less than 2 hours with some stops to talk about the sites and try to photograph them.The Spaniard, Jose, had left a bicycle at the hotel at the village Canfranc Estacion and would continue on by bike. Canfranc Estacion, he told me, was used in the filming of Dr Zhivago, and is a grandiose trainstation of the early 1900´s. I continued by myself. The snow had become just cold rain. The path was a still very steep downhill trek made of rocks of various sizes from pebbles to small boulders. This made it very difficult to keep your balance, especially since the rain and runoff from the tops of the mountains turned some stretches into little streams of water. My ankles would be going one way, my knees another, and my hips still a different direction to keep balance.
Along with this being my first day of walking, I was quickly becoming very tired and hurting a bit. I knew I would not be able to make it back to Jaca, and saw that there were accommodations in Villanúa. This meant only 16 km that day, but they were strenuous ones. Just as I got to the town, the temperature dropped, and a strong wind came up. Then it began to hail...pea sized hail. To my dismay, I found the first Refugio closed...and the second...and to my horror the only hostel in town was closed. I stopped in a bar and asked about a place to stay and they told me of some hotels on the main highway. By this time the hail was thickly frozen on my hat causing the brim to droop. I walked on to the highway.
Then I saw a door open and a repairman was there talking to a lady (Isabel). I went up to them and told them of my situation. The lady invited me in, perhaps the frozen look of desparation spured her compassion. She and her husband (Felix)from Logroño were there on holiday. They made me hot tea and he phoned around to find that even the hotels on the highway were closed. He explained that the last day of ski season was Easter and that was probably the reason that everything was closed. It didn´t explain the refugios being closed...but then there were obviously not many "pilgrims" around. After sitting and warming up and getting refreshed. The weather had cleared up a bit, and Felix called the next village, Castillo de Jaca, and secured a room for me. Any room would have done, but this one had a tub...a rare and welcomed feature during my time in Spain. I soaked for a half hour. What a delight!!!!
All emotions that I experience here on the Camino, are more intense than normal. This is especially true when I experience these random acts of kindness like I did from Felix and Isabel. There seem to be a lot of mysteries on the Camino, and one is tuned to interpret them mystically. I chose to think that the hardships of that day set me up to have the peak experience of the kindness shown to me by these two EX-strangers. That is what I will take back with me from this difficult day. That is what will remain in my heart forever.GlennDay 2:The water is high here on the Camino Aragon. The crossing with the stepping stones outside of Castillo de Jaca is flooded. The man at the bar, recommended that I take the road instead. He said that a few days ago a peregrina tried to cross and fell in. She survived but had to be taken to the hospital because of the freezing water.
Later in Jaca I met some people, who, instead of turning back decided to walk the train bridge crossing across the river. I would recommend having a train schedule first if you want to try that.Had to detour once between Jaca and St. Cilia because the river crossing was not possible. A lot of the path seemed like walking through a trout stream. Oh and lots of mud too.I heard rumors that the Guardia Civil had to rescue some pilgrims within the last week off of the SJPP mountain crossing. Unsubstantiated though.Glenn

FOUR CAMINOS IN ONE

I am going to be walking a shorter distance than usual this year - just over 500km - but will be doing four caminos in one.
6th - 11th June:
About 140km on the Arles route, starting at Lourdes to Somport Pass:

12th - 19th June:
Then 170km on the Aragones from Somport to Puente la Reina:

21st - 26th June:
108 Camino Ingles

27th to 30th June:
95km from Santiago to Finisterre.

30th June - 13th July:
And then - VERY EXCITING - I'll be doing a two week volunteer stint at the Albergue San Roque run by the Asociación Gallega de Amigos del Camino de Santiago in Corcubion on the Fistera route!
Corcubion is on the coast about 8.5km from Finisterre so I will spend a night there on the 29th on my way to Finisterre and walk back again on the 30th to start my duties as hospitalera with Ana, the other volunteer.
They have 20 beds and offer meals so I am busy compiling easy recipes for 20 people. I am also going through other hospitalero's notes.
One thing that comes through loud an clear is that ".... the pilgrim arrives and the hospitalero receives her and tries to meet her immediate needs. The pilgrim talks, the hsopitalero listens. Its not about you any more.."

What kind of hospitalero will I be?
I have fond memories of many kind, welcoming hospitaleros in the albergues I've stayed in. I hope to follow their example and be a considerate, helpful and patient hospitalera. Many albergues are in run down, basic, unprepossesing buildings but it is not the structure that one remembers, it is the welcome one receives, the smile and kindness of a stranger who helps you with your backpack, offers a cool glass of water, gives you time to settle in and offers to see to your blisters. That is the kind of hospitalero I want to be.
I am going to take extra Arnica oils with me so that I can offer foot massages. The distances between towns on the Finisterre route are longer than most and I know that there will be pilgrims who would appreciated a soothing foot massage.
For two weeks I'll be cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors, pulling hair out of shower drains, making beds and preparing food for 20 people. I can't wait!!

HOTELS, HOSTALS, ALBERGUES AND BEDS

I have started booking a few places for us to stay.
We have got a room for three in Lourdes for 45.99 euro (15 euro each) at the Hotel Saint Etienne, 61, Boulevard de la Grotte http://www.hotel-saintetienne-lourdes.com/
It is close to the bridge that leads to the sanctuary so we won't have far to walk to join the candelight procession.

I've also booked 3 beds at the Accueil paroissial au Presbytère in Arudy and received this charming reply from the Abbé:

Pas de problème pour vous garder 3 lits et le repas si vous voulez pour le 7 juin. C'est la fête de ma petite ville . Il y aura peut-être un peu de bruit la nuit dans la rue. Amicalement Pierre

No problem to keep you 3 beds and meals if you want for June 7. It's party time in my small town. There may be some noise at night in the street.

And, at the Monastery in Sarrance they charge a special rate of 13 euro each for pilgrims in a double room.

The Albergue Pepito GRillo at Canfrac Estacion has also confirmed three beds for three peregrina with breakfast for 51 euro (17 euro each)

I am going to book beds in Pamplona so that we don't have to trudge around the city looking for a room and I will also book ahead in Lugo because Marion and I will only get in at about 10pm - no time to start looking for beds then.

UMHLANGA RIDGE

This week it was our turn to walk on Marion's side of town. We started at 6am at her apartment in Durban North and walked up to Umhlanga Rocks Drive - then along the ridge in a large, squigily up-and-down loop back to her place.
The Province of Kwa-Zulu Natal is like a crumpled up tapestry with undulating hills and valleys and a few rivers that start in the Drakensberg Mountain range and end in the Indian Ocean. Walking along the ridge we had stunning views of the Indian Ocean on one side and inland urban sprawl on the other.
It was a hazy day and even Durban was cloaked in smog.

SUNSHINE, BLUE SKIES AND TWO GORGES

Sunday 22nd March.
We did a walk through the Two Gorges today. One is the Kloof Falls gorge and the other is the Everton conservancy gorge. What a beautiful day to walk.
We had a full dress rehearsal with boots and spats, shorts, shirts, waist-bags, backpacks etc.
It started off coolish but the sun was shining, blue skies and spectacular scenery. The entire Kloof Gorge system lies within the Kranskloof Nature Reserve and falls under the juristriction of KZN Wildlife. We had a pit-stop at the picnic site and then continued up Kloof Falls road to the View site. Magnificent in the early morning with swallows still swooping above and the waterfall noisy and full after recent rains.
Glynis (who walked the Coast to Coast with us in 2001) and Linda walked with us too, but they didn't have backpacks.
The road up from the gorge is very steep and by the time we reached Waterfall after 2 hours walking we needed a coffee break. We stopped at the Waterfall centre and had a good stop there before carrying on along parallel to Inanda Road, turning left at La Domaine into Acutt Drive and the Everton Gorge.
Val, Marion and I decided to change from boots to sandals (might as well get used to walking in both) and walked the rest of the way back to Kloof in our sandals. I'm not so sure about the sandals anymore. They have a very high instep and after a while my left foot started feeling the pressure. I might have to have a rethink on taking them on this walk.
A good 22.5km trek this morning; backpack feels good; boots were comfortable and no hotspots or chaffing anywhere.
We had a lovely lunch at Sam Brown's in Kloof before going home.

SUNSHINE, SEA SHORE AND SANDALS

What a beautiful day it was today! It was our turn to walk in Durban North so John and I met Marion at her place just before 6am.
I decided to try out my sandals today. Most of the walk was on pavements, grass verges and on the road and this could be similar terrain to parts of the Aragones and Ingles.
We started walking to Umhlanga Rocks at 6am. I think we're getting fitter because we really motored along! Unlike last week's walk, this one is relatively flat so it is quite hard going on the muscles.
The view was a great distraction - the sea was spectacular with huge waves which has brought out all the surfers. The sky was the deepest blue and there was hardly a breeze for the first 2 hours but a little cooling breeze on the way back.
We stopped at the pavement cafe on the Umhlanga waterfront on the way back for a drink ... a-la-camino walking! When we got back to Marion's she gave us another drink and a muffin.
Next weekend I'll be in Johannesburg for their Camino Workshop but the following weekend we are going to walk "The Two Gorges" in Kloof and Everton - back to the hills!

PRETTY OLD THINGS

Sunday 1st March:
This morning we did a stunning hike. We started at the Pot and Kettle - a restaurant overlooking the scenic Valley of a Thousand Hills - down into a rural valley of small subsistence farms and horse stables. We call it the 'Wildlife Walk' because one sees all sorts of farm animals, cows crossing your path, ducks and geese, chickens, horses, as well as buck, wildebeest, zebra and other animals at the Wildlife Sanctuary on the way.
It is a tough walk with very steep up and down hills. Today it was cool and we walked through a mist belt at the top of Alverston.
John (the perennial pilgrim) and his friend Kenny joined Val, Marion and me. John is 75 and Kenny is 80 so they were a great inspiration to us 'young' ladies not to moan or groan as we trekked up and down the hills.
Walking through the small village of Botha's Hill we passed an antiques and collectibles shop called Pretty Old Things. We couldn't resist having our photo taken next to the sign! Further on we entered horse country where horses have the right of way.
Those bright red things on our boots are plastic spats that I cut out at 4h45 this morning when I saw that it might rain. We have decided to make waterproof spats (from a pattern I found on the internet) but these worked just fine this morning.

WET T-SHIRT COMPETITION!!

Today we walked in the rain - well, we didn't start off in the rain but the last 45 minutes it really came down! I wore my RSA shorts and top that I'll be walking in and we all wore our boots and backpacks.

Val, Marion, Linda, Joy and I started from uShaka Marine World on Addington Beach. The clouds were rolling in, the wind coming from the south, and all the signs were there for heavy rain. We meandered our way through the development around the canals at Timeball Square, all the way to the construction fences surrounding the new harbour pier. Then we

headed north towards the Umgeni River.

By the time we'd walked about 6km it was starting to spit. Linda and Joy turned back but us hardy three peregrinas continued, outwalking the rain all the way up to the Blue Lagoon. We had a short rest on the wall - watching herons on the sand - and then headed back south. It wasn't until we turned around and walked back that it caught up with us.

First were the sounds of thunder, then a darkening sky, then sprinkles of rain that got stronger and stronger until it felt like we were being struck by small hailstones! I pulled my little black weather jacket out of my backpack and put it on to protect my camera which was in my waistbag but Val and Marion thought the rain would pass quickly and left their raincoats in their packs. They got soaked! By the time we reached uShaka at 9h15 we all looked as though we were taking part in a wet t-shirt competition! Val and I went back to the car and got our change of clothing before joining Linda and Joy for a coffee at the Java Coffee centre.

Equipment update: The boots came up trumps - staying dry even in that heavy deluge.

The socks got wet though - perhaps we should take our gaiters after all?

And, the little black jacket worked really well, repelling the rain and keeping my precious bag with the camera in it quite dry. A good training walk today.

Next week, the Pot 'n Kettle walk. Arrrghh ... a really tough walk up and down steep, sharp hills including a section of dirt road. Can't wait!!