Future plans and need for training

So we are back in planning mode and trusting for no problems to upset the plans for next year.

We are still walking regularly, anything between 5 and 12 kms+ with rucksacks weighing around 4kg and 6kgs. We have weighed our prospective loads for next year and calculate that we will be carrying approx 6kgs and 8kgs including water with fleeces etc in our packs. A little lighter than before reflecting that we plan to walk in slightly warmer weather and also without sleeping bags. The route (Camino del Mar) requires more use of private accommodation and so we will use that too on the Camino Inglés rather than the albergues. This may mean booking ahead, very different to unplanned stops, but we do not want to completely pre-book. All part of the over-all preparation.

Interesting walks will still go on Walking Around, anything specific to training - pack weights etc - will go on this blog.

Delays and changes

The changes to our plans for 2014 mean that we will not be walking the Camino this year, so will have to keep in training for next year instead. We intend to keep walking, but posts in the near future will be on the Walking Around blog rather than here.

Winter training

The wet and windy weather has not always been a help with training lately. While we will happily (?) walk in the rain on the Camino we prefer to try to keep drier on training walks. However we have managed some walking each week although nearly all on the side roads locally. On one occasion even some of those were flooded meaning we had to do a 'there and back' rather than a circular walk. At least we have hills as well as level stretches to keep us fit and so far we have not had as many icy mornings as in previous years.

The lighter general packs are being more heavily loaded again and we also are walking sometimes with our proper Camino packs. This is partly to keep used to the weight and also to double check what we really need on the route later this year.

Yesterday's walk was 12.9kms in 3 hours, over hilly terrain, with a lunchbreak at the halfway point. Ongoing walks will depend on the next band of weather but spring is coming and then a new walking season and our next pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

A Walking Week

With several days of good weather we have had a good week for training. We have been walking the 7km and 12km walks so on Monday we stretched this to a circular 16kms, with some long steep hills. Jacket potatoes at the halfway point before the (mainly) downhill walk home.

This was followed by one of our normal 7km walks and today a mere 3.5kms, all with hills. We are also starting to carry a more realistic weight in our packs, so far - so good.

The leaves are falling fast and it is much colder, but we are enjoying ourselves. Most of the hills are more challenging than those we will meet on the Camino, apart from the hill out of Pontedeume and the one beyond Betanzos at Casa Julia. If we can manage here we should be able to manage them happily.

Wing feather from a Greater Spotted Woodpecker

View across the woods

Back to Training

With plans to walk to Santiago again in 2014 we continue walking to keep in training. The walks are mostly on Walking Around, the actual walk will go on Camino del Mar-Camino Inglés and some preparation (eg pack weights) will go here on this blog.

It feels good to be preparing for the Camino again. So far we are walking between 7 and 12 kms with plenty of hills and carrying our lighter packs. We know the weights we need to aim for so will be 'tweaking' our Camino packs over the coming months and walking with them occasionally.

Walking Around

Having walked the Camino Primitivo we are considering where we walk next. We may return to walk some of the Picos de Europa, or parts of the Camino again. We certainly hope to walk in the UK. So we will keep in training but this blog is coming to an end and you can follow our further walks on the Walking Around blog at http://peripatio.blogspot.co.uk

Camino Primitivo -April-May 2012

Our training over we left for Spain on the 22nd of April and walked the Camino Primitivo as planned. We have finally arrived back home and are sorting out our photos and memories of the Camino, our time in Santiago and the return across Spain. Our new blog for this Camino is at Camino Primitivo 2012

Other preparations

Apart from checking our packs and walking there are other things to think about.

To stay in the pilgrim hostels (albergues) we need a Pilgrim's Passport (credencial). Ours come from the CSJ in England and have good large spaces for the stamps (sellos) we will collect as we walk. Sellos can be had from churches, town halls, hotels, cafes etc as well as the albergues themselves. Some places just leave the rubber stamp and ink pad for pilgrims, others do it for you. Some are very picturesque, others simple. We need at least one a day to start with, and then at least two a day for the last 100kms, to show that we have walked the Camino.

Also from CSJ we have the selection of Bible verses and meditations called 'Forty Days'.

The guide to the Camino is also important, giving directions, distances and some places to stay as well as the albergues. We will probably use a mix of albergues, both municipal (not bookable) and private (bookable), hostals and maybe some hotels.

That means we need a PAYG mobile phone to call ahead, or for emergencies. Next on the list is money, in a secure form and our tickets for the journey.

So much to think about as the time gets nearer; and still the need for that all important walking practise. To quote a Stanley Holloway monologue "the sky's took a turn since this morning; I think it'll brighten up yet", although so far the forecast for the next few weeks round here doesn't look too good.

Last year's sellos:-
from our journey and the Camino Inglés

April showers

After some lovely walking weather in March and early April the weather lately has not been good. Rain and cold winds have been the usual weather pattern. However we have managed some long walks and some short.

We were back on the ancient track again this week, so a view looking up the hill this time as that is the direction we were walking.

Hopefully the weather will now improve so that we can keep walking.
Also we are now carrying our full weight packs on the longer walks; packed as though on a hot day on the Camino. This has its difficulties when we are needing to wear the layers we want to carry!

It's uphill all the way!

The Ancient Trackway

Across the field and down between steep banks
This ancient trackway runs. A way worn deep
Into the very bedrock of the land
By many iron shod hoofs and wheels and feet.

Who knows but what there may have passed this way,
The Celtic warrior armed with shield and spear,
Leaving behind his loved ones safe at home
Within the castle dike on hilltop near.

Who knows how many of the folk of old
Briton and Roman, Angle, Saxon, Dane:
With horse and hound, chariot, cart and sledge
Helped form this treasure of a country lane.

The ruined longhouse, roofless now, lies near
Above the river, in its valley green.
Once men and women, children, all lived here
Made tears and laughter part of this dear scene.

All, all are gone now, silence reigns within
The woodland copse and by the riverside.
Here can I stand and listen for the past
To speak to me with voices time can't hide.

The track worn down with countless wheels and feet,
The fallen walls, the ford across the stream.
The life once lived here lives again for me,
And modern life becomes the unreal dream.

©Tio Tel 2012

With thanks to ksam for the comment at Feb 7th which inspired me