Good question. Many years ago Geoff met two ladies (sisters) who explained how they had walked a portion of a Camino somewhere in northern Spain. Their comments that evening about the challenges and spirituality of the walk continued to resonate. Over the years the concept was never too far below the surface and we often returned to the idea, occasionally reading accounts of pilgrimages who crossed Europe and stories about others making long journeys to Constantinople and the Middle East (always have enjoyed reading a bit of history).
Fast forward some 12-15 years...a bit of back surgery well behind...pun intended...and the subject came up yet again while watching the film "The Way". Clearly the film touched a nerve, and very quickly Annemarie and Geoff began discussing the concept of walking the Camino in retirement to help bridge working lives to next things...a hard right turn in the path as it were. They concluded that this was something definitely worth thinking about down the road once the work thing was done.
However, the subject again surfaced during a recent cycling trip through the Netherlands. We found ourselves enjoying a number of discussions about the Camino often over a bottle of wine and a meal after a long day of riding (a later visit to the Templar fortress in Colmar, Portugal didn't help matters either). Along the way we fortuitously stayed in Ell with Rose and Ted. One evening the ever knowledgeable Ted took us to the next village to see one of the Netherlands historic gathering points for the Camino through Belgium and France, eventually ending in Santiago (see actual photo evidence!!).
This really brought the topic to top of mind. However, staying in the moment we cycled on, completed a brief travel through Portugal and returned home to work and the usual stuff.
At some point there were conversations (usually while walking) that went something like, "when we retire we can first walk the Camino and then travel on to...". However, by then Geoff found that the call of the Camino had become just too strong to ignore until retirement. Its difficult to explain, but he was hooked. Having seen friends and acquaintances experience various health challenges far too early, he could wait no longer. The Camino being a specific purpose trip with specialty gear is not really conducive to linking with a longer travel anyway (the original plan), or so his reasoning went. So in October, 2012 Geoff took a chance. While Annemarie was away on business he put fingers to key board and laid out a case for walking the Camino in the fall of 2013. With a faint hope he left 'the letter' for Annemarie (with appropriate chocolate bribes) as he departed on an over-lapping business trip.
Fast forward some 12-15 years...a bit of back surgery well behind...pun intended...and the subject came up yet again while watching the film "The Way". Clearly the film touched a nerve, and very quickly Annemarie and Geoff began discussing the concept of walking the Camino in retirement to help bridge working lives to next things...a hard right turn in the path as it were. They concluded that this was something definitely worth thinking about down the road once the work thing was done.
However, the subject again surfaced during a recent cycling trip through the Netherlands. We found ourselves enjoying a number of discussions about the Camino often over a bottle of wine and a meal after a long day of riding (a later visit to the Templar fortress in Colmar, Portugal didn't help matters either). Along the way we fortuitously stayed in Ell with Rose and Ted. One evening the ever knowledgeable Ted took us to the next village to see one of the Netherlands historic gathering points for the Camino through Belgium and France, eventually ending in Santiago (see actual photo evidence!!).
At some point there were conversations (usually while walking) that went something like, "when we retire we can first walk the Camino and then travel on to...". However, by then Geoff found that the call of the Camino had become just too strong to ignore until retirement. Its difficult to explain, but he was hooked. Having seen friends and acquaintances experience various health challenges far too early, he could wait no longer. The Camino being a specific purpose trip with specialty gear is not really conducive to linking with a longer travel anyway (the original plan), or so his reasoning went. So in October, 2012 Geoff took a chance. While Annemarie was away on business he put fingers to key board and laid out a case for walking the Camino in the fall of 2013. With a faint hope he left 'the letter' for Annemarie (with appropriate chocolate bribes) as he departed on an over-lapping business trip.
He needn't have feared. It turned out that Annemarie was also hooked. By the time Geoff returned home she had obtained permission to take 6 weeks off work. Geoff didn't have his own absence approved yet, however it was obviously meant to be and air tickets are now booked. September 15th into Paris, high speed train south to Bayonne and they will begin walking the 800+km el Camino de Santiago starting the very next day from St Jean de Pied de Port, France heading south into (or is that over?) the Pyrenees. Some 34-36 days later they plan to arrive in Santiago de Compostela. If time and feet permit Geoff and Annemarie will walk 3 more days to the Atlantic coast before catching the train to Madrid (a wonderful walking city), returning home late on October 27th and back to work the next day. Damn...how dumb was that?
Many training kilometers have already passed under various walking shoes since the decision was made, and Spanish lessons are underway at the university. Language expectations for Geoff are modest at best, and he hopes that he won't end up speaking Spanish as well as he speaks French...like a Russian! No worries in that regard for Annemarie...as always a languages natural...sigh. In the meantime there is much walking to enjoy, gear to locate, people to chat-up who have gone before and a few remaining plans to make for arrival/departure at St. Jean. The rest will pretty much happen as it unfolds. As someone who has walked before once said,
"The core of the Camino experience that is so liberating is that you cannot know what happens next so you learn to let go and just see what happens. An ability like that, learned on the Camino, will last you a lifetime. The chattering mind desperately wants certainty, control, and is terrified that you might live a life where that is no longer needed. Your other mind, your real mind, the quiet one, the connected one, has no fears at all - use that mind .....don't be afraid, all is well, all will be well."I guess this means that our Camino is underway. Buen Camino!
