Off We Go!

 Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

                                - often credited to Mark Twain, but there is a growing acceptance that it belongs to Sarah Frances Brown.

I posted this well known quotation before having to postpone the Via Francigena in 2020 and I think it's ok to post again. I don't know if I'll still be alive twenty years from now, but if I am I hope to look back on this journey and recapture some of what I'm feeling on the eve of another distance walk. Remember the anticipation, the excitement, the tastes, the smells and yes even the anxiety. I look forward to starting each day with thankfulness that I'm able to walk yet again with Annemarie. I've reflected enough to know that other moments in regular daily life are more important, as good as, or even better than this. That said, this unique process called slow travel is, for me, the spice of life: )  As our friend Mireille said to me today after just completing an amazing solo distance walk in Norway, " Enjoy every bit of it!". Mireille, we fully intend to! 

I still find it mildly amusing that all this stuff;

fits into this small 30 litre pack with plenty of room to spare for food and water. 

All in about 15.5 lbs (7 kg), about 2 lbs heavier than the last couple of distance walks because I'll be carrying 2 guide books and some PPE. That's ok as I'm also 3 years older which clearly means I’m 3 years stronger:) That's how it works, right?

Tomorrow (Air Canada and airports permitting) we'll leave our safe harbour, catch the trade winds and explore, dream, discover!