Supplies

Yesterday I bought most of my supplies that will fill my backpack: a blister pack(not a pill one): which includes 2nd skin, moleskin, iodine for disinfecting a needle, thread, gauze, paper tape, and polysporin. It seems like an awful lot to pack, for the 'possibility' of blisters, but I do want to be prepared .
A pharmacist, who'd walked the Camino, advised me to bring hydrocortisone 1% for bites (bedbugs!, mosquitoes etc.), and chaffing.
I bought a 35 litre backpack, a one pound sleeping bag with silk liner, a pack poncho ( often used as a ground cover, or as a disguise for excretory functions, especially on the meseta), more wool socks, a camel water system, a towel that weighs 2 ounces, a silk night shirt and long johns, and varied clothing items that I'll have to consider before packing them.
Further along Broadway was a shop selling adapters for my camera's battery charger. I bought two adapters, in the event that I may lose one.
A.J. Brooks, where I'd bought my boots a year earlier, kindly, and most graciously stretched the toe of my boots for me. My toes feel much better with the extra room.

It was a very exhausting day with so many options, and my not being completely certain of what I would 'need'. Fortunately I was accompanied and supported, by a former Camino walker.

Preparing is certainly part of the journey.

Gratitude

I awoke with a heavy feeling today, thinking it quite bizarre that some of us, in our rich society, place ourselves in a 'chop wood, carry water' situation so that we can really experience 'life'.
I no longer have to worry about my basic needs, however, on my pilgrimage, I will be concerned with such things.
What got me to thinking about such matters, was a documentary: "Long Way Round".
In the film, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman travel via motorcycle around the world. While in Mongolia they meet street orphans, abandoned by their parents, who are so desperately poor that they are neither able to feed themselves nor their children. The tiny two year old girl (the same age as my granddaughter), who could only speak to one caregiver, brought tears to my eyes. Equally as heart- rending, were my imaginations of the anguish, that the parents must be experiencing.

"No matter how hard or heart-rending it is to live,
Do not wear a tearful face.
Let's keep walking steadily
And live out our lives."


I am grateful for my life.

Ruth

walking

I've been walking around New Westminster, doing a couple of passes up and down 4th st. which comprises of a killer hill, that begins at the Fraser River, and rises rapidly over five very short blocks. Descending is most difficult on old knees. Ascending involves getting going and building up cardio, which is always possible. Changing your knee anatomy is a little more difficult.

I can always recognize those who walk the hill daily. Their walking appears effortless.

Recently I've been using my Nordic walkers. While climbing the 4th street hill, at 11pm!, I was asked by a passerby "Where are your skis?" I was tempted to reply "At Riverview", a nearby hospital for the mentally ill.
With my headband, loaded pack, "ski polls", the hill, and the lateness of the night, I must have looked like I'd lost my mind. Actually, I had combined my walk with a check on my daughter's nearby apartment, as she is away at Shasta Abbey.

Getting Ready

I've been mentally preparing for this trip for sometime now, however, I still have doubts as to the sanity of an old woman with worn out knees and other signs of impermanence, doing such a trip.

After two tries, I seem to have found good walking boots, however, I still worry when my toes start hurting with socks too tight. I've found some merino wool socks that seem to be the best. Good, leather, German boots (Meindl), are what I've been wearing. My first pair was my usual size. The second pair is one half size larger than I usually wear. I actually think that I could have gone up one whole size.

Less than fifteen pounds would be an ideal weight for my backpack. I've even discovered a one pound sleeping bag which is only good at 7 degrees F. and beyond. May and June are notoriously warm in Spain, but I've heard that the albuergues are often unheated and very cold.

The climate conditions are quite varied, so I have to prepare for the rain as well, especially in Galicia.

I will soon have a compact digital camera, a great change for someone who loves black and white film and an SLR camera. For the pilgrimage I do not want photography to be my focus, nor do I want to carry a 3 Lb camera (my Nikon SLR).

Best Foot Forward

I'm not totally certain why I'm walking the Camino, but it is the first time in my life that I have an uncommitted period of time. Most of my life has been lived looking after family, both as a child, and as a parent. After forty years of caring for the sick, most recently, the dying and their families, I was relieved of these duties, when I myself, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Seeing my own impermanence gave me cause to reflect.

To me, the Camino will be a way of living life reduced to it's basics: walking, eating and sleeping, and will provide a great opportunity for walking meditation.

I have no expectations, but will try my best to make it to Santiago.