Several months ago my husband and I watched the movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen and directed by Emilio Estevez. My husband commented “ that looks like fun…we should do that.” And since he really doesn’t like anything involving exercise or the outdoors, I immediately agreed. The route in the movie is the Camino Francés…500 miles which takes most people about 5 weeks. At present, it’s rather difficult for me to get that much time off….so we are going to walk the Camino Portuguese. Only 161 miles, but ends at the same place, Santiago de Compostela.
The Camino is actually a series of routes taken by pilgrims to the cathedral in Santiago which is believed to house the bones of St. James. Many walk for religious or spiritual reasons. Others walk for the physical challenge.
In May, we will begin our walk in Porto, Portugal and, if all goes as planned, will finish about 18 day’s later in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Today, we bought the hiking shoes we will use on the trek. It takes about six months to break in hiking shoes properly and we want to make sure they fit properly to avoid blisters. Tonight we donned our backpacks and new shoes want went for walk, about 5 miles. Other than the heat and humidity, the packs and shoes felt fine. Training will continue until May. Stay tuned for updates. Buen Camino.
