The seed was planted … we start the Camino on 24th January!

This blog is a joint effort from both myself and Phil but if I left him to type it we would still be on day 1 at the end – bless him !

In the photo above we are doing a 20km training walk around the beautiful Thanet coast and coastal towns one sunny day in December.

The beginning …..

Phil and I first heard about the Way in detail during a visit to a cafe in December 2017 in Vila Nova de Poiares, Portugal where we live part of the year in our partially renovated home. We chatted to a wonderful young lady called Shannon who shared her remarkable adventures which completely changed her life. She sowed the seed which rooted firmly in our souls. From that day, the urge became stronger and stronger and Phil and I would constantly chat about the day we could do it and the logistics surrounding the journey.

The signs…..

As soon as Shannon sowed the seed , the signs were becoming more and more apparent . We would constantly meet people who had completed the camino or knew friends who had done it . We found ourselves driving part of our journey to Portugal on the camino route and visiting camino rest stops. We also began to see scallop shells everywhere (the camino symbol) . I bumped into a Japanese man in an elevator in Narita airport who was just leaving for the Camino some 10000 km away! I spent ages on a white shell beach in Japan making camino signs and messages for the world to see! Of course, once you join Facebook and other camino forums, you meet others who are equally as excited . So the adventure begun!

Replanting the seeds for others…

It now seems that that we have planted a few seeds in other people ourselves. We have had a number of people tell us they want to do it now. I can’t spend one day not researching the camino online, participating in camino forums, reading camino journals or repacking my rucksack! I’m sure our friends can’t wait for us to go so they don’t have to listen to us any more !

Logistics

It wasn’t going to be easy. 5 weeks off work not during the summer holidays meant that Phil would have to beg time off work or leave his job . As a tefl teacher I am able to work as I please so time off isn’t an issue for me ! After weeks of discussion, the decision was made. Phil would leave his job on 16th January and the next chapter of our lives would begin!

Our dreams and reasons

Our dream is to open our home in Portugal as a homestay, teaching foreign students English. Renovations are taking longer than planned ( don’t they always?) And we need to be out there for longer periods of time . We both want a better quality of life in a more relaxed environment- teaching English and practising and promoting permaculture and sustainable living. Our 7 children are now all over 21 and independent and we are sure we are physically, mentally and spiritually ready to do the 790km from St Jean Pied de Port in France by the Pyrenees to Santiago in west Spain. We want this pilgrimage to be a transition into the next chapter of our lives : to relieve ourselves of burdens , to become better humans , open our minds , become more creative and generate new ideas , learn from others, meet wonderful people, get fitter and become part of the adventure which has served pilgrims for over 2000 years.

Burdens…

Pilgrims often talk about shedding their burdens and being able to “let go” on the camino. Everyone has burdens in life. We dont want to rely on all the material things we get used to. Not knowing where our next sleep will be or what each day will bring will be liberating. People are often so burdened and regulated in their lives by work and other commitments that they don’t do the things that can expand the imagination and grow spiritually . We want to lose those burdens of feeling obligated and restrained by regulation and mundane work patterns, helping others to get rich at our expense . When time is not an issue, there is little to worry about and many hours each day to do walking meditation and be in nature. The mind and spirit can grow and answers may be found !

16.5 inches of hair gone! First burden out of the way….

Aims of blog…

We will write a blog which aims to inspire people to leave their comfort zone and achieve their dreams whether this is the Camino or something else in life. We also want to spread positivity and stories about wonderful people, make people laugh with our anecdotes ( if there are any lol) and show people what the Way is about. Phil and I both aim to do some creative writing so there may be a few poems and haiku on the journey too!

Phils first attempts at Haiku

A haiku is a Japanese poem of 3 lines usually about the natural world with 5, 7 and 5 syllables .

1.Camino will walk. Each day a sigh been given. Me to you goodbye!

2.SJPDP. Wake early rucksack on back. One step two steps go!

( St Jean Pied de Port is the start of the Frances route we are taking)

3.Yes we said we ‘ll go! An adventure for some weeks. Walk, sing, laugh and sleeps.

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Further information

Remember we are going during the quietest months of Winter so our journey and preparation will be very different to someone else’s!

We won’t try to reinvent the wheel and talk about the history and many logistics etc . There are a number of routes to Santiago. In old times the camino started from your home but now we have the luxury of choosing our starting point to suit ourselves.

Please visit https://stingynomads.com/camino-de-santiago/, Google the Camino de Santiago or join a Facebook group and you will find everything you want to know ! Also watch the US famous 2010 film “The Way” with Martin Sheen which inspired so many Americans to do the camino that now 10 percent of walkers are from the USA! ( currently free on youtube). Statistics are at https://oficinadelperegrino.com/estadisticas/ and you will see that in 2018 over 327 ,000 pilgrims received their certificate !