The Adventure Begins!

Well, this is it! There's no turning back now... As you read this, I am on my way to Spain to (hopefully!) complete a 40 day hike, consisting of something around 1000 kms, or 25-35 kms per day, with a couple of rest days thrown in to let the feet heal every so often....

You may be asking yourself, "What would possess a middle aged, slightly overweight man of middling motivation to attempt such a trek?" The truth is, I think I panicked.

Over the last few years I have felt my body deteriorating with age- some days I swear I can actually feel my muscles atrophying, the ability to recover from strenuous activities has become increasingly more difficult, and these ole' bones just seem to be getting creaky, quickly! Add to that, friends and acquaintances who are starting to deal with their own health issues, and I began to question whether my invisible invincibility cloak that I've counted on my entire life to keep me free from health issues was actually a solid plan for my future health...

The seeds for this trip were planted about a decade ago by Martin Sheen, who portrayed a grieving father who walks the Camino de Santiago in memory of his son, who died attempting the walk himself, in the movie "The Way". At the end of the movie, I turned to Andrea and said, "I want to do that walk." And every couple of years, something would remind me of the pilgrimage, and I would reiterate to her my desire to make this trip. It turns out, every time she agreed, she was just humoring me, because when I brought the subject back up earlier this year, she finally let her true feelings be known, stating unequivocally "I really have no interest in walking 25-35 kms a day- that's not what I would consider a vacation- but if you want to do it, you should do it now, so we don't have to do it when we are retired!" And with that, I was off and run---, er, walking...

If the idea of wandering through a foreign country day after day- enjoying the stunning mountain and sea landscape that northern Spain is known for, visiting important historical and religious sites that date back to mediaeval times, and finishing the day with simple but spectacular food that rates northern Spain as one of the top must visit destinations in the world for foodies- appeals to you, then I invite you to follow me on my journey, through this blog. I will try to post daily briefs of my days' travels, offering my take on the food, the scenery, how bad my feet hurt, important historical sites I visit, and the general feeling of freedom that comes from just having to get up, walk, eat, sleep and repeat, day after day for a month and a half...