An Introduction

I've been wanting to walk the Camino de Santiago, or the route that is knows as the Camino Frances, for over two years. It started at the Byron Writer's Festival in July 2007 - I attended a session by two Australian authors who had recently written and published a book on their experiences doing this pilgrimage. At the time I didn't think much of the whole idea, other than that I did not want the experience of taking off my shoe and tearing half my heel off in the process. At least it was more interesting than the previous session, where some Everest-conqueror had gone on and on about how many times he had died and come back to life on the mountain. But on the whole, I thought they were pretty crazy. Entertaining, but crazy.

Well, a couple of months later I was hooked on the idea of doing it myself - walking the approximately 800km from the Pyrenees in the east of Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the west, and the additional 100km to the coast and Finisterre, the end of the medieval world, following in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims from the dark ages to the present. I honestly can't remember why. But I started to research, joined an online forum, and started planning. I found a job and began to save money, pretty slowly at first. In April 2008, Ariel decided spontaneously to join me (and I have to admit, I thought she was insane for wanting to - I though I was insane for wanting to) after I had been babbling about my plans all day. We researched more, compiled packing lists, bought plane tickets to Europe, went on endless shopping trips to find the most high-tech, lightweight, quick-drying clothes and equipment possible.

And now I've finished school, bar the last two HSC exams, and am leaving in two weeks exactly. It's a pretty exhilarating feeling - all warm and giggly and adrenalin-rushy as well as slightly terrifying. I remember posting my introduction on the Camino forum, reading others' excited, last-minute posts and regretting that I still had eighteen months until I could start walking. But in the morning of Wednesday, the 18th November, I'm flying out of Australia with a backpack containing not much more than a sleeping bag, a change of clothes and some assorted odds and ends. (Actually, there will also be a a suitcase of more clothes for living in Germany after the Camino, which I'm going to send ahead to Santiago.) For a bit over a month, I'll be carrying everything I have on my back, and it's not much if you don't count the many layers of warm things I'll be wearing while I'm walking. And the next 14 days are going to by so quickly that before I know, I'll be staring out the window at the Pacific Ocean several kilometers below.

I'm using this blog to keep in touch with everyone back home, to let anyone who's interested know where I am, what I'm doing (other than walking), how many blisters I have. (A warning to anyone squeamish: this blog may contain graphic content. As in mangled feet covered in blisters. Though I am hoping to avoid that... I'll see how I go.) Apparently there are lots of internet cafes along the Camino, and even computers in some of the albergues by now, so I'll be updating quite frequently. Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question, I'll do my very best to reply as well! I'm usually pretty good at that.

Next post will include some background on the Camino and a list of all the things I am carrying with me. Did I mention that I'll be walking at the beginning of winter? Which means warm clothes and sleeping bags! And hopefully, somewhere along the track (quite literally), snow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!