August 2001

I've got to get my butt in gear. I have been procrastinating and not doing a thing to get ready to go. I haven't even bought airline tickets yet. I'm not sure if I should try to go next month or wait until next spring. I read that most shelters shut down at the end of October. If I decide to go next month I have to get the airline tickets now or I will run out of time. I just can't seem to decide what to do. On August tenth I wake up knowing I have to do the walk next month. I have such a sense of urgency about the whole thing now. "Get going," "Get going", a voice keeps whispering in my head.

I call my sister "T" in The Netherlands and ask her which city would be the best to fly into; the one that would be the easiest for her to pick me up from. She says either Brussels or Frankfort and to just pick the one that is the cheapest. I spend the afternoon checking out airfares and Brussels is the cheapest but I can't seem to pick a day. I go back and forth agonizing about it. This is the no turning back point, once I pick a date to fly I am committed to doing this. I pick a flight that leaves Denver on September 12 for London. From there I will connect with another flight that goes into Brussels. In Brussels, my sister and her husband will pick me up and we will drive to the southern part of The Netherlands where they live.

I start taking longer walks with my dog, twice a day. We walk three mile in morning and then three miles in the evening. My plan is to walk every day until I am up to 12 miles a day. I figure this will be easier to do in six mile chunks.

Once I buy the airline tickets everything hits warp speed. I walk each day. I check web sites for information about The Camino and find four sites that are helpful to me; Friends on the Road to Santiago,The British Confraternity of Saint James, Spain's OK Spain tourist site, and Renfe-Spain's railway. I go to Denver to hit REI with my sister "M". I end up buying a pair of hiking boots, a backpack, an ultra light sleeping bag, an ultra light sleep mat, two pairs of pants, two long sleeve polyester undershirts, a rain poncho, three pairs of travel undies, three sports bras, a small flashlight, some little packets of high energy goop, a sun hat, a water bottle, and a four oz. bottle of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap because it says it can be used for cleaning hair, skin, teeth, and clothes. I write the Spanish Consulate in Chicago and ask them to send me everything the can about the Camino. I get a big envelope back with all sorts of brochures and information about Spain. I also get a copy of Millan Bravo Lozano's book , A Practical Guide For Pilgrims: The Road To Santiago, which is a guidebook that includes route information, maps, and other useful information.

Two weeks after I buy my airline tickets I fill my backpack with everything I will need on my trip and start doing my practice walks with it on my back. The first time I do this I think I have made a terrible mistake in deciding to do the pilgrimage. I can't even walk three miles with the pack on my back. I panic and think about all the money I have just wasted. Then I realize that I am trying to walk at the same speed as I did without the extra weight (about 12 pounds) and the next time I go out, I slow down my pace and have no problems.

By the end on the month I am walking eight miles a day and know I will be up to 12 a day by the time I leave for Spain. Funny thing, since I started these practice walks I have not worried about lightning at all.