Camino Withdrawal

It is good to be back at my laptop. I finished the Camino (“The French Way”) on July 28th, 2017.  Today I am back home and experiencing some serious “Camino” withdrawal. I understand this is normal, and it does feel good — cathartic, despite some pain.

At 5am this morning Brian woke up early to start his “Miracle Morning.” I got up with him (though a few minutes later). I stepped into his routine, started a pot of tea, and helped him make a smoothie — and then it hit. As we sat drinking our morning tea I related to him: “Right now I might be getting up, or maybe a little later (though on Spain time). I’d be putting lotion on my feet in the dark. Then, I’d roll up my sleeping bag liner. I’d wrap my big toes, put two layers of socks on, and fill up my water bottles . . . Then, I’d pack up, put my hiking boots on, and often leave in the dark. . .” Then the tears flowed. I think it concerned him, but I assured him this was normal.

Just this last Friday morning is when I reached Santiago. There wasn’t a big fanfare; I reached it alone. Friends had already arrived before and would continue to arrive after. I started the trip alone; I ended it alone — and I think I’d wanted it that way. On my way down the streets of Santiago that Friday, walking toward the Obradoiro Plaza, I heard city violinists played Sting’s “Fields of Gold.” How did they know to play that song? Memories of the first few days and my first walking companions swam back into my memory. My South Korean friend was once again playing the song on his phone for me and my Camino friends from France and the UK, as we walked along our own “fields of gold”, our feet swaying with the rows of wheat along the “French Way”.

I don’t want to forget. The tears remind me that I won’t. I still have not fully processed everything, and that’s ok. Thank you for taking this journey with me.

Love, light, blessings. ❤

6 Days ’til el Camino: Time

Pictured: Our lilies!  Last year I spent an hour or two clearing out dead leaves and brush from our lilies, and I wondered why our lilies hadn’t bloomed, while our neighbors’ had.  Well, it looks like the work paid off — a year later.  Yay, for reminders about divine timing!

Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  And I leave in less than a week!  Last week was a little rough because some fears started creeping in.  And it seemed to be mirrored by my surroundings.  People I would talk to were worrying about my going it alone.

But this week I feel ready.  It’s time.  2 weekends ago I walked 10 miles in a day.  This past weekend I walked 12.  I need to be more consistent when I’m walking, but at least I know I can do it. So far only 2 blisters.  One on my finger from holding a water bottle, and the other from a backpack shoulder strap.  (I think my backpack was a little lopsided from uneven water bottles — gotta figure that out.)  My feet have been great, and my legs feel strong.  Now it’s just about the long haul.

Tonight I go in to check on my Verizon plan to see about communication while in Spain.  One of my last tasks to get ready!  This weekend I will go through my packing list again, make sure everything is washed, and repack my backpack.  I also plan to get another long walk in.

A few people were razzing me about not having a return flight or even knowing where the nearest airport would be, so I finally looked that up today.  There’s one right at the end!  That makes it easier.  I’d like to walk the extra last bit to the ocean before I go, but we’ll see.

I have a few odds and ends to clean up: I’ve been unsubscribing from e-mails so that I don’t have a big mess when I get home.  I’ve also got to return all of my library books and set up away messages on my e-mail, Facebook, voicemail, etc.  It’s coming, my friends!  It’s coming!

17 Days ’til el Camino: Ready to Go

I’m so ready to go.  Often when something big is coming, or a “baby” is being birthed for me, I start to push against it.  So, I just want to get it over with — I want to go now!  But be careful what you wish for, right?  I strategically planned this trip to leave when I am.  I squeezed it between Brian’s Shaklee conference and my last planned workshop (a Vision Workshop in Spanish!)

I’m so looking forward to this trip now.  Part of me is afraid something will come up that will try to prevent me from going.  But I know the danger of entertaining those thoughts.  I will not put my attention on it.  I will put my attention on the journey.

Tonight I finish up plans for Vision Workshop: Part 2 — the first of 3 back-to-back Saturday workshops.  I’m pretty excited about these.  I’m going out with a bang!  (Time to change some lives!)  I also had 2 group Vision Workshops come up for June (1 on a webinar), and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to share my talents in this way.

Down in the dumps today.  The difference was tangible because I have a tutoring student who I absolutely love working with, and I was completely drained for her and was struggling to motivate myself for the lesson.  I think my drop is a combination of all the current stress with everything happening right now: a new, semi-unmotivated student, upping my walking regime in the increasing heat and with an increasing backpack size, and challenging circumstances in the household with my fiancee and I making transitions into new jobs with changing financial situations.

Through it all — no matter what happens — I am grateful that I am consciously working on some serious life lessons.  I’m developing self-empowerment and acceptance.  I’m already learning how to release judgement and accept the beauty of what is.  I know el Camino will help me further with this, but I am transforming wherever and whenever I am!

Life is beautiful.  Thank you all for your support. ❤

Much love, many blessings.

18 Days ’til el Camino: The Last Stretch

2 1/2 weeks left.  Crazy!  Once I hit June, my mental state shifted.  I became pretty nervous!  The worry-wart/ perfectionist popped in and started getting all fussy about things.  I decided this week to put my main attention on el Camino and to get some “last-minute” things accomplished this minute, so that I might feel a little calmer.  And it worked.  I feel much better already.

I have all of my supplies now except for some of my blister kit, some shower shoes, and plastic bags to protect my belongings in case of moisture.  I’ve contacted my credit and debit card companies, and they are set to go except that I’m waiting to get confirmation of my pin.  I looked into my flight and first night, and I see that my stopover isn’t nearly as long as I’d thought (just a few hours), and I’ll be arriving in France in the afternoon of the 27th.  I also looked into first night stays and joined a few Facebook groups, including “American Pilgrims on the Camino.”  They gave me great advice about a possible hostel (or albergue  for Spain or gite for France).  I just applied for a reservation, and it sounds inexpensive and lovely, so I’m hoping I’ll get accepted.  As far as transportation from the airport to my first place of stay, I’m looking into Express Bourricot.  The only thing is it could be a bit pricey if it’s just me: Price /1 person= 84,00 €      2 people =  42,00   3 people = € 28,00 4 people = € 21,00. They try to group people together, though, so I’m going to put my attention on there being at least one other person who joins me.  As soon as I have a confirmed place of stay, I’ll book the transportation as well.

I’ve gotten off the horse as far as physical prep, but I got back on this morning.  I walked 2 hours with my sister (5-6 miles).  My mom gave me an extra pedometer that she had, and with the 2-hour walk today plus regular movement, I am currently at 19, 250 steps for the day!  One of the Facebook group members was talking about prep and said to walk 2 long days back-to-back at a time, with a days rest in between.  It suggested walking at least 6 miles a day.  Well, my “long” days have been 6 miles, so it’s time to up my game again.  I plan to walk at least an hour every day for the last 18 days, and this Sunday I will be walking for 5 hours (nearly how long I’ll be walking daily on el Camino).

I had a wonderful “mini-Camino” this past weekend.  I took a road trip down to Texas to be at the wedding of two people who I love very, very much.  I road down with a very good friend who I got to reconnect with on the way.  She shared some of her favorite recordings, including Abraham Hicks and a few interviews with Robert Schwartz.  The learnings, the conversations, and a beautiful reunion all caused a shift in me.  I began to get the feeling that this weekend was maybe the “mini-Camino” I was needing.  It’s all about the journey, right?

I look forward to all of the little and “big” journeys ahead, and I wish you wonderful journeys as well!

Much love, many blessings. ❤

32 Days ’til el Camino: 1 month left!

Well, it’s pretty much one month left now!  It’s been another wild week, including some funky dreams and great content from Andy Shaw.

I walked a few times in the past week, between 45 minutes and 2 hours with the backpack on. Today I added some new items when I walked, the new orders that I mentioned in the last post.  Something that is noticeably missing from my backpack is a guidebook I ordered a month ago that never arrived.  I looked up tracking and discovered it had been delivered to Cincinnati, Ohio.  No help to me there!  Amazon is checking into it, and thankfully, my mom gifted me another guide book that I may just be able to use in its place.

I’m starting to redevelop some good daily habits.  I’ve been exercising more, taking my vitamins more regularly, eating fairly healthily, got back into the yoga challenge, am journaling, and have started writing my vision out daily.  I’m also indulging and reading more, which is such a pleasure!

I’m looking forward to my dreams tomorrow morning!  This morning I had a few dreams  in auditoriums.  This could have to do with imagination or literally me and auditoriums.  Either way, it’s fantastic!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Much love, many blessings. ❤

49 Days ‘Til El Camino: Are We There Yet?

Why does 49 seem like so much less than 50??

Today I walked 3 hours, as planned.  And nearly died.  That’s not true.  I did very well but was very tuckered out by the end.  I actually walked 2.75 hours, and then took the dogs out for their mile walk, and they were dragging me along for the first half.  I’m really glad I decided to up my game.  I plan to walk at least 1 3-hour walk per week, and my next walk will be with a full backpack.  (Today I walked with my empty backpack, except for a water bottle.)

I’m so, so grateful that I walked twice this past weekend.  I can see now how valuable physical preparation can be!  And my wonderful friend read my blog and offered to go for a walk with me!  She’s a yoga instructor, too, and offered to teach me some good foot stretches!  The universe is very good to me! ❤

I need to make sure I get my last orders in by the end of this week or next week at the latest.  There will be plenty of stores in Spain, but I don’t want to mess around with things like trying to find an adapter.  I need my phone to work!

In the past few weeks I’ve started talking aloud to myself.  I find it very therapeutic.  It’s very amusing to me because that’s the supposed to be the definition of “crazy”, right?  Well, I already knew I was crazy.  I guess this just confirms it. . .  I found myself talking to myself often during the walk today.  It was nice.  At one point I actually got tired of hearing myself talk and was quiet for a bit, but soon I picked it up again!

I’ve really come to see how I’m already walking “el Camino”.  I started walking it the day I decided to go.  That’s what we are all called to do: walk our own “Caminos”.  There is a dream inside of each of us, and only we can decide for it because it is ours, and ours alone.  Once we do decide for it . . .  we are on our way!  The journey has begun; the lessons and learnings commence.

Today I felt so grateful.  So incredibly, incredibly grateful.  Because things feel right again.  I laugh at myself when I see how blind I was, even a few weeks ago!  I’ve known since college how important travel is to me, ever since I took off and lived a semester in Mexico.  But I shoved down my dream and decided it wasn’t important.  Why?  There are plenty of excuses I could use to explain it away.  And often many of us do.  But not anymore. Not me.  What about you?

I’m back on track, and it’s an exhilarating (and sometimes scary!) ride.  Here’s to the journey.  Here’s to our lives!

Much love and many blessings. ❤

50 Days ‘Til El Camino: Time to Kick It into Gear!

Yesterday I went walking with my friend for an hour-and-a-half (about 3 miles) and I was exhausted!  It may have partially been the heat, but I believe I just wasn’t prepared for it.  I thanked him profusely for the experience and decided it’s time to get serious about preparing for the Camino!

Today I walked an hour-and-a-half again with Brian, and this time averaged 3 miles an hour and walked about 4.5 miles.  Improvement!  Tomorrow I am determined to walk 2-3 hours at the same pace.

I continue to wear my hiking shoes regularly and also usually my hiking socks.  I’ve been reading Pilgrim Tips and Packing List Camino de Santiago by S. Yates with Daphne Hnatiuk, and I’m really enjoying it!  So much useful information in there.  (Thanks, Mom!)  I highly recommend the text.

Some things I need to add to my packing list:

• feminine products
• 1-2 regular pop (soda) bottles to use as a water bottle
• ear plugs
• a plug adapter
• travel size toiletries ONLY
• a power transformer
• toilet paper
• container of salt
• plastic bag containing copies of important documents
• travel health insurance
• pair of nail scissors (useful for many things!)
• string
• really thin (inner) socks
• foot cream
• safety pins
• a garbage bag (to line the inside of the backpack)

They also recommend cutting off tags, ripping out unneeded pages, and emptying the backpack every 2-3 days to clear and re-pack! Intense!

Finally, especially now that I plan on training harder, my two biggest concerns are frequent bathroom needs and blisters.

As far as the first, I’m sure I will get used to the open air practice eventually.  As far as the second, here are a few suggestions from Yates and Hnatiuk:

Prevention:

• Cream the feet at least twice a day with Nivea, Neutrogena, or similar.
• Only wear broken in, comfortable shoes.
• Wear 2 pairs of socks so that the friction occurs between the sock layers.
• Don’t shower in the mornings and don’t do any foot soaks until you’re done hiking for the day.  (This softens the skin and makes it more likely to blister.)
• During rests, take off shoes and socks and put your feet up (like on your backpack) to reduce swelling
• Take care of hot spots and discomfort immediately before a blister develops
• Take care of your feet in the evenings!  Wash thoroughly, soak when possible, check for signs of problems and treat them, and cream generously.

Treatment:

1. Shower first.
2. Wash and disinfect hands.
3. Disinfect blister, clean the area, and open it with a small incision with a sterilized utensil, just enough to drain the blister but keep the skin intact. (Do not remove the skin!)
4. Use a sterile compress to apply pressure and empty the blister.  Tape small compress to blister and surrounding area to prevent blister from re-filling overnight.
5. Insert iodine into blister with iodine cream or liquid iodine syringe. (Yipes!)
6. Cover with compress package and bandage.
7. If needed the next day, buy Spontex® kitchen cloth, cut it to size — leaving a hole where your blister is, and tape it to the surrounding blister-free skin.
8. Keep the dressings clean, and change them after every shower.
9. Cream the old skin over the blister to keep it soft and elastic, so it won’t cause another blister!

Those feet are important!  Love, love, love your feet!

Much love, many blessings. ❤