Sunday, September 16, 2012

I'm ready :) :( ?!

I've had my credencial stamped by the local council, they were a bit surprised, as San Xoan de Rio has never considered itself to be on a Camino, but eventually they agreed and all wished me 'Good luck'.
Then I bought some 'anti bed-bug' lotion, for me, I have already sprayed my bag and sleeping bag. So here I am ready to go!!!
Then I looked at my poles, I usually use 1 stick but I thought 2 poles would be useful on hills. I should have read the small print before I bought them, it recommends 2 poles for gentle slopes but only 1 for steep slopes, so you have a free hand, presumably this is to catch hold of something as you slide down the slope:) if I had read that first I would have stuck with my 1 stick, also they seem heavy, I don't want extra weight on the back of my pack. So, I will be doing the Camino de Invierno with a stick:)
Then I decided to look again at the stages, I found a different set of info which tells me that it is 39 kms from Quiroga to Monforte, no way can I walk 39 kms on the second day. After my panic attack I started to look for ways around this, one option seems to be to take the road, this is 31kms, but if the road is 31 the path cannot possibly be 39, it only deviates a little, and the little is to take in a small town that has bars and a hotel!!!! Soooo ... I have convinced myself that it cannot be so far, I will take it gently, (the first 3 days are all very long) I have decided on the places I will stop for rest and refreshment and I will be strict with myself and will stop. On the day to Monforte, once I have done the 20 kms to Brollon I can have a rest and it is only another 10 to Monforte: What's 10 kms? Nothing really. I
 also have a sneaking suspicion that the first day is going to be longer than I thought as well:(
Then I looked at the weather forecast, lol. It's pretty hot in the afternoons still and it seems that Wednesday, my first day, is going to be hotter. It looks like my first 3 days, the longest ones, will be hot, then it will rain!! I'm not sure which will be worse. I was planning to start at 07.30 but as I sat and watched dawn this morning I realised that I cannot start until nearer 8, it will be too dark and my first 5 or 6 kms are through a wood, and what do I do if it is foggy? Then I went out this morning and met my neighbour, just returning from his walk, he had seen a wild boar! What do I do if I meet a wild boar in the wood? Run like hell? Stand still and pretend I'm a tree? I think I need to give the boars time to go to bed, that means walking later, when it's hot:(
Really I need to just go but I fancy starting on Wednesday, if all goes as planned I will spend Saturday night in Oseira, at the Monastery. I will go to Mass on Sunday morning, not something I do very often, but I like the idea, then I can do the visit of the Monastery, then just walk to Dozon, just 16kms. That's the plan, I wonder what the reality will be.  My bag is nearly packed, my boots are outside drying, only 2 days to go :)

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