On our way

The time is finally here and we are on our way! We travel from Raleigh to Charlotte to Madrid, landing in Madrid at 7am Friday the 9th. From there we take the bus to the train station, the train to Pamplona and then a taxi from Pamplona to St Jean Pied de Port. If all goes as planned it should put us in SJPP around 5pm local time ... but then that is the point, if it doesn't go "as planned" then that means God has something else in mind. Being a project manager at heart that is very hard for me to get used to but the next 7 weeks are His and our part is to enjoy the ride.

So the journey begins. Betsy's back pack weighs in at 17 pounds while mine is 22. That is without any water and more than we were trying to target. Maybe  one of the early lessons will be figuring out what stuff we really don't need.

Buen Camino

in Charlotte airport

at the airport

Last days of preparation

 "But the beauty is in the walking -- we are betrayed by destinations"
Gwyn Thomas

As we continue to train, we are trying to balance getting physically ready without wearing ourselves out before we even start. Two weeks ago we took some  time off to rest and heal with Betsy visiting her parents in Myrtle Beach and I went with one of our close friends, Mary Carey, to an icon painting workshop/retreat. (My icon painting is posted below). Then this week we have done a few moderate hikes to keep ourselves "tuned".

Also in preparing spiritually, our new Parish Priest, Fr. Rob, gave us a pilgrim's blessing. For those of you who gave us your special intentions for us to pray for, know that they are recorded in our journals and ready to go.

Bob, Fr Damian and Mary

my icon painting

walkway in our neighborhood

Bob, Fr Rob and Betsy after the blessing

Bob resting at lunch

Betsy cooling her feet in a stream

 We continue to train by increasing both the distance we are hiking and the weight we are carrying in our backpacks. Raleigh affords us lots of places to hike. So far we have hiked
        Umstead state park
        Durant nature park
        Capital area green way
        Falls lake trails which is part of the NC Mountain to Sea Trail (MST)
We have also joined a local group that hikes  various places during the work week which us new retirees can take advantage of.

For the past two weeks we have been consistently hiking between 10 and 14 miles with Betsy carrying 10 to 17 pounds and me carrying between 20 to 26 pounds

Umstead State Park

Falls Lake MTS Trail

Around town, our hiking often takes us on the Raleigh Green Way





         Our good friends Mary & Mark and Janet & Jim continue to train with us. Yesterday
        it was 7.5 miles with Betsy carrying 17 pounds and 21 in my backpack  

Janet, Mary and Betsy

Jim and Mark ... yes it is hot :-)

        

Once again the ladies far out pace the men

Our grand kids Kaden & Bryson helping us train for the journey :-)

Pop pop and Kaden

Nana and Bryson

We begin preparing for our Camino pilgrimage

 written by an English Pilgrim 1998: 

"However sceptical one may be about the basis of the pilgrimage and the legends surrounding it, one cannot help being affected by it.  Maybe it's the simplicity of the life and the closeness to nature that makes one conscious of deeper realities and I hope, as a result, I have learned to be a better person, or at least I will try to be."