A slight departure this week my friends, because my lovely twin sister and I are leaving tomorrow for a month on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Yup, it’s our 30th birthday present to ourselves…a month away from work, stress, family, and the world in general to walk across northern Espana on a 1000 year old pilgrimage. A wise coach told me once that it’s good to take time out from the things that generally fill our day, and so this will be a month away from sailing, coaching, and all the rest of the hubub that gets cluttered in my brain.
To be honest, I’m nervous. I think it’s natural to be nervous of a 700km walk. I’m definitely nervous of that, but there’s a wee little part of me that wonders if I can actually do this. Only because almost exactly a month ago, as I drove to work on a sunny April morning, a car ran its stop sign and I in turn ran into it. Hmmm…I’m thinking I forgot to mention that last month didn’t I? Oh well, the rants were much more fun at the time. Everything turned out fine in the end, but there were ambulances, blood, stretchers, and a lovely five hour stint in a neck brace while I hung out in the ER and waited for my X-rays. Then there was a lot of walking really slowly, coupled with some fuzzy headedness from a nice collision between my head and the airbags.
Sometimes though, we need wake up calls like this. In the end, as I said, everything was fine. My truck sacrificed itself for my well being, and I got a bit of a reality check. Now it’s time to test my mettle against a month of walking 25+ km each day. Should be heaps of fun, and a good challenge to manage blister mania. I’ll definitely try to keep you updated on my various areas of chaffage, the status of my feet, and, for those of you who know and love me well, the quality of my ‘pre-games.’ Heh heh.
As I sit here on the eve of my adventure, I dedicate this trip to my dear friend Meggie, who originally wanted to join Meg and I because she turned 30 just after us. But Spain will have to lock up its doors for two curly haired and mildly crazed girls rather than three, as Miss Meggie is not up to the trek at this point, so that Meggie can wage her battle with Melanoma. Hmm…this is more personal than I’ve ever been here on the SS, but I promise not to make too much of a habit out of it!
Will make as many updates as I can while I’m away, including finishing off the boat handling video posts. In the meantime, my brother in law put it perfectly: Yo VIP, let’s kick it!
Hugs,
Jen
thesaltysister 