Haloranch

I can't wait to hear more about your trip. Where does your mind wander when you walk? What does it make you think of? What do you ponder, step after step in that zen-like place that exists when all that really is, in your world, is one foot in front of the other? How is the scenery changing? Are you happy? How is it different than you expected? Love you. And I'm proud of you for doing this. You amaze me. Favourite Dotter

Len B, a friend from home, gave me some leg exercixes that I have found to be very helpful. I do them every day before I leave. Also Don L, another friend, gave me a lovely card before I left. I was very touched and said I would take it with me. I have it here and I read his inspirational message every day. Have also shown it to several others who were very impressed. A couple of places have stamped it.- Thanks to Favourite Dotter for the commentary and your encouragement. So far it has been very good. The toughest part (for the most part) is over. From here on in it's just a case of slogging along and watching the scenery go by.

I am in Viana which is about 10 km to go to Logrono. Have completed about 150 km with about 623 to go. Looks loke I will spend more time in the albuergues and not bother with hotels for the foreseeable future. Was unable to email yesterday because the town only had one bar and the internet at the albergue was inoperative. Slept really well last night and the meal at the albergue was fabulous. Questions: 1. How long do you walk each day, approximately? I'm sure it depends on the terrain and other factors, but would like an idea. A. 6-8 hours Have been doing 25-30 km each day. Terrain contimues to be a lot of up and down which slows the pace. A little more flat today and I was able to do the 30 km from Villamajor de Monjardin in 6 hours and 35 minutes. Today was a great day because it was cloudy, cool and a bit breezy. The heat can be a killer. 2. What have the refugios been like? Full of people? Clean? A. They have all been very good. Each one has filled up and in fact they have had...

I am in Cirauqui which is about 35 km past Pomplona. We are at 676 Km which is exactly 100 km from the start. ( you can follow Hans' progress on this interactive map: http://24.87.77.102/camino/mapa.asp?Lang=3DEng ) Here is a brief rundown on my health: Feet are fine! Pain in left lung is gone and is not a problem. ( Just 2 days before he left Hans had his doctor check out an annoying pain in his chest. Turns out he had a slight touch of pneumonia...! However, on the eve of his departure he really didn't want to cancel it only to find himself hale and hearty a few days later. So he took the antibiotics and evidently they worked.) Knee was still sore through yesterday but fine today although I will continue to wear the knee brace. First blister! On my hand from the staff. Go figure. Wasn´t able to email yesterday as there was none available. Today we walked 31 km including an extra 3 to view a Templar church. Got to Punta la Reina (Queen´s Bridge) and decided to go on f...

I am in Larrasoana, on schedule and OK other than a bit of a sore right knee which only bothers me when I walk downhill. Today was OK other than a long 4 km downhill into Zubiri. Getting ready to go for dinner and then to bed.

On the first day of the Camino there was a hill. Not just any hill but in fact, a huge mountain of a hill. They call it - and its other hilly neighbours - the Pyrenees . Hans writes: I am in Roncesvalles. Just had a shower after a bit of a brutal day. Decided to take the high road over the pass rather than the low road deep in the valley. Even though harder I would probably always regret not taking it. ( This his where he and I differ. I would be jubilant that I took the easy road! ~ editor Lo) Now that I am here, at the end of the long and difficult down slope, I realize I made the right choice. But during some of the climbing I was seriously debating my sanity during the decision. Of the first 25 km all but 4 was up with grades over 10degrees for the most part. (ouch) I left in fog thinking that it would dissipate as Igot higher. It did a bit but then we had thunder and lightening and a dowbpour. Got soaked inside and out. The last 2 km were really tough as it was a very steep down...

After a long and boring trip I have finally made it to St.Jean right on time. There was no internet at the hotel in Toulouse nor at the railway station this morning; however there is free internet here at the Camino information building in St.Jean. Through them I registered for the walk and they also made arrangements for me to get a bed at one of the two facilities here. So, in the morning I start. Not sure if I will go over the pass or take the valley road; however they have had a great deal of rain here in the past few days and the River Nive is in flood. The main concern on the pass is that it might be muddy in some sections.The distance is the same. Bought myself a walking stick for 6 euros. I talked to some folks that are staying in the hostel and they all swear by them.

In the midst of the trauma with Favourite Dotter, Hans was busying himself getting ready for his 32-day walk along the Camino de Santiago/ http://24.87.77.102:80/camino/mapa.asp?Lang=3DEng He begins trekking on Saturday, August 25th and will finish in time to meet me in Barcelona on Wednesday, September 26th for a 29 day cruise through the Mediterranean and then transatlantic to Fort Lauderdale. Yup. Retired life is grand!

This has nothing to do with travel. Favourite Dotter is beautiful on the outside but bizarre on the inside. And we have medical proof. In fact, her doctors wrote on her chart, "very bizarre anatomy." She was taken to the hospital in the wee hours last week with serious pain and no idea what was wrong. Turns out she has gallstones and was having a gall bladder attack. Evidently this produces serious, unreleting pain which they alleviated with morphine. Long story short, they kept her medicated with narcotic cocktails and reasonably comfortable until she could be taken in for surgery. Alas, it took nearly 36 hours before they could squeeze her in but the drugs helped. Normally, a gall bladder removal is quite routine. Tens of thousands are done every year in about 45 minutes and it's simple day surgery. You go home after. Unless, of course, you have a snakes' nest of ducts twisting and turning and appearing to be attached randomly to organs where they don'...

Now that I have no job, I decided I should spend an hour a day working out: swimming, walking, whatever. Already that goal has taken a beating. I swam twice this week, but for less than an hour. It's boring. Still, I really like it. How strange is that? I spent my time in the car thinking about how to relieve the tedium a bit. Make it more interesting. Fun would be good too, but that`s pushing it. Decided I would change my breathing pattern so instead of taking a breath on every second stroke, I would at least once in each lap do 4 strokes. Next time I swim I'll do that twice in each lap and so on. I figured this would give me some focus (relieve the tedium) and ultimately improve my swimming/breathing/speed. But, the pool was crowded today. Each lane already had 2 swimmers so I picked the medium lane and timed my entry for when the other 2 swimmers were at the far end. Mistake. I spent the next 10 laps swimming like the devil to keep away from them. By lap 11 I s...

Many of you already know that Hans will be walking the Camino de Santiago, http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/ , an ancient pilgrims' trail across northern Spain. It's a daunting 800 kilometre walk beginning with a hike into the Pyrenees. 900 k if you go all the way to the ocean at the appropriately named "Finisterre". In preparation, Hans has been doing long walks out here in the country. He used to carry a small backpack with water and some energy bars, but more recently he upgraded to his real backpack filled with many of the items that he'll need on his trip: sleeping bag, water, clothes, etc. Today, backpack in place, he passed a survey crew who made him laugh as he passed by. "Are you running away from home?"