Anticipation

Some people despise all the planning that comes before a journey. I love it! For me the journey officially begins as soon as I start to plan it. The anticipation is half the fun. Of course I know the plans will change a thousand times before any kind of departure, and most plans tend to dissipate once you are actually in a place.  But all the research, reading, day-dreaming and discussion that precedes a departure is a constant reminder of what is now the inevitable: there is a journey ahead.

A friend recently left on a 4 month trip to Asia and when I saw her 2 days before she left, she hadn't even started to think about packing. Needless to say, I was mortified. My next trip is still 6 months away and already I've started thinking about what I might take. Not packing per se, but having a little think about it.

However, this trip will be bigger than any I've taken in a while so I admit there is a tad more planning required than usual. I am packing up my things, putting my life at home on hold for a while and high-tailing it to Europe. A UK ancestry visa will allow me to work when I need to, but first things first! I think it's about time I went for another quiet stroll through Spain.

© Camino Frances -near Granon, Spain

I will walk the Camino Norte (one of the routes of the Camino de Santiago) along the stunning north coast of Spain, from Irun in the East to Santiago in the West - about 830 kms all up. It should take about 4 weeks. 5 with a few extended Tapas stops. This will be the third time I walk the camino but strangely, every time you walk the camino it feels like the first. My last walk was a Winter Pilgrimage along the Camino Frances so I expect this journey will be quite a different one.

One of my best friends has just told me that she would like to join me on my walk across Spain next year. I was intending to walk alone this time but am really excited at the prospect of her joining me. She has never done long distance walking before so she's in for quite a treat. The camino is tough, I tell her, some days you will hate it but you will also fall completely in love with it. 

She smiles and says she can't wait.