...On my way 🛫 🇮🇪😊

No more doctor/emergency hospital visits ☺️

No planning remaining 😏

No last minute potential Air Pilot strike (was a significant factor in Fall 2024 PEI Island Walk completion. We double booked air flights...then the Air Canada strike was averted. We canceled the Westjet flights and received credits to be used within one year. Result the Ireland Kerry Way walk idea was born)

No volunteer income taxes left to do 😅 (140 returns completed over 23 individual sessions)

It’s time for a long walk! What better place than Ireland? The Kerry Way promises to be a spectacular walking adventure.

I think I am currently over the Atlantic off the Irish coast...soon arriving in Dublin when this blogpost publishes May 13th at 4:00 EST or 9:00 GMT +1 in Ireland.

Am I ready?

It’s been 595 days since my last long walk...the unforgettable 2023 UK Wainwrights Coast to Coast with Greg. The 4 day 123 km completion of the PEI Island Walk in late September 2024 was a strong confidence booster..however the walking terrain was flat as a pancake! 

The ~ 200 km Kerry Way Walk Elevation Gains/Losses are 5,600/(6,300) meters so a wee bit more challenging than the PEI Island Walk!

I have been walking consistently since September 1, 2024 which I consider to be my post surgery time period. And yes I have a graph ☺️. 

The Kerry Way walk distance should be between 180 and 200 kms over the 8 days hence the Lower and Upper graph lines...daily decisions between John and I will determine final kms walked. The orange line is the cumulative daily walking average since Sept 1, 2024...as of May 11, 2025 my daily average was 20.8 kms.

The blue line is a rolling 28 day average...the May 11th endpoint is 21.9 kms per day. Walking in Toronto is basically on flat terrain... therefore I have taken stairs at every opportunity... Subway stations are perfect for that!

What does this tell me? Based on past experience...the physical preparation base is solid...mental confidence is there. Start walking…enjoy…all will be good!

Day 1 from Killarney to Birdia Valley is the second longest day at 31.4 kms (Day 7 Sneem to Kenmare 32.7 kms) with meaningful Elevation Gains/Losses at 840/(910) meters...a challenging start. Reasonable and steady walking pace required (sure Guy you will likely get over enthusiastic and jack rabbit the Day 1 start 😂).

Physical preparation is not an area to overthink...walking is not rocket science!

Will it rain? Do I need rain gear?

Well it’s Ireland and the Emerald Isle is well known for being green...good chance rain is in the forecast! I asked John for a weather forecasting app recommendation and he indicated YR was quite good.

Here is a map of the Kerry Way walk with three locations highlighted Killarney, Caherciveen and Caherdaniel.

Just for fun ☺️ between April 20th and May 12th I averaged the 9 day rain forecasts for the three locations. Each day was split into potential Walking times 6:00 to 18:00 and Non Walking times from 18:00 to 6:00. 

Example: 9 day forecast period starting May 13th which covers the first 7 of 8 walking days May 15th - 21st

    - Total Walking period rainfall is 16.4 mm or 1.8 mm per day

    - Total All Day rainfall is 21.3 mm or 2.4 mm per day

    - Maximum Walking day rainfall is 13.2 mm on May 21st - Walking Day 7 

What does this graphical analysis mean? What have I really learned? Assuming a perfect Weather forecast 😉!

May 15th - 20th Walking Days 1-6

May 21st Walking Day 7

May 22nd Walking Day 8

Overall 😀! 

What’s in the backpack? 

Publishing a listing of what’s in the backpack is a long standing risky tradition.☺️ Note adherence to strict backpack weight limits is not as important on the Kerry Way walk (similar to UK Coast to Coast walk) given Hillwalk Tours provides baggage transfer. 

Daily walking requires carrying only what one needs...as per usual I will overpack for contingencies. Well one can’t starve on a walk!

So here goes my list...four items highlighted in yellow with red border deserve special comment:

- Altus Poncho gets the nod for a test run for rain gear thus continuing my quest to try absolutely everything ☺️

- Pick to pop out the SIM card is shown as weighing 1 gram. Full disclosure it did not even register when weighed so I made an Executive Decision to round up to 1 gram. 😉

- Laminated Key Information sheets x 3 weighing 94 grams. I am getting much wiser/reasonable as on the UK Coast to Coast walk I had 408 grams of laminated sheets. 🤓.  

- SHOKZ OpenRun Pro 2 headphones Shoutout to Dawn who suggested that I have a look at Steven’s (son in law’s) headphone’s...and to Steven who let me test them out. I was impressed.😎

These headphones designed for runners check a lot of boxes for me:

- Bluetooth capability to complement my in the ear hearing aids which  are bluetooth"less" 

- Lightweight...no problem with glasses...resting on cheekbone using bone conduction bypassing the outer ear and eardrum altogether.  Sound transfers through vibrations directly to the inner ear. 

- Allow other sounds are heard while listening to music ie cars, dogs ready to pounce etc. Most impressive is hearing birds chirping away! 

- They will NOT fall off...lost an Apple AirPod as it wiggled out of one ear on my PEI Island walk

- I sometimes have challenges putting them on...why do I get the band which clearly has to be at the back of the head in front? This is a short term problem 😉. Something about space perception issues 😰

My one misgiving is that I had an option to buy an orange set and somehow convinced myself that black was better. Really Guy? One should NEVER EVER pass up a chance to add colour...Orange is gradually replacing Blue as my favourite colour. 

A few skillfully taken selfie photos of this new addition. My “Foot Guy” (podiatrist) referred to it as the “Cyborg look” 😎. Yes I know full well that I look goofy/terrible…I have 3 daughters!!!

Individual weighs are in grams...overall weights are all well within allowable limits.

HOKA Speedgoat V6 - What one would call B*tt Ugly! Should have gone for Black!

Ready to go!

 Blogging

My intention going into a long walk is I will publish Blogposts as the spirit moves. Same intention for the Kerry Way Walk 😊...usually/well almost always something triggers interest or a little story...

I will confess that blogging on an iPhone requires  patience...mixed in with a few colourful expressions...keyboard a mite/d*mn small 😥. A major benefit though is forcing a much welcome shortening of blogposts…and NO graphs 🥰.

Quick sidebar - A very interesting BBC Podcast series Uncharted by Hannah Fry explores how data and graphs solve problems. Really well done. Here is one short episode about how a simple graph unlocked the story around UK mass murderer Dr. Harold Shipman who is thought to have murdered 250+ patients. Episodes vary widely...not all true crime. So graphs are special!

BBC - Uncharted with Hannah Fry

Assuming Blogposts are published each day they will start with the following…I have already set up daily blogpost templates 😉

Hillwalk Tours Overview “XYZ..." Daily Information [Cumulative Total]

Distance:   X Kms   [Y Kms]
Walking time:   Xh Ym [Xh Ym]
Avg walking speed:   X Kms/hr  [Y Kms/hr]
Elevation G/L meters: X:(Y)  [X:(Y)]
Total Daily Steps: X [Y]

Return to Dublin post Kerry Way Walk

The only significant planning required for the walk given Hillwalk Tour’s involvement centres around the 1.5 days in Dublin post Kerry Way Walk. So many options...as per usual my planning/curiosity regarding options got the best of me...totally utterly bonkers! ☺️

May 23rd

Train from Killarney arrives at Dublin Heuston Station ~ 13:00...Kilmainham Goal the #1 Dublin TripAdvisor attraction (go figure!) is roughly a 20 minute walk from the train station. So let's go and learn about Ireland’s past!

One significant problem...available pre-bookings apparently fill up very quickly.

So I got to work...fact finding first

• Online bookings only...availability opens up 28 days in advance at midnight Irish time. 
• Ireland time = EST less 5 hrs 
• Arrival in Dublin May 23rd therefore online bookings start midnight Irish time April 25th or April 24th 19:00 EST Toronto time
• Decided that bookings from 14:00 onwards would be suitable considering my arrival time in Dublin.

Available daily Kilmainham Goal bookings are:

• Pre 14:00 18 time slots with 35 participants each or 630 possible spots
• 14:00+ 11 time slots with 35 participants each or 385 possible spots
• SO 1,015 possible spots however my 14:00+ requirement slims availability down to 38% before I even try 😳 

Prior to April 25th I looked at the bookings occasionally (well often) and was shocked to see bookings were consistently full... however the key question was “how quickly do they fill up?”

Well only one way to find out...test this out. On April 23rd 7:00 pm (May 22nd booking) I started my test and recorded the results in...you know...an Excel spreadsheet...then a Graph! 

I was absolutely stunned when at 7:00 74% of available spots were already booked. C’est impossible!!! The only way I can see this happening is that some type of automated algorithm was being used. I immediately cursed all System Architects for this 😱.

However I kept checking at 10 minute intervals and interestingly some previously booked spots were opening up. A likely possible explanation is the automated algorithms overbooked for whomever and then some releasing of spots was taking place.

Armed with this information I was in a major anticipatory countdown mode on April 24th...started at 18:50 hitting ENTER every few seconds like a possessed crazy madman to no avail.  As the time neared 19:00 this became a life and death struggle...I absolutely HAD to get myself a 6 Euro Senior ticket. I had done my homework...I deserved it!

19:00 on the dot...availability opened up and as expected most of the 14:00+ time slots were already booked. I was ready for this...perfectly calm...cool...did not panic...flexed my fingers on the keyboard and quickly zeroed in on 14:45 availability.  After all kinds of machinations verifying my identity...felt like 10 factor identification routines... I HAD MY COVETED TICKET! 

I am looking forward to visiting the Gaol...fully expecting the ghosts of Irish past haunt the Kilmainhan Goal. This may come as a surprise but I absolutely fervently believe in ghosts. Executions took place in the Gaol so no brainer regarding ghosts 😱

May 24th

A full day in Dublin...again I may have overdone my review of options. Some time ago...after posting on the Camino Forum and receiving great feedback...I booked a tour of the Boyne Valley and Newgrange a World Heritage Site.

However along the way I became aware through the Irish Camino Society of the Celtic Caminos. When combined with 70kms or more on Spanish Camino paths arriving in Santiago de Compostela one qualifies for a unique Celtic Compostela.

Fortunately the 29 km Sli ar Sinsear Celtic Camino between Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen was on our Hillwalk tour itinerary, ☺️. Unfortunately upon reading the “not so fine print”...we will walk from Glenbeigh to Foilmore...then transfer 7.5 kms by taxi to Cahersiveen.  The next morning we return from Cahersiveen to Foilmore and continue our merry walk on the Kerry Way.

End result the only way to walk the Sli ar Sinsear Celtic Camino would be to cancel the taxi to Cahersiveen. Seemed possible to me however I ran this by Hillwalk Tours and it soon became evident that there were complexities with my simple enough plan. John agreed we should not pursue this...so an Irish Camino route was out.

Hmmm...not so fast...the 30 km Bray Celtic Camino route from Bray to Dublin ending at St. James Church next door to the Irish Camino Society offices might be an interesting option. Train from Dublin Connolly to Bray as early as possible on May 24th and walk back to Dublin.

Very intriguing...I canceled my Boyne Valley and Newgrange tour thus keeping my options open for May 24th. If I feel good after the Kerry Way walk I suspect the Bray Celtic Camino might be a nice way to wrap up my Irish stay ☺️😉!

Major Faux Pas

Totally embarrassed to admit this however I really screwed up in a different Camino Forum post regarding a BBC show on a Pilgrimage from Austria to the spectacular Einsiedeln Cathedral (Black Madonna) which I visited on my Via Jacobi 2013 Camino Walk.

The BBC program can ONLY be viewed in the UK so I stupidly said “Fantastic I will be in Ireland shortly and will watch it”. OH MY...while folks were kind...they let me know that a) I should get a geography/history lesson and b) thankfully I did not blurt this out in a Republic of Ireland pub.

Yes I do/did know that Northern Ireland is part of the UK but NOT the Republic of Ireland however when I think I  have a great idea...well...out comes garbled info sometimes...just sometimes...

I apologized to readers of the Camino Forum and deleted the offending post. Readers kindly responded..."no worries" etc.

A short while later I added a potential alternative option for May 24th...take an early morning train to Belfast Northern Ireland...go to 3 different pubs watching a 59 minute BBC Pilgrimage episode in each and then return to Dublin later in the day.

Now would I ever do this...🤔😉

Well consider this little family story. Two daughters Jeanne & Claire were in London when the 7th and final Harry Potter book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was released. They could not find suitable accommodation but dutifully lined up to get books at the midnight release date. Their solution...absolutely brilliant...take the overnight bus from London to Oxford there and back while reading the Harry Potter book. So I do come by this type of crazy idea honestly...I take after my daughters or perhaps much worse for them...the opposite!🥰

Landing very soon...front tray stowed...seat upright…buckled in...once landed immediately take my small backpack out of overhead bins...stand and wait patiently as a million people leave the plane ahead of me...pick up my bag from the luggage area...go through Customs...insert my prepaid SIM card 😳 in my iPhone and HOPE ..message John that I have arrived...find my way to Zone 16 as per John’s instructions …board the JJ Kavanagh Limerick bus and get off at Roscrea Church stop. Phew!

John has kindly offered to pick me up and I will spend the night at John & Carmel’s home. 

I did mention to John in a WhatsApp communication...

"No worries if you are not there…I am quite comfortable waiting and if need be will sleep on a nearby park bench overnight. 😉”

That’s it...quite an unexpected fortunate opportunity for me to visit the Republic of Ireland and walk with John.  It really is time for a nice long walk!

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Once back in Toronto 

One week after my return from Ireland Paulo (Brazil Camino friend and astute lawyer) and I have a scheduled WhatsApp video call...Go/No Go on our 3X delayed (Spring 2024, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025) mid September 2025 Camino Walk. Personal circumstances...including but not limited to how I walked in Ireland and Paulo’s recuperation from a knee injury will be deciding factors. Decision time...hopefully a Go!!! 

At this time two 13 day walks are under consideration...I think Paulo is aware of them however he likely has seen way too many options from me and simply zoned out. Can’t say I would blame Paulo for that. Stay tuned!

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An Inspiring Message

Came across these words which I found uplifting…perhaps it will do the same for a blogpost reader…

“Aging is not for the faint of heart.

One day, you wake up and realize — youth has quietly slipped away.
But it didn’t leave alone.
It took with it your insecurities, your rush to please, your fear of not being enough.

And in its place?
It left you with something stronger:
A slower pace, but a steadier step.
The wisdom to say goodbye without fear.
The grace to cherish those who choose to stay.
The power to be you, unapologetically.

Aging isn’t about losing — it’s about letting go.
It’s about learning to accept, to release, and to truly see:

That beauty was never just in the mirror…

It lived in every story, scar, and silent strength we carried within.

Aging is a gift. Wear it with dignity.”

— Inspired by Meryl Streep