I am not sure if multiple blog postings were sent today. If they were very sorry…still learning about how Mail Chimp works 🤔. I edited yesterday’s post twice after the initial publishing so today you could get 1 or 2 posts from the Physical preparation and this one. 🥲.
On the mental preparation side there isn’t much to do other than recognize in advance that the good days will greatly outweigh the ones where things are not going well. If this was not true why walk these paths?
Also no different to many things we all do…once negative thoughts take over then even small problems/concerns simply compound quickly. This happens on a long walk as well with so many factors out of one’s control weather, trail conditions, fatigue etc etc.
My own thoughts when running those few marathons years ago were that the mental aspect definitely outweighed the physical in importance…60/40…80/20 not sure the weighting. Long distance walking is essentially the same for me.
Simply recognizing this from past experience is my preparation for the Camino 2022.
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| My Favourite Camino Sign! |
If I need to stop walking for a good reason I know that this has happened twice before and I can/will overcome my natural tendency to push on when I should not.
A few examples from past blog postings outlining times when mental challenges were front and center are shown below.
Camino Frances (May 9, 2014) - Day 77 Santa Catalina des Somoza to El Acebo
So I laboured through most of the day...it was by far my weakest walking day so far. The legs were simply not driving forward. As I have commented before when the thinking get's negative the body follows...that is what happened today. This type of day has happened on each of my Caminos...perhaps I am getting a little rundown as well.
At some point I told Paulo and Marc that if I felt like this tomorrow that I would consider taking a rest day...however would expect them to continue to Santiago without me as Paulo's timing is tight. I would then rejoin Marc in Santiago a day or so after his arrival. This would sadden me however if necessary then that is what must be done.
Camino Frances (May 10, 2014) - Day 78 El Acebo to Cacabelos
Much much better today...walked quite strongly over 31 kms in about 6 hours. Last night I was very concerned however when I woke up I felt better and had some encouraging emails from Marg (a good friend from my previous employer), Claire (my youngest daughter) and Daniel (true gentleman that I had the pleasure of walking with in France for the better part of week last fall).
Their comments really set the day off to a great start...Claire commented that I was so pathetic in yesterday's blog that she would not make fun of me in her email...a first I think...I chuckled to myself most of the morning thinking about this.
To top this Paulo and Marc told me they had discussed things last night and were prepared to take a rest day with me if required. True teamwork here...they both knew that it would take a lot to keep me off my feet today however the gesture was much appreciated.
Camino Portuguese - Oh well ... I tried!
Anyone who knows me will realize how tough it was for me to say "enough". This morning after another taping session with Dr. Paulo and hobbling for a little over a kilometre I decided that it was not possible to walk today. Paulo flagged down a bus which was going to the train station and voila I am at the Casa do Largo in Golega our stop for the night.
The owner of Casa do Largo was incredibly kind as I showed up just after 10:30. "No problem your room is ready". Without that kindness well I would not have had a chance to rest. The combination of heavy rains, constant road walking, long distances, walking too fast, using compeed and the need to stick to a schedule did me in.
Camino Portuguese - An Update Possible Return
Ok so I said I would not blog until I knew that a return to the Camino was possible...well I needed something to do (see comments below) so here goes...
As I lay there on Thursday from 10:30 to 4:00 I thought of various options. When Paulo arrived at the Casa do Largo (he was a little steamed at signage issues which extended the days walk) I considered possibilities:
1) I could simply erase all blog entries about the Portuguese Camino and like President Trump simply say it was "fake news" if someone asked about past blogs - nixed that as cowardly.
2) Could simply return home in shame - no way would my conscience allow this given everything Paulo has done
3) Re plan and throw away preconceived ideas of what this Camino had to be - clearly the best choice
So a potential plan formulated - train to Porto, rest for 4 days and then walk to Santiago de Compostela walking an average of 18 kms a day rather than 30 kms a day.
The problem with 3) is that the plan seemed totally focused on my needs and not Paulo's. When Paulo had finished his mini rant about the walk today we both said we had an idea. Told Paulo my misgivings about my plan however I was to go first...incredibly except for a few details we both had the same idea!!!
Paula had an additional suggestion that I visit a medical clinic and he researched and set up a 4:00 appointment that day...incredibly the only available appointment and perfect for our time frame.
Dr. Olga of the Vita Sauce clinic in Porto was incredibly knowledgeable and kind! She worked on my feet for over an hour doing various procedures (will spare you the details and the pictures Paulo took) all for 40 Euros!
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| Dr. Olga - some of you will know I am an awkward hugger! |
Camino Portuguese (March 13, 2018) - New Day 1 Porto to Vilar do Pinheira
Paulo and I think we are reasonably intelligent people...he is a lawyer and I am...well nothing really. We are using Map My Walk app in flight mode on our respective smart phones. Both of us use it at the same time and guess what...the results are consistent. As we entered Vilar do Pinheiro both our phones died at 20.5 kms and we had no idea where Metro Vilar Suites our stop for the night was.
So Paulo started asking people...walk straight ahead...cross a highway...go under an archway...continue etc. etc. I wanted to ask someone however my Portuguese is limited to obrigado , por favour and WC (not really Portuguese).
Finally after much whining on my part we stopped and I brilliantly pulled out my battery pack which can be used to recharge a phone. Within seconds Google maps told us we were 400 meters from our destination.
So based on the fact that our iPhones died at 20.5 kms out best estimate is that we walked 22 kms in 5 hours or 4.4 kms and hour...slightly over the new target of 4 kms.
Going forward we came up with an incredible plan. One of us will use Map My Walk for 10 km or so, then shut it off and the other can start Map My Walk at that point. At the end of the day we simply add up the two pieces (we have calculators on our phones and know how to use them!) and voila our days total is determined and we have working phones. As Monty Python's John Cleese would say "bloody brilliant".
Camino Portuguese (March 23, 2018) - New Day 11 Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis
Last night was a different matter altogether as Dr. Paulo and I consulted and decided some minor surgery was required. This was based on past advice from Dr. Olga...all went well until Betadyne was applied (infection prevention). OIE that was not a good feeling and this persisted through the evening and most of the night.
We were discussing options for today which included my stopping to walk and taking the bus. I was prepared to do this if things had not improved by morning. I even dreamt I was a professional golfer...(anyone who has seen me golf knows that I am very very far from being a professional...although I have witnessed a hole in one by Stefan K.) who had a 2 stroke lead after 71 holes and blew it on the last hole.
Talk about the subconscious at work...I had only 60 kms to go. Morning came and I had recovered well and was good to go! Man what a mental and physical effort this Camino has been!
Camino Portuguese (March 24, 2018) - New Day 12 Caldas de Reis to Padron
Paulo and I had chosen Os Lambruns as our last night's accommodation prior to our final day...a luxury which turns out is 3 kms out of the Camino path. After a long day we decided to take a taxi from a specific Camino point to Os Lambruns and the next morning return to the same specific point and resume our walk. Totally kosher.
Seemed logical however hopping into a taxi might be misinterpreted by fellow pilgrims so I was determined to be careful. What followed is my recollection of events. We wanted a taxi...none to be found. We start walking in circles asking people. At one point we are directed to a booth to phone in from of a million pilgrims for a taxi!!!
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| Telephone booth for Pilgrims |
While walking around helplessly...estimate 2 kms, Paulo thinks 500 meters, so let's say 1.75 kms we turn the corner and see Steffan and Allan wave to us from a bar. Panic sets in...if they see us entering a taxi we will NEVER hear the end of it no matter how logical our reasoning is!
During the walk which I estimate would be 30 to 45 minutes...Paulo might say 15 - 20 so let's settle on 40 minutes it starts to rain!!! Monsoon like rain, Paulo might say light rain so let's settle on a heavy downpour.
Finally a nice lady in a supermarket provides Paulo with a phone number and a taxi is there in a few minutes.
At this point I gave Paulo some very specific pilgrim avoidance instructions for the taxi...remove hats and slouch in our seats as low as possible...who cares what the taxi driver thinks! We must not let people who do not understand our logical plan providing FAKE NEWS to others!
Camino Portuguese (March 25, 2018) - New Day 13 Padron to Santiago de Compostela
The Camino Portuguese was as mentioned in previous blogs my most difficult in terms of physical and mental demands. Often I did not think I would make it and my comments made on the blog simply understated the physical issues.
Having successfully completed the Camino Portuguese does however make it my most satisfying Camino from a personal perspective.
A good friend sent me an email message which had the following thought which I really appreciated. "Anyway I'm proud of you for pushing your limits (but in a sensible way)."
This will be my last Camino...hopefully there will be other more modest adventures in the future. Overall I enjoyed the experiences immensely...clearly not every single minute.
Note: Georges who I have mentioned in recent posts sent me the following message after seeing the bolded underlined text in the last post above in 2018...Georges...you were right!
"Guy, Chapeau pour ton chemin portugais que j'ai suivi Avec a lot of envy, of course. BUT, tu dis que ce sera ton dernier chemin?? I am pretty sure of the contrary, my friend!! You'll see in a couple of years!! You'll be back 😉"
Next planning blog will focus on Fear/Discomfort with heights and Language issues while walking on Camino paths.
And when all else fails on the mental front it helps immensely to focus on the benefits of finishing for the day!
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| Who wouldn’t walk a long way for this! |
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| Pastel de Nada - if you haven’t tried these you must! |
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