What a weekend!

My weekend has been one filled with things that I want to do! YAY! First free weekend in 2 months!! After finishing my last major school project on Friday, I decided to go for a walk at a local track. This track is hilly and 2.5 miles one way. Saturday was guaranteed to be filled with sore muscles, and my body didn't fail me either. 

I thought that it would be a good idea to have a day of hiking following my long 5 mile walk the previous day. Since Candy has my boots, I was able to try my Keen sandals that I bought for my trip but haven't worn yet. There was a nice surprise when I got to Oak Mountain....a race...using the trail that I normally use. It was a day for a new adventure on the "green" trail which did not disappoint in being filled with lots of climbing. 

I kept getting rocks and dirt in my sandals. This means that I won't be using them on the actual trail--maybe just around town after a long day of walking. 

On the trail, I met two women from Austria and Germany! They were super nice. We struck up a conversation about languages and how families don't pass down traditions from their home countries. One of the ladies talked about wanting to learn Spanish, and I mentioned that I am trying to do that right now for my trip to Spain. They were both interested in where I what I was going to do in Spain, so I told them about the El Camino. The lady from Austria was very excited, because she has been wanting to walk the Camino for some time! Then we talked about that horrible TGV train wreck in Spain. I wished I had asked them to allow my take a picture for my blog just to put faces to this little story. 

When I got home from concurring 5 more miles, I had trouble getting out of the car! I am so stiff and sore already!! Needless to say, I will not be hiking Sunday...it will be a day of rest. I have to be ready to start working on my classroom on Monday. Can't do that if I am not able to move, ha ha ha. 

Even though I did two 5 mile days, I can tell I have a LONG way to before I am ready for Spain. Ten more months to prepare!

Stages Are A Go

Each day is all mapped out. Now I have an idea of what kind of training I am going to do during the next few months. I made a chart that includes starting and stopping point with the number of kilometers (km) and miles (mi) for each day.

El Camino de Santiago Itinerary

(34 days + 3 sick/rest days = 36 days)

Day #	From	To	Distance
1	Saint Jean Pied de Port	Orisson	8 km / 4.97 mi
2	Orisson	Roncesvalles	17.1 km / 10.5 mi
3	Roncesvalles	Zubri	21.5 km / 13.35 mi
4	Zubri	Pamplona	20.4 km / 12.67 mi
5	Pamplona	Puente la Reina	24 km / 14.9 mi
6	Puente la Reina	Ayegui	23.6 km / 14.66 mi
7	Ayegui	Torres del Rio	27.4 km / 17.02 mi
8	Torres del Rio	Logroño	20 km / 12.42 mi
9	Logroño	Nájera	29 km / 18.01 mi
10	Nájera	Santa Domingo de la Calzada	21 km / 13.04 mi
11	Santa Domingo de la Calzada	Belorado	22 km / 13.61 mi
12	Belorado	Agés	27 km / 16.77 mi
13	Agés	Burgos	23 km / 14.29 mi
14	Burgos	Hornillos del Camino	21 km / 13.04 mi
15	Hornillos del Camino	Castrojeriz	20.2 km / 12.55 mi
16	Castrojeriz	Frómista	25.2 km / 15.65 mi
17	Frómista	Carrion de los Condes	20.5 km / 12.73 mi
18	Carrion de los Condes	Terradillo de Templarios	26.8 km / 16.65 mi
19	Terradillo de Templarios	Calzadilla de los Hermanillos	26.9 km / 16.71 mi
20	Calzadilla de los Hermanillos	Mansilla de las Mulas	24.5 km / 15.22 mi
21	Mansilla de las Mulas	León	20 km / 12.42 mi
22	León	Villar de Mazzarife	22.2 km / 13.79 mi
23	Villar de Mazzarife	Astorga	31.2 km / 19.38 mi
24	Astorga	Rabanal de Camino	21.4 km / 13.29 mi
25	Rabanal de Camino	Molinaseca	26.5 km / 16.46 mi
26	Molinaseca	Villafranca del Bierzo	30.9 km / 19.20 mi
27	Villafranca del Bierzo	O’Cebreiro	30.1 km / 18.70 mi
28	O’Cebreiro	Triacastela	21.3 km / 13.23 mi
29	Triacastela	Sarria	18.7 km / 11.62 mi
30	Sarria	Portomarin	22.4 km / 13.92 mi
31	Portomarin	Pafas de Rei	24.8 km / 15.41 mi
32	Pafas de Rei	Ribadiso de Baixo	25.8 km / 16.03 mi
33	Ribadiso de Baixo	Arca/Pedrouzo	22.1 km / 13.73 mi
34	Arca/Pedrouzo	Santiago do Compostela	20.1 km / 12.49 mi

Now that school is about over, I am going to take the time to learn Spanish. I think I will throw a little French in there too for those 3 to 4 days that we're in France. 

Stages in Rough Draft

Well, I broke down and order maps for the French route along the Camino.

I never would have thought that they would be so helpful! They have everything--hostels, churches, monuments, cafes--located for you! When I get there, I will see how accurate the maps are ;)

In order to map out each stage, I printed out a list of all the hostels along the way to use with my maps. This print out gives 3 different ways to travel along the French route. In addition, it tells how far you'll have to travel to reach the next stopping point. I think that my favorite thing about this source is how it tells you the services each hostel provides and its prices, SO helpful!

Anywho...I mapped out a 34 day walking schedule. I am thinking that I want to have at least 2 or 3 extra days just in case someone is injured or sick.

There are a 30 km days. Oh my! While mapping out each day, I started thinking "what have I gotten myself into" (ha ha ha). God is going to really have to help me on those l-o-n-g days! 

Now, it's time to run it by my traveling buddy, Candy. She's been given the okay for the whole trip, but I don't know how many days she has to take. If she doesn't have 40 to 45 then we'll have to figure something else out. 

God seems to be getting everything in place for us to do this pilgrimage together. YAY! I love it when a plan comes together! 

Mom asked me today what I wanted God to do in my life while I am gone. Man...I have NO idea. Even though I have been praying about on occasion, I still don't know specifically. Coming home in the same condition that I left isn't an option.