Yesterday we arrived in Santo Domingo, dropped Jaqui at her albergue and we went in search of our parador… we parked the car… after getting stuck on the pedestrian entrance (don’t ask) and having decided to skip a wine tasting, Mr Sims partook of a little afternoon snooze.
After 40 winks and a cup of tea we went in search of the bus station and Jaqui… We found both. Continue reading
I love planning my next walk! There is such joy in poring over maps and other planning websites (I regularly use https://www.gronze.com/ and http://www.mundicamino.com/los-caminos and https://godesalco.com/plan) and I love reading other camino blogs and finding slideshows on youtube; it’s a wonderful part of the process. It can though also be a little stressful as I get so tied up trying to decide which route. Will I have time? Can I get there and back? What will the weather be like? Will there be open albergues? Questions, Questions, Questions!
This blog is all about walking; about my walks and my thoughts when walking. I try to stay away from political statements (and religious ones) because I like to think that going for a walk can rise above that noise. But sometimes life feels wrong. Sometimes it feels like there is too much anger and not enough compassion. I feel like that more and more these days and it’s disheartening.
So, in a world full of noise, yesterday a little voice said to me… go walk. And I absolutely knew where.
The Masar Ibrahim al-KhalilThe Masar Ibrahim is more than just a hiking trail. It is a means of meeting and making connections with Palestinians and hikers from all over the world. You can explore Bedouin villages and experience a fundamental Palestinian tradition: hospitality. The Masar Ibrahim not only invites hikers to experience nature but also to change their perspectives by sharing common values and tolerance for acquaintances along the way.
I told Gerry and expected him to say I was crazy but instead he said he understood and that maybe he would walk with me. We don’t know if it’s possible… but if we can then we will go in March 2019.
It feels right.
Our walking holiday is turning into more holiday and less walking. France Meteo issued a canicule warning for today… Canicule “précoce et exceptionnelle” dans le Sud-Ouest : il a fait jusqu’à 38 degrés lundi … and we’ve manage to locate ourselves almost in the hottest part of France. They said it was going to reach 38c… Mr S was not planning on walking today.
We were determined, after yesterdays long hot walk, that we would get up in good time today. We would go and find some provisions for a picnic and start walking around 10:00… but we woke up at 9:45am.
So we showered and meandered and had a cup of tea and finally left our apartment around midday. We drove 15km to the very pretty village of Montreal du Gers. This is another stop on the Camino Le Puy and the road sort of shadowed the route as we drove… although you couldn’t see the path.
Our plan was to drive down to Biarritz airport on Friday morning and park. Then we planned to take the bus to Bayonne, stay the night in town and leave early Saturday morning to start walking our Camino Baztan.
This was our plan right up until Wednesday. Then the plan changed. Continue reading
If you follow my blog you will know about my ‘holy grail’ search for the perfect walking shoe for my pasty wide feet. I have bought so many different shoes over the last few years and spent so much money, I could honestly weep. On the Via de la Plata, I thought I’d found my perfect shoe in the Altra Lone Peak 3.0; however it’s being replaced by the Lone Peak 3.5 and it’s maybe not the best shoe for tarmac… so watch this space!
In the meantime, as the Baztan walk approaches I’ve bought myself a new pair of Altra Olympus and decided it was time to try and sell some of the shoes I’ve bought and tried… someone could bag themselves a bargain!
When I started training back in 2014, folks told me that the best walking shoe was a Merrell. They also told me to size up. I always buy a mens fit as I have a EEE wide foot so I bought this shoe in an EU44.
It felt great but after 15km I knew it was too big. My husband swears by Merrells but for me the fit just wasn’t right, so this shoe has been parked in the back of the wardrobe gather dust.
I am a fan of Keen shoes. I have some Keen Newport sandals and they are comfortable. I was really excited to see I could purchase a Keen wide fit walking shoe in Europe… honestly in the US there is lots of choice but not here. I ordered the size recommended on the Keen website, and the same as my Newport, but it was too small and on the downhills I could feel my toes pushing the inside of the boot.
If you want a sturdy walking shoe and you have wide feet this is a great choice.
I tried buying this shoe in my usual walking shoe size and of course this was too big. I think maybe the Keen men’s fit is just not right for my foot. I love the toebox width but it’s too wide in the heel… I’m guessing women have a narrower heel? I could feel slipping. I tried a few different lacing options but it wasnt working and I know the slip would create blisters with more use. As much as I loved the Keen Wide fit, I decided that this was not going to be the shoe for me.
I’m a convert to Altra trail shoes. I know they are not for everyone but I walked over 1000km on the Via de la Plata and I loved the fit. But, I did develop some foot pain and I also felt that maybe the Lone Peak wasn’t so comfy on tarmac. Altra recommend I try the Olympus and so I took these on a short walk this spring. They feel great BUT they are not the same fit as the Lone Peak. I developed in-between toe blisters (usually a sign that the shoe is too narrow) and I had a blackened toenail where my toe was hitting the inside on the downhills.
I was really disappointed with the sizing as these are not a cheap shoe. But, I love Altra and so I have forgiven them and purchased the new Olympus 2.5 but a size up… I sincerly hope these don’t end up on this page too!
There is 100km of wear on these shoes but I did over a 1000km on the Via so there is still plenty of walking left in them.
p.s. In my non-walking world I wear a ladies UK size 8 shoe – always wide fit, EEE if possible.
I’m going walking… yes you all know!
But before next years walking, I have this years to get fit for. In just over four weeks we’re walking the Camino Baztan from Bayonne to Pamplona and then in October we’re walking the Rota Vicentina in Portugal. My son decided I needed to start training and he nominated himself as my personal trainer!
There is a circuit around our house, just over 4km long. It has ups and downs and the terrain is very camino-esque. My personal best around this circuit is just over 47 minutes… but that was in March, when I was much fitter and it was a lot cooler. However, my trainer told me I had to beat this today… and he came with me to set the pace!
As he sauntered up the hill, I huffed and puffed my way up, but in the end he did get me home in record time 46.40 minutes… and then made me swim!
I have a plan! Nothing is ever fixed but it’s a plan… and I’m liking it!
I follow Magwoods fabulous walking blog… she’s a great inspiration for anyone wanting to go on a long walk! I followed her adventures this year and she introduced me to the Camino Madrid and the Camino San Salvador.
Then We Walked 