I love this time of year… my work is crazy busy and that’s always great fun but also it’s the time of year when I can start to think of my next walk. I find myself lingering over my old photos, my blog, other people’s blogs and the camino forums. It’s time to go walking… I can feel the pull!
Ok so not so much a walk in the park… more ‘A walk in the countryside‘ but that doesn’t sound quite so catchy for my title.
A few weeks ago I went awandering with my camino buddies on the Camino Vezeley. We’d planned to meet and go walking once a month… the plan was to also keep walking inbetween these monthly trips… the other two have done this, but sady I have to hold my hand up and say that I didn’t!
It’s high summer in south west France and I have so many wedding and party gigs that I find I’m either too exhausted, too hot, too busy or on my way out to the next gig… all of which is just an excuse of course! I’ve not done any walking and that’s the bottom line… and the Baztan camino is fast approaching so I will have to change this pretty soon.
We met in the car park by the church in Douzillac and headed off up the road where our map told us we would join the camino. 30 minutes later we were indeed following arrows and chatting and talking about our time on the Frances and where we would go next. The arrows seem to point in the wrong direction but we followed them nonetheless and eventually entered a village. As we tried to find our bearings mentally, Jaqui called out “ladies… we’re back where we started” and sure enough at the top of the hill was the church car park.
In a few weeks time I’ll be heading back down to St Jean Pied de Port for the third time for ten fabulous days on the Camino Frances. Last year a friend here in France suggested that maybe we do a taster week together… and another friend will also be joining us. We started with a week… but our week has grown along with out excitement and we think now we can manage 10 or 11 days walking.
I should be fitter than I am, but the truth is that life gets in the way and I’ve not really done much walking since the Via.
I should by now know what gear I like, want and need, the truth is that I’m still struggling to decide what to take!
Well, that’s what Dorothy said as she clicked those ruby slippers together. I’m kind of with her in that home is where the heart is, and where family, friends, pets and all things familiar.. but I do sometimes wish that home was just a little further south west than it actually is.
It’s our last day in Portugal. We decided to end our holiday with a walk along this beautiful coastline; perhaps we’d find a small restaurant for lunch, and then maybe take a walk across the boardwalks and dunes of the Dunas da Cresmina.
We’ve had a few wonderful days exploring Lisbon and it’s environs. We took a trip out of town for a fabulous fish lunch where, following Rick Steins recommendations, Gerry tried (and enjoyed) the local barnacles.
We’ve taken in the sights from the open top bus and walked and wandered the alleys and avenues. We’ve glimpsed history, both local and from further afield and we’ve taken trains, trams and cable cars (yes I went in the cable car and yes I loved it). We also followed in Rick’s footsteps and enjoyed some of the best Lisboan Piri Piri chicken… in short we’ve had a great time.
Lisbon is a fabulous city. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world and the oldest in Europe. It enjoys a Mediterranean climate and has the warmest winters of any other European city. The Port of Lisbon, located at the mouth of the Tagus river and is one of Europe’s busiest.
Can you see Gerry… He can see you…
We arrived in Portugal and settled into the little villa that we’ll call home for the next few days. We’re staying in Cascais, a beautiful Portuguese fishing town situated on the western edge of the Lisbon coastline… but we’re only a 30 minute train ride from the capital.
Two Camino…Three Camino… Four!
Every year around this time we try to take a holiday. When the children were small it was always in February half-term but these days it’s usually when work is quiet and the sun starts to warm just a little.
This year we’re heading back to Lisbon. Our first stop was Irun (Camino del Norte) and then on to Burgos (Camino Frances), next onwards to Salamanca (Via de la Plata) and finally Cuidad Rodrigo (Camino Torres).
Then We Walked 