We are off to Spain in a few weeks!!

April 12, 2023

This journal will be a bit different from our previous Caminos. In the past we have used trailjournals.com. This year, we will only use our website. The plan is to post a new page every few days. So this will be more of the format of our Roaming Rangeley journals.

Below are pictures from our 2019 Camino de Santiago (The Way to Santiago)

G – It is funny looking back and the various challenges we have faced during our previous Caminos, which I guess makes sense when you are doing a 6 week trip.

2105 – At about the half way point Elizabeth had shin splints. She took a day off then rented a bicycle for a few days to make extra miles.

2016 – Gary had injured his back before leaving for Spain and after 330 miles had had enough, so we returned home early where he had successful surgery.

2017 – We planned a summer trip so we would go through Pamplona during the San Fermin Festival, famous for the running of the bulls. Two months before leaving Elizabeth had rotator cuff surgery so we had to cancel this trip.

2019 – The week before leaving the US, Elizabeth injured her knee. The first week of her Camino she would walk part days and take cabs and busses as Gary would walk. Her knee cooperated and we ended up having a wonderful experience.

2022 – We had wanted to return in 2020 (COVID) and 2021 (COVID) so we (mostly Gary) tried to fit a 2022 walk into our schedule. It just didn’t work out, so we cancelled our flights and reservations. Which brings us to 2023.

This year (2023) Gary had rotator cuff surgery. His surgery was February 2nd, so he has 15 weeks to strengthen the shoulder prior to departure. Shoulders are an 8 – 9 month recovery, so Gary will need to be careful and continue rehab/PT while walking.

“…You must leave a little space and time for the serendipitous events that happen on the Camino at the darndest times and very frequently… Keith Duke Scott

All the photos below were taken in South Mountain Preserve in Phoenix, where Gary and Rangeley hike every day and Elizabeth several times a week.

Rangeley will be staying with our oldest son, Cooper while we are away. Cooper and his wife, Chelsea, live at 5,000 feet in elevation just north of Prescott, AZ. The temperatures are typically 20+ degrees cooler there than Phoenix, so Rangeley will love that. They live on a 50+ acre ranch, so lots of room to roam and other animals to be around. Rangeley is looking forward to “Summer Camp”. We just visited them (mid April) and their wash was still flowing with water. Rangeley loved it.

We have booked our flights on American Airlines, using miles. We leave May 16th and fly to Madrid with a stop in Charlotte. From Madrid we fly Iberia Airlines to Pamplona where we get a cab to take us the 45 miles to Saint Jean Pied de Port, France. It is a long journey, we will leave our house about 5AM on May 16 and arrive in SJPdP about 3PM on May 17. There is also a 9 hour time change in there. The next morning we will head up the hill into the Pyrenees. Our first day we will only hike 5 miles, so we have some time to enjoy Saint Jean. Most people starting their Caminos walk 15 miles to Roncesvalles, so they will all be leaving early morning. There are only two places to stay (about 50 bunks) up in the mountains, so we have already booked our space. From there we will figure out our schedule as things happen.

We are both basically ready. Being our fourth time we have a good feel for what to bring. We have purchased new socks, shoes etc. We each have worn our new shoes for about a week to make sure all was good. We then put them back in their box and tucked them away till we are ready to leave. All systems are a go, Elizabeth just had some dental work done, my shoulder is progressing well. Hopefully no last minute snags this year!