Back on the Camino

​I have wanted to return to hiking the Camino de Santiago ever since Jo and I hiked the Portuguese arm of the pilgrimage route.  I really enjoyed the Portuguese Camino, but I wanted to experience the longer French route of the Camino in more of a pilgrims manner of carrying all your gear, having the freedom to choose where to stay, when to stop for the day, and when to start the journey,  

Last fall, I saw an old classmate at a get together.  Actually, Dave was more than just a classmate, we had roomed together at West Point, we were in the same ‘pod’ of about 30 who went through all four years of West Point together, we went to Ranger School together and Field Artillery School together.  Dave had wanted to hike the Camino for years.  He is an avid backpacker but hadn’t found the time or opportunity.  He jumped at the chance.  We set the date and started training for the 15 or so miles of backpacking each day and worked on whittling our backpacks down to the bare minimum essentials to conserve weight.   

Earlier this month, Dave retired from IBM, we purchased the tickets and we are now in Pamplona, Spain for 2 days of Holy Week and tomorrow we will take the bus to St Jean Pied de Port which is the traditional starting point for the Camino.  I end with the traditional greeting/farewell on the trail.

Buen Camino!