Walking the Camino de Santiago
Preparations and planning.
My new book, Practical Pilgrimage, is now available for purchase. Subtitled “Useful Rules for Walking the Camino de Santiago”, it’s a deeper exploration and expansion of a blog post that appeared back in 2023, Thom’s Practical Rules for the Camino. Purchase from Powell’s Books (preferred) Purchase on Amazon (affiliate link) This short book (about a hundred pages) is chock-full of […]
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The quickest way to start an argument amongst pilgrims or on a Camino Forum is to pronounce your opinion on one of two hot-button issues: footwear and rain gear. So, of course, I thought I’d tackle one of those today. The usual caveats apply – every human is different, has different preferences, and different body types. My solution may not be […]
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In many of the larger towns and villages – and even some of the smaller ones – you will find tourist offices, like this one in Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac. They are absolutely invaluable. If you’ve been following along, you know that I reserved eight of my first ten nights in advance at various gîtes and hostels and monasteries. But Saint-Chély was the […]
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Y’all It has been a day and it’s not even lunchtime. Date: 16 August 2023 Place: Pistachio House I am really trying to blog but I am out of practice. Bear with me as I catch you up… because reasons. 5am. Awake. See a plethora of messages from Thom about missed connections. Once again… he pledges never to fly through […]
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In which Thom is off to France and Francine begins her countdown. Date: 15 August 2023 Place: Pistachio House It is the feast of the Assumption. Today I bid Thom au revoir et bon chemin as I dropped him off at the airport after holy Mass. Then I went on a search for some boba tea and some Daiso shopping […]
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Kit for the Via Podiensis We’ve come to that part of the pre-Camino countdown where for every two or three items I’m checking off my list, I seem to be adding one more. Today my very last piece of kit arrived – a new windbreaker/rain shell to replace my old one. The new one is about a third the weight […]
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It is said that no plan survives contact with the enemy. To this I would add that no plan survives contact with the Camino. Nevertheless, and with some sense of trepidation, I offer here my plan for my “long Camino”. This is a total of 65 days walking (plus a scheduled Zero day in Burgos). Some days are short/half days. […]
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Early this morning, I had my follow-up visit with the podiatrist. He was extremely pleased and somewhat amazed with my rapid progress. We discussed a Cortizone shot, but given the level of improvement, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about it. So that’s off the table. Most importantly, he cleared me for my Camino. I am convinced that my rapid recovery is […]
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During my planning time, I’ve made reservations at a handful of gîtes along the first ten days of the Via Podiensis. Some of these make perfect sense – places that fill up quickly (e.g. the monastery at Conques), or places that are choke points (Domaine du Sauvage). But then today, I got it in my head to have reservations at […]
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This morning I met with a podiatrist. My left heel has been in a considerable amount of pain since we did a training hike to the waterfront back on May 17. My shoes were nearing end of life, and my inserts were well past their prime. We were hiking with full Camino packs, mostly over concrete. A perfect storm. It […]
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