7 hours to go

Not going to get much sleep. Have to get up in three hours time. Not sure
I am ready for this at all, but too late to regret it now. I could have
spent the money on a cruise somewhere instead. Perhaps to Tahiti, watching
the Polynesian women. Sitting on the beach in my safarishorts, and having
some fancy drink with a paper parasol. Instead I am going to slog around
rural areas of France and Spain, fending off dogs, fighting possible
ambushes of robbers and the temptation of cheap wine. Luckily I don't have
to worry about my horse or donkey being poisoned by the locals.

Backpack is heavier than I would like, but I don't really care. Not like
it will make or break me. I could have bought more first aid supplies. I
definitly could have bought more fancy foot remedies. In the end it
probably don't matter much. Whatever I need I will pick up on the way, and
I am pretty sure I'll get good advice from sensible people along the way.

I should probably have exercised a lot more, practiced my French and
Spanish. Too late now though. Actually it is too late for anything but
getting some sleep.

With a little help from my friends

1st of august is approaching fast. Somehow it seems people are glad to see
me off. One wonders whether that is a good sign or not. My cousin borrowed
me an mp3 player. My grandparents boosted my bank account, and my brother
lent me some money. I should be ready to go now.

My preparations are not exactly in high gear. Just taking it easy for now.
I'm sure I am going to regret not preparing more expeditiously. Still at
least I am pretty calm about it all. We'll see how long it lasts.

Saw pictures from Le Puy on the telly yesterday. Tour de France was
passing through. Looked nice. Sun was shining too. Hope I don't get
scorched.

Glad I got all the traveling arrangements done. Only thing I haven't
sorted is the transport from Charles de Gaulle to Gare de Lyon. I got five
hours between my plane and my train. Should be ample time. I hope.

Just waiting now

Not much happening at the moment on the pilgrim front. Mainly just
sunbathing and waiting for the 1. august. Figured it might be wise to get
a tan before I leave. Blonde scandinavian with winterpale skin meets the
sun in Spain. A horror story in the making I tell you.

I probably should be hard at it with long hikes, but it is not really
happening. I might regret this later. Planning to head up to the cabin
next weekend. It has some nice stretches for longer hikes. For now it is
all about enjoying the weather, and avoid watching the news...

Books and shoes

You know it is important to be political correct these days. Not to ruffle
the feathers. If it wasn't I'd make some sort of analogy about women,
packing and clothes. It would lead nicely up to talking about me, packing
and books.

I can't for my life pack right when it comes to books. This Easter I went
to Prague for a fortnight. For that trip I brought 24 books, and bought 4
while I was there. Now the real reason for bringing books is not
necessarily to read them. It is to know that they are "there". I would
imagine the same goes for Aunt Olga bringing the woolen mittens to
Mallorca.

Obviously this is not going to work on the camino. According to Raju I am
likely to be "surprised at how little time there is for reading". However,
I am stubborn. Aunt Olga will probably be told that the chances for snow
are small in Mallorca. I can't see why there would be little time to read.

So what do we bring? Preferably something that can occupy the mind while
not being too heavy. The collected works of Barbara Cartland is pretty
much out then. Considering the blisters, tendonitis, snoring, heat,
emotional strains, rain and the like, bringing Epictetus or a book by
another stoic seems to be a good idea.

I did some hiking this weekend. Three days with 4 hours walking each day
without the backpack. The shoes seem alright so far. I swapped to just one
layer of socks. It works better than the double layer I use for my hunting
boots. The tight fit of the shoes do not permit using double layer.
Smartwool socks are as good as ever.