I am about two weeks away from heading to Paris to drop off my teenager at Parson's for the summer. That will be a whole other blog entry. Leading with my face in a paper bag taking deep, deep inhales. After Paris, I am heading to my first stop on the Camino. My starting point is Conques and my end point is Saint Jean Pied de Port in the Basque Country at the beginning of the Pyrennes. Between those two points is about 600 kilometers of "just walking" for close to 30 days. Hans Solo. All by myself. At least to start, lol. I hear you make friends along the way. I will keep you posted if that is true. I am not worried either way.
I have decided to create space and time for myself to hear what the universe has to say to me. The most important thing for me to do to ensure I can hear clearly, is to reduce anxiety as much as possible. Key to that, is making sure my body and mind are ready. I don't want to stress about the tough days. I am training for the tough days, so I can actually enjoy kilometers. More to come on this in a sec....
As I have said on the pod, I love many things French, to the extent that I intend to buy some land and a tiny stone farmhouse, near the sea, with stairs to the water, where my little boat named "the Wiggle" is anchored. Problem here is many people think that's not possible, because a) I am not the only one to think that is a good idea b) it's been known to be expensive c) maybe people aren't friendly in the areas I like and d) maybe Spain is better for a gregarious gal such as myself. So, I decided to see for myself by foot and check out other areas along the way. How can you know where you want to settle until you've seen it all?
This brings me back to my hooves. I have spent the last month training, specifically for this endeavour. My feet, my achilles (pronounced : Uh KEE LEES), my back, and all the rat-a-tat-tat in my cranium have proved a challenge. So many mistakes: phone battery problem (got lost), battery back problem (got lost), wrong socks (got blisters), breaking in boots (dang my feet hurt), wrong backpack (back and hip pain), the negative impact of a little wee on brandnetel (that hurts), too little water, too much water (no loo), not enough food, and way too many thoughts in my head...etc.... I think it was a good move to train for the tough days close to home.
I have been "just walkin" to all the places I have wanted to visit in the Netherlands. Walking Rotterdam to Delft, walking to Bloemendaal, walking to Purmerand, walking to Weesp to name a few. To keep things spicy, mother nature also decided this month would be the wettest on record in sharp contrast to May, the warmest month on record. So. today was a washout. I walked to the Amsterdamse Bos (forest) and as my sister said during our FaceTime along the way back, "you just look a mess:". Which was true. I had just laid down in the grass in the forest for a "grounding moment", because there was a break in the rain. I took off my jacket, shoes and socks and laid down on the ground. I started my gratitude meditation and as she said "take a deep breath" ....monsoon rains dumped straight down my espophogus. A dog ran over to "help me". I was laughing so hard as this dog was licking me while I tried to get my socks, shoes, jacket, and backpack on and fumbled into the woods for tree cover. This pic was the result after I emerged from the woods back to the river and walking trail.
I have a feeling there will be a new story like this every day in the coming month and a half. I can't wait to share them with you!
