Trial Run

Today I thought it was about time I did a hike with my backpack.   It is recommended that one's backpack should not weigh anymore than 20 lbs. (9.07 kg.) or else one will just start throwing things out of their backpack whilst on the Camino in order to make the journey a little more bearable.  I have been very conscious of weight whilst buying all the various things I will need on the Camino. For instance my sleeping bag only weighs 675 grams.( 1 1/2 lbs.)  Today my backpack was not fully packed, I didn't have my two pairs of socks, my Crocs ( a Camino fashion statement) my contact lense fluid, toothpaste, toothbrush and meds, and a couple of other things  packed but that was it.  It only weighed 10 lbs. Yipee!!!  I figure once I have fully packed it, it will be about 15 lbs. maximum which is very good. 

I had made arrangments to meet Natalie at the top of the street and we walked 4 km. to start our hike with the rest of our group.   We had a lovely hike  through the Don Valley.  It is hard to believe that such a beautiful Valley runs right through the centre of Toronto.  We walked along the Don River.  Darlene, the group leader really planned a nice hike and  our goal was the Camino Restaurant on Danforth Avenue. 

The owner of the Camino restaurant is Hiroshi, who is originally from Japan and is a  French trained chef . He  has walked the Camino twice.  Besides the wonderful food he prepared, he also gave us a slide show of his trip on the Camino  de Norte last year.  It was lovely to see the passion he felt whilst talking about his previous pilgrimages. 

After our lunch we were on the road again and by the time we were finished Darlene informed me we had walked 23 km. and I felt great!  No pains from the back pack and I felt I could have walked another 5 km.  I am starting to think I am ready for the Camino. 

Why I am walking the Camino.

In May of last year, my friend Natalie walked the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela for the 4th time.   Natalie is  a fellow gym member at Fitness Works for Women, a wonderful gym in Toronto which I belong to.  Whilst she was on the Camino she would keep us up to date, via email,with her various adventures, whilst walking this 800 km. pilgrimage. I must admit that until then, I had never heard of the El Camino, but reading her emails made me want to find out more. 

I researched the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, otherwise known as The Way of St. James and learnt that it was one of the most important Christian Piligrimages during medieval times and is over 1000 years old.  The most common route is  the Camino de Frances.  The route starts at St. Jean de Pied de Port on the border of France and Spain and ends in Santiago where legend says the bones of St. James have been laid to rest. 

The more I read about this Pilgrimage, the more it seemed to have a grip on me.  I wasn't sure I was as brave as Natalie, who had walked it the four times by herself, I really didn't feel I could walk it alone.   She returned home in June with all her wonderful tales of the roads she had walked, the people she had met, the food she had eaten and the wonderful feeling one has, just by walking the Camino.  She then announced that she would take anyone who wished to go with her on the Camino the following year and I jumped at the chance. 

I started walking and planning right away and we now have two other Pilgrims who will be joining us too.  Shelagh, another gym member and her friend Cathy.   We leave on April 24th and start walking on April 29th.

People walk the Camino for different reasons.  Religious, Spiritual or just for the challenge.  10 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After six months of surgery and some not very nice treatment, my life moved on, but one never really knows when one has had cancer if it will ever return. I often think of other breast cancer patients who were not as "lucky" as me.  I don't ever like to dwell on the fact that I had breast cancer, but it is always there,  far back in the recesses of my  mind and I am very thankful that after 10 years I am  still cancer free.   It is for this reason that I am walking the Camino.  "My Camino" is a Celebration - A Celebration of my Life.