New boots for old!

And so the preparations begin. After 5 years of trusty service and many miles, I had to replace my old worn out Berghaus boots with a new pair from Hillwalkers in Cork.    In 8 day's time Frank and I will leave Tango at a marina north of Valencia and take a couple of trains to Pamplona, stay at the albergue near the great Cathedral there, and next day will progress along the Camino Frances towards Santiago.  After 10 days together I will continue alone to complete the middle section of the walk as far as Mansilla de las Mulas, where I began my last charity walk in 2010 (see map below).  I will be carrying my possessions in my old backpack, and hope to cover the 400km distance within three weeks.  It was so reassuring to have managed the short but tough  four-day section from St Jean Pied de Port over the Pyrenees to Pamplona with Frank last September, as I had never felt capable of the big ascent involved (1,390m), and conditions were not easy in wind and rain.  Heartened by that achievement it's now time to "do" the rest of the French Way before hitting a big birthday next year...

Camino Ingles: arrival at Santiago with Aine and Aussies, May 2013

Once again I will be appealing to you all for support but this time the cause is  for cancer research. My brother's sister-in-law Erica died in August with melanoma, having bravely trialled a new drug, and several other friends have also been felled by cancer during this past year. The donation link is http://www.mycharity.ie/event/barbtravelscamino.    I will keep you intermittently up to date with my progress from various libraries and internet cafes, and hope that you can stay with me for some interesting times on the path ahead.  Thanks for walking with me!  Buen camino to you all!