travel – Page 6 – everydaysparks

Camino adventures – Day 1

Posted on August 22, 2013August 22, 2013 by Cate

Here’s an update on the Camino, day 1. We started in the beautiful little French village of St Jean Pied de Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees. A great atmosphere in the busy town – it’s the popular starting point of the Camino Frances. We met some lovely people in our hostel and got some time to wander around the town before heading off early the next morning (around 7am, so still a bit dark) to begin our first day.

And what a day it was – I found it incredibly tough, as did a lot of the people we spoke to after we’d made it through alive. Nothing like an extreme physical challenge to form strong bonds with fantastic people from all over the world! The strangeness of the backpack + the very steep mountain climbs (and equally difficult – or maybe more so – declines) + ferocious winds + long distance and then the summer sun made for quite a challenge. But the breathtaking views, cows & sheep & horses provided a good distraction from the pain!

So satisfying to finish the day & share a beer with new friends in Ronvesvalles. A fantastic modern hostel in another great little village.

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A little packing tip

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Cate

I don’t really like packing. It might have something to do with the mean discrimination required – that’s in, that’s out – or the forward thinking about the possible clothing options required for activities that might occur on the trip. However, when packing my backpack for the Camino, the key focus is pretty simple: keep the weight down to around 6kg (uh huh) and as for the activities that might occur – well, that’s pretty much just A LOT OF WALKING.

That’s a part of the journey that I’m looking forward to, actually – no more standing in front of the wardrobe deciding what to wear, instead it will be a case of which of the two options in my pack is cleanest and away we go. As I packed some things in my bag this morning, I thought I’d share a tip that I read somewhere a while ago – in case you didn’t read it too. It’s a trick with the humble hotel shower cap – fits perfectly around shoes to keep the soles from dirtying everything else in your bag. A ShoeCap, if you like. You’re welcome!

The ShoeCap for my gorgeous granny-style trekking sandals.

Speaking of shoes, I am on to my fourth pair of Camino shoes – it has been quite the experience, I tell you. Luckily the good folk at The Athlete’s Foot give you 30 days to trial your new shoes in the outside world (as opposed to the outdoors stores that give you 48 hours to trial your shoes in your own lounge room, which isn’t exactly a trial). So technically, the last two pairs are the same purchase – I really wanted the third pair to work as they looked quite cool, but they did not like my ankles. Let’s hope this trekking version of the pinkies is up to the challenge!

Fingers crossed these will do the trick... — Fingers crossed these will do the trick…

Travel sparks

Camino MacGyver

Posted on August 7, 2013August 6, 2013 by Cate

I started putting my Camino bits and pieces near my backpack today and I got ridiculously excited at the thought of the adventure ahead of us. Then I remembered that I’d bought this Utility Card at a recent Kathmandu sale and as I took it out of its packet, I got even more excited at the thought of who I could become with this item. Within its magical plastic confines (in a beautiful shade of blue, if you don’t mind) is all that I need to become…CAMINO MACGYVER. And I can not imagine a more helpful or ingenious Camino pilgrim than MacGyver, can you?

All that Camino MacGyver needs... — All that Camino MacGyver needs…

What’s that, fellow pilgrim, need a pen to sign off that tapas bill? Allow me! Hola, traveller – need some scissors to cut the tag off your new backpack? Here you go, champ! What’s that, there’s a man on the hillside who needs his appendix removed? Let’s do this, kids! And then I can file my nails and draw a really straight line while we wait for the paramedics to come and fix him up.

Seriously, this Utility Card has pretty much everything – I know, because I just pulled out all of the little things to make sure (you never know with discounted stock): screwdriver, toothpick, tweezers, scissors, nail file, ruler, knife, pen, pin.

Don't be fooled - the nail file and screwdriver are on the same little tool. AMAZING. — Don’t be fooled – the nail file and screwdriver are on the same little tool. AMAZING.

So, without wishing to jinx our impending travels, I am now more confident than ever that Steph and I will be able to deal with whatever comes our way on the Camino. MacGyver-style.

(And in case you too were wondering, the pen really does work.)

Food sparks, Travel sparks

The Camino Diet

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Cate

As I’ve mentioned, it’s only around a month til my friend Steph and I leave for the Camino. A lot of well-meaning peeps have been giving us tips and hints, as well as remarking on how they can’t wait to see how fit and thin we are on our return. (Not that we are super unfit and ginormous now, I might add.) I remind those people that one of my favourite lunches on my last trip to Spain was a potato omelette on a giant bread roll – now that’s carb loading. And then there’s the wine – I am sure that it’s culturally insensitive to refuse.

So, we really don’t know what impact the 800km will have on us. Sure, it’s a lot more walking than we’d normally do each day in our office jobs, but then there are the delicious (and not always healthy) foods along the way, undoubtedly an important part of the journey. So maybe it’ll just even out and we’ll come back looking EXACTLY THE SAME. Just warning you now – it’s definitely a possibility.

One of the many books that I’m reading is ‘Guide to the Camino’ by an Australian lady, Trish Clark. Trish includes local delicacies in her book – food and drink that walkers should try in each town. As I read the list for one town, I felt the weight stacking on:

Fried bread with garlic and ham? Yes please! — Fried bread with garlic and ham? Caramelised custard & sponge cake? Yes please!

And then I read about another town and realised that – at least for me on my bull-free diet – this stop might be a lean one:

So, looks like there will be lots of exercise and lots of fried bread and pancakes (and bull hoof stew) – life is all about balance, right?!

Travel sparks

Friday Foto – Camino style

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Cate

And the countdown to the Camino is well and truly underway – just around one month to go now! I have most of my gear sorted (backpack, sleeping bag, hilarious walking poles etc), which is great. But I am still experimenting with socks and haven’t yet found the right fit – comfy, not scratchy, not too hot for the Spanish summer, nice colour and all that. And every book or forum post that I read stresses that socks are VERY IMPORTANT. They are also VERY EXPENSIVE at around $30 a pair, but that’s another story.

Today, I am trying something new. I really bought these just because they look funny and made me laugh. And they have a cool name.

Once I took the time to arrange them on my feet (much trickier than putting on normal socks, I tell you), they actually feel pretty comfy. Weird, but comfy. Like my toes are all arranged in a neat order in their self-contained little sockettes.

I am not sure if they make my feet look weird or if it's just that I've never really taken a photo of my feet before... — NB, the sock toes are square-shaped – my actual toes are not. Nor are my toes puffy, as they appear here. These socks do not help me put my best foot forward, I tell you.

So, there you go. Some weird looking alien sock feet for your Friday. Now I have to go and try them out. Hope that you have a great weekend!