There's an even higher Mountain in the Last third.

I have been reading about walking the Camino for 10 years now.  I know, that is a long time.  But the last time I was ready to go a family event kept that from happening.  It was one of those things you just can't miss.  Now  I am preparing and determined I will make it work for next year.  There is something about walking 500 miles all by myself in a foreign country where I do not know the language.  It is scary yet exciting.  Actually it scares the s..t out of me, but I want to do it anyway.  I always wished I had a different more empowering childhood and I wish I had known about Woodstock and I wish  I attended.  Even thought I am not that wild it would have been an awesome experience even for just a day or two.  I remember many years later sitting in Grant Park in Chicago listening to the Dali Lama.  He had a profound affect on me but putting that aside, being in that huge park with all those people and the singers, the guitar players, etc I soared from all the excitement, or maybe it was all the indirect smoke I was breathing.  Whatever it was, I had a grand time and felt so alive.

I have missed out on so much of life just because I was brought up to be afraid of my own shadow.  I have fought this fear all my life.  I can tell you I am finally on the other side of it and that is one of the reasons I want to do this walk.  I want to prove to myself that I can do this.  I can deal with the pain and exhaustion myself.  I can deal with having to find a place to sleep every night, myself, even if I have to sleep outside.  I can deal with trying to find food everyday and I can figure out what to drink with the meals since I don't drink much alcohol.  In the books, all they talk about is the bottle or two of wine they drink every night.  And how they start out on the trail hung over the next morning.  Not my thing.  I love a good drink now and then but every day is out.  I can do this and I can still have fun and make friends, sober.

Keeping in mind all my reasons for walking this walk, I am finding myself creating a greater confidence within.  As my body gets more and more fit a new feeling is overcoming me.  One of youth.  In one's youth you do not know the concepts experience bring.  You are still sitting in that invincible place.  As one grows older they see more and more happenings in life and all these happenings seem to create little road blocks in the mind.  There are new synopsis that are created.  They are protecting synopsis.  Without even realizing it they slowly begin to take over and your life is run by these new synopsis.  With the renewed confidence I am feeling from my body I am beginning to believe I am invincible again.  Or maybe it is really just a renewed sense of "I can".

In the beginning the only big challenge I read about was walking over the Pyrenees.  Everyone speaks of the unbelievable pain and exhaustion they experience from this first day.  It has disturbed me.  My weakest point is my lungs.  As a child I had tonsillitis or pneumonia every year in February.  This happened until I was 15 when my mother finally allowed me to have my tonsils removed. This weakened my lungs.  Then it was all the thing in college to smoke so of course I started to smoke. I eventually gave that up, but walking up hill has always been a bit of a challenge.  Wha la, fear of walking over the Pyrenees.  As I continue to read and prepare I have come to realize that if I would just do lung building exercise I will have no real problems.  Yes, I will be tired but I will be able to do it.  Now that I have over come this obstacle and have decided to begin climbing mountains this fall to strengthen my lungs, I have found out that there is an even higher mountain in the last third of the trip.

It is the mountain that gets you to O'Cebreico.  I have decided to show you the ascent via pictures.  Enjoy your trip to the top

As you begin your ascent out of town

Continuing but still not knowing haw far it really is

Getting the idea but still more to come

And it goes on

Rounding a corner you come to a new sign, bikes on the right and walkers on the left.  Hummmmmm

Then the trail gets really exciting

And it just continues, just in case your ankles aren't sore enough yet

Finally the top - legs like rubber and ankles screaming you drag into the Albergue

 I hope you enjoyed your walk up the mountain.  Have a great day

Buen Camino
b