How do you prepare for the Camino?

How do you train for the El Camino if you’re in your 70s and sat behind a desk for too many years?

One small block at a time.

Then two blocks.

Then, a mile, two, three.

It helps if you keep a training journal

(yep, just like you’re a real athlete, toss some arty stuff in there for fun).

It helps if you count down the days.

100 days until we walk.

99,

98,

And then, you’re nearly there.

You walk a bit farther.

You add a few hills to help build endurance.

You read about other walkers.

You imagine the walk--

A time to have long conversations with a beloved daughter (now fully grown).

With people along the way

With all those many people inside your head.

And then you do it.

Not the whole thing, as you dreamt in younger years.

Not even half.

But enough to appreciate topping a hill and rounding a bend

And finding that daughter waiting for you there

(or that person with whom you had a good laugh along the trail)

To appreciate the people who prepare your food

Who assist you when you need help

To exchange “Buen Camino” with others along the way.

To celebrate with the young and the old who are as relieved as you are to finally reach the top of that long, long hill.

To understand that there is great joy in a downhill turn and a cool breeze.

And in sharing just the beauty of moving along a path

With nothing to do but wander and wonder.

That’s all there is to it.

What are you waiting for?



Thank you Diane for your inspiration