New Person Signing On.....

[Carol Bradley]

        Hi, I am in Nova Scotia, the part of Canada that sticks out into the
Atlantic above Maine (for reference...), and with a friend drove the length
of the Camino from Roncesvalles over a 10-day period in summer 1999. It was
a wonderful experience, and to be in Santiago during the last Jubilee Year
of the 20th Century and see the botofumeiro swung twice at pilgrims' mass,
has inspired me to return and walk most of it when I have more time,
hopefully before too long as I am  up there with Rosita Lila agewise.
        I will weigh into the "How much water?" controversy with a little question
about "How Many Toilets?", since the two are  connected for most women, and
I noticed most of those advocating litres and litres of water were men!. I
can imagine that walking all day through remote Spanish countrysides will
probably remove most North American female false modesty, but there were a
lot of small towns that didn't look too well-supplied with public
conveniences.
         I can recall from my hitchiking days in Europe that it worked best if we
didn't drink too much during the early part of the day, and loaded up on
liquids once we got where we were going. In this, I'm with  Rosita
again.....
        BTW, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper's editorial writer Robert Sibley hiked
the Camino (800 km) in the spring of this year, and his report is (was)
on-line at www.ottawacitizen.com   If it's gone now, there's a photocopied
edition of the 9-part series available for a $5 money order....