Introduction

[Lois Karner]

Here is a great web site with lots that could interest a camino
walker .... and by the way it is not my site.  :)

http://www.caminosantiagocompostela.com/


>Hi everyone
>
>I hope to meet some of you along El Camino, this Spring or Autumn.
>By then I should be in sufficient shape and have raised the courage
>to take the
>pilgrimage I have talked about for years, ever since I fell in love with
>Spain.  By then I'll be 58, a shy guy with a gray beard, listening to opera
>and perhaps even talking to myself.
>
>You'll know me by my bobbing gait on a good day, nursing a limp or
>maybe a hemorrhoid on a bad one.  I'll be alone because my wife has
>a bad foot,
>never had a religious moment anyway, and would prefer to be on a cruise.
>But I need to think, shed a few tears and fears, and get closer to the
>stars, my maker and His friends.  I hope St. James will be a special friend
>along El Camino since he permits the use of his name at my parish church
>here in Pittsburgh.
>
>I'll have a week or so, 10 days max.  Where should I begin my walk?  Is ~20
>km/day too much to average?  How long should it take from the Ponferrada area?
>
>How frequent are places to stay in Spring and Autumn?  What's the weather
>like?  Can anyone point me to a diary from someone's trip at that time?  I'm
>thinking October since April may be too rainy, and generally they pick
>grapes in September/October before the rains.
>
>Also, how much conditioning should I have (at 58)?  I now walk a few miles a
>week, with a my marathon of 3-4 miles on Sundays.  Should I step it up a
>lot, just a tich, or bring my personal trainer along (just kidding)?  I want
>to wear in some new boots, not wear them out!
>
>All the best/saludos a todos,
>
>Chris Forbes