<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1>
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2716.2200" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY id=MailContainerBody
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; TEXT-DECORATION: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none"
leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 acc_role="text" CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area"><?xml:namespace prefix="v" /><?xml:namespace prefix="o" />
<DIV>Deanna,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>When I made the walk the first time I was 66 and in poor condition. It was
only after the third week that my body got back in shape. I lived in Switzerland
at the time and would walk 6 miles daily to get use to walking even then that
didn't help. I also wore 50 lb packback, the contents of which I emptied the
third day leaving me with only the essentials. I had to learn "to trust the
road" and find ways in which to make it through each day. In the beginning I
went one or two days without food. Later on I became smarter and learned
to rely more upon my early service training and intuitive judgement to
get through the difficult parts. I neither spoke or understood the language, was
not always certain that I was going in the right direction and spend mucho time
getting back in touch with who I was. The Camino in an inner journey as well as
an outward experience. This is not an intellectual exercise, t is a way toward
God and as such must be approached with your whole mind, body and soul.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Go the full route. You won't regret it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>G.</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>From:</B> <A title=athenaaBROOKSDATA.NET
href="mailto:athenaaBROOKSDATA.NET">wisdom's aspirant</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
href="mailto:GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU">GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, March 29, 2003 11:56
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Finisterre</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Oh, thank you. This is most encouraging. I am looking
forward to the final walk to the sea.<BR><BR>I am doing a wimp's walk of the
Camino! I had not done anything like this all alone and was unaware of how
many people actually do it. So I signed up for a van supported trip run by
Linda Frey.We will spend the first 11 days seeing highlights from St Jean to
Samos and walk about 100 miles of this total distance. At that point I will
leave the group and walk the rest of the way to the sea alone, so as to earn
the Compostela and see the ocean at the end. When I signed up for
this, if I had known what I know now from you good people, I would have simply
planned to walk the whole thing alone. But there is always next year. And I
know that I will learn a lot from Nancy who seems to have devoted much of her
life to a study of the Camino. Although I am 63 I am in top shape, spend 2
hours a day on aerobics and weight training, backpack in the desert mountains,
and I know I could walk the Camino with no problem.
<BR>Deanna<BR><BR></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>