And he’s off…

Got my packing done and some kind friends have just dropped me at Birmingham airport in readiness for my flight to Porto a little later tonight.

Oddly with more or less the same contents, my rucksack seems less full than my first Camino. However the weight is more or less the same as last: about 8kg (without any water).

I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for this trip. I’ve probably not done enough physical training and certainly not enough consecutive training walks (well, none, in fact). I’ve got a couple of (relatively) easy days at the start which should help.

I’m not especially daunted by the distance that lies ahead, in part because I know I’ve walked at least this far previously.

However, there remain plenty of unknowns and uncertainties. But those are mostly a cause for excitement for all the discoveries that lie ahead on the road to Santiago.

Let’s go!

Ultreia et suseia!

(This is a tradition pilgrim greeting, in Latin and used since medieval times. “Ultreia” means something like ‘go further or let’s go forward’. “Et suseia” was the response, meaning ‘and higher or upward’. )Read more