BERT VERDONCK, lifehacker & life coach

Most of you know that my weak spots are my feet.

Some betting is going on about how many blisters I will have to experience during this Camino.

So, to keep score : 2, each foot has 1.

Honestly, both showed up after hours, so I don´t know if these really count ;-)

I keep you posted,

Bert

Today´s number is 4.

It´s the 4th day of the Camino… and 4 weeks to go.

The shops open again, after their siësta at 4pm.

I brought 4 pairs of socks, all used and dirty by now! 

I already drank 4 liters (mainly water) today.

We had dinner at a table of 4 tonight (normally with 10 or 12 people at 1 table).

I saw 4 storks and enjoyed their lovely sound…

Is 4 a magic number for you? Why?

Enjoy every day,

Bert

Hiking can have serious consequences!

In the morning, you put on your hiking shoes , the (only) ones to go a certain distance with…

You don´t know the road ahead, the weather or the distance, at best the destination.

Meet the mud! He is your friend for the coming days. Before the mud on your shoes has dried, you have plunged into some more. You never run out of mud…

After arriving at your destination you take off your muddy shoes and put on your shiny sandals. After a dark, humid, stinky hole , your feet welcome their new home with a great smile!

No wonder some feet give up and create blisters. It´s their way of getting back at you

Enjoy every day,

Bert

We are packed and ready to leave!

Today, we bought the very last items like water, bread, bananas, cheese, etc.

My backpack weighs about 15kg, including 3 liters of water and all my clothes and shoes.

Contents:

• Backpack
• Sleeping bag
• 3 underwear
• 4 pair of socks
• 3 t-shirts
• 1 pair of walking boots
• 1 pair of sandals
• 2 trousers
• 1 short
• 1 Camelback (2 liters)
• 1  Swiss Army knife
• 1 set of cutlery
• 2 disposal cameras
• 1 first aid kit
• 1 rain poncho
• 1 fleece
• 1 sweater
• 1 rainjacket
• toothpaste, showergel & shampoo, toothbrush, sunmilk, aftersun, lip protection, deo, comb, washing gel
• 1 flashlight
• 4 handkerchiefs
• 1 toilet paper
• ID-card, yellow booklet (for stamps), wallet, visa, bankcard, cash, cellphone, cellphone charger, mini roadbook
• diary & 2 pens
• earplugs
• compeed
• 2 towels
• powerbars
• 1 goblet
• 1 razor
• bag for food
• 1 bottle (water, to be refilled)
• 1 cap & sunglasses

Yes, it all fits in 1 backpack

Let me know if I am forgetting something…

Tonight we are going to a weddingparty. At 3 o’clock tonight I am pikking up my parents and drive them to Brussels Airport. They are going on holiday to Morrocco…

Tomorrow we sleep in until 10 AM. We ‘ll load the car and have lunch at my in-laws and then at around 1 PM we are leaving for France!

We should arrive half-way by tomorrow evening.

Monday morning we should arrive in Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port, the starting point…getting our first stamp and looking for a place to spend the night, park the car for a couple of days, have dinner and go to sleep early.

Tuesday morning around 6 AM we will start walking! The real adventure starts right there ;-)

Stay in touch and enjoy the weekend,

Bert

Yes, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we must change our plans…

One of our best friends, who would join us on the trip for the first week, has cancelled, because she just started at a new job a couple of weeks ago. She would not get a vacation anytime soon. So, we invited another friend. She cancelled wednesday. Too much work, deadlines and more work! On top of that, she had a little car accident…We understood and wish her all the best!

Anyway, our first friend got fired after the first week, because her boss had apparently misjudged the new function. She is really good at it, but he wanted someone with a different skillset. He was sorry to have misbriefed the interim agency. Now, she was without a job! Being jobless, she would have time to join us on our vacation, so we were looking forward to it!

To make a long story short, she called us yesterday to tell us she found a new job, starting this monday! Wow  

It must have been predestined that just the two of us are finally leaving for France…

This means we are going to park our car in Spain, take the bus back to France and arrive at our car after 5 days, so that Tonia can drive back home. I will continue (alone) to Santiago as planned.

Anyway, I can not give any guarantee that these plans are final, seen the last minute changes so far, but I keep you all posted

Enjoy your weekend,

Bert 

Time is flying when you are having fun!

I have bought Magnesium-pills, read a couple of useful sentences in Spanish, looked at the pile of things I still need to get into my backpack somehow. Maybe it ’s time to review my list (again)

My backpain is over and my shoulder is starting to feel better as well! Yes, at the end of this week, we will be on the road already…

One small hick-up : the yellow booklet for the stamps has not arrived yet! I need this to get stamps everywhere on the road : in refugios, in townhalls, in musea, in churches and even in some restaurants… It’s a kind of proof that you actually walked the Camino. So, I called today and they will mail it by priority mail. I keep you posted…

Enjoy every day,

Bert