Category: Travel

For years, I’ve traveled for both business and pleasure living out of a TravelPro 22″ roll-aboard and both Susan and I can live indefinitely out of our carry-on luggage, 17 days in Europe, no problem unless there’s no place to do laundry.

After my month long experience wearing a pack on the Camino last year, I’ve decided to try out a pack this year on on our vacation. I found a 65 L (total including the day pack) that is designed for carrying like a pack but also has a zippered back entry for easy loading.

As you can see, it stows very nicely and includes cinch straps to help compress the load which keeps it from shifting but it may also help get it on board if it’s a little full and you catch a bored Gate Agent. The pack has handles on the top and side so you can carry it like a conventional bag. There are 2 side compartments for a water bottle or anything else you may need to get at quickly and, a padded glasses pocket at the very top. A very nice feature is the day pack that fits into the big pocket on the back but, you can quickly extract it if you wanted to check the larger pack but carry on your essentials.

Last year while flying to Spain, I had to check my pack (dangerous considering my friend Katja got seperated from hers just yesterday between Madrid and Santander, thanks Iberia) which meant I needed to find something to protect my pack and to manage all the straps and loose attachments.

This pack has a hidden flap that you can quickly deploy or stow to cover the straps it also makes the whole pack more streamlined. In this picture, the flap is partially unzipped to give a better idea of how it looks.

Finally, I did a test pack to see how things fit and there was plenty of room. Unlike a regular pack, being able to access it completely instead of only from the top was great. While you still need to be organized, no more unloading if yo need something on the bottom.

There are extra pockets inside for loose items or toiletries and there is a compartment for wet items as well. I did use the packing cubes as I did last year, I’m sold on those. It helped keep the entire pack organized.

I’m looking forward to giving this a try, I don’t think that I’d want to carry this particular pack 20-30 KM each day, the frame is rigid and generally it does not adjust like my Osprey does but, I think it will be perfect for this holiday. I’ll let you know when we return.

Two of the friends that I met last year on the Camino, I referred to them as the Professors (Chris & Steve Mark) are back on the Camino for their second tour, they want to see some of the side routes but to also, slow down and enjoy themselves more.

They completed their hike over the Pyrenees yesterday and as we all know, that’s a tough first day for anyone. I proud of my friends, for their accomplishment yesterday but for also deciding to go back and have another taste of life lived simply. I wish I was with them.

It’s worse because another friend, amiga, is headed back in a couple weeks. I met Katja on my next to last day on the Camino as we walked to the lighthouse and the Zero KM marker at the end of the world, Finisterre.

This will be Katja’s 4th Camino. In 2003 and 2006, she did the Camino Frances (CF) in two parts but, she always wanted to do the entire CF so she returned last year to do just that. This year. she’s attacking the Camino Norte and the Primativo, there are many routes that lead to Santiago. I hope next year to do the Ingles route from Ferrol (I digress). I’ve provided contact info for my friends, maybe by some good fortune, they’ll get to meet somewhere.

So, my friends are all tromping across Spain or will be soon. While I don’t get to do that, Susan and I will be headed to Iceland, Ireland and Germany. In Ireland, we’ll get to meet up with two Pilgrims that I met last year, Bernie and Nigel. We’ll also meet Katja in Frankfurt just after she returns from Spain.

I’ll be writing about our trip, really looking forward to seeing everyone and, seeing Iceland and the west coast of Ireland with Bernie and Nigel. I just booked our glacier hike:

Glacier Experience from Reykjavik

It’s not exactly exploring Antarctica but, it sure looks fun!

I learned earlier this week that a friend of almost 40 years had died, he took his own life. I knew that my friend suffered from many things, none of importance seemed to be physical.

Did I do enough as a friend to have helped him? Probably not and, that wears on me. Friends of 40 years should have done a bit more, listened better, longer. Maybe I could have asked more questions or better questions.

I just can’t or, don’t want to believe that there was nothing that could be done. But, maybe there was nothing. Rest in peace my friend.

I guess this post will sort of be all over the place. First, I need to clarify some confusion from almost a year ago.

Anyone who’s wasted their time reading my blog knows that my first day on the Camino last year was hard and I struggled, as did most Pilgrims on that climb over the Pyrenees.

After I blogged that day, my mother (happy birthday!), a friend and Susan emailed me with encouragement and told me that “you can make it”. After rereading my entry from that day, it became clear that some thought I was going to quit because I said that Orisson was the last place I could “bail out”. I meant that if I went past Orisson, I was committed to the high route (Napoleon) versus the low route (Valcarlos). There was no way at all that I was going quit, I would have crawled over the top…had it been much further, I may have had to.

I have 3 friends that are going back to the Camino this May-June, the Professors (Chris & Steve) leave in June to do the Camino Frances again but taking more of the alternate routes. Chris is blogging, you can follow her at http://andtheuniverseconspires.blog/ . My friend Katja is going back for her 4th time to do part of the Norte and Primativo. What I wouldn’t do to be joining them. I wish them, Buen Camino and I look forward to reading Katja’s blog. If you’re interested, it’s in German but Google translate does a good job: https://vagabunterleben.net/ .

I’m really looking forward to our vacation, Iceland looks both fun and expensive. Besides looking around, we’re going to do some glacier climbing and will relax on our final day at the Blue Lagoon, a natural geothermal spring and spa, https://www.bluelagoon.com/ .

Ireland got much better than expected. My friends, Bernie and Nigel have offered to show us around the south and west of the country, they have gone far beyond my original thoughts of just visiting them while we were in the area. Thanks to them both.

Germany follows with visits to Frankfurt and Berlin for quick visits with Katja (fresh off the Camino) and Alex.

Hopefully, our remodel job will be done when we return, maybe not, who knows?

So, sorry about rehashing the Day 1 story, sometimes I just a little slow.

Last year on the Camino, I met a lot of people, many for just a moment, some I will not forget but I know that I will never see them again and then, there’s another category, those I now consider to be my friends.

Some of these people live close by, like Leo, my first Camino friend. The Professors, Steve and Chris Mark I’ve seen on multiple occasions including last week in Colorado Bend as they prepare for their second Camino. There are also the A&M (former) students, Greg, Madison and Sarah, I’m glad that I’ve been able to stay connected with each of them.

Another group are my new international friends. Dawn and Nallie from South Africa, Alex from Berlin, Katja from Frankfurt and Bernie and Nigel from Northern Ireland.

Susan and I were able to meet Dawn and Nallie last September in NOLA and I hope one day to visit them in South Africa. I genuinely like them both.

Alex was always one of my favorites because he was so open and honest. He’s incredibly complex and he’s just a good man, I wish he were not 5000 miles away. We will see him this summer on our vacation when we visit Berlin and I very much look forward to it.

Mi Amiga, Katja, we’ve stayed in touch via email and have even done a couple Skype sessions. Her love of the outdoors and especially the Camino is both shared and appreciated. Susan and I will also see her while we’re in Frankfurt this summer. She is one of the people that apparently I was supposed to meet on my journey.

There are two people that I was also supposed to meet apparently, Bernie and Nigel. I met them early on my Camino but, I think our friendship began at a bar in Estella, the day I parted ways with my first friend Leo, I wrote before about one door closing and another opening.

B&N were also the last friends that I saw as we all left Santiago, I was concerned that I would not see them before I left and poof, they magically appeared and, they were a site for sore eyes.

I contacted them about maybe visiting while we were in Ireland on our vacation, they graciously offered to let us stay with them and then, they went so far beyond that I struggle with how to thank them. Nigel wrote back offering to pick us up in Dublin and show us the western part of Ireland, Kerry and the Dingle peninsula, sharing their love and knowledge of the area.

Being dumbfounded by their generosity is an understatement. Two people that I met a year ago on my Camino offering to take the time to do this is hard to comprehend in this day and age. I want to let them know in public and in writing that I will never be able to repay their generosity but, as a friend, I will never stop trying.

Like my last meeting with them in Santiago, I know that my reunion with them in Dublin will for me be a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Treasure your friends and let them know what they mean to you.

Obviously, I have not been posting for quite some time. Since leaving the Camino, besides rejoining the “real world”, I’ve not been motivated to either train or write. For 2 years, I worked hard to get into shape for my Camino, when that ended, I lost my focus.

I’ve gotten back into the habit of training, the Dallas Pilgrims, sometimes supplemented by some of the Texas Pilgrims I met in Spain are now once again doing our first weekend of the month walks. This coming weekend, we’ll be back at Colorado Bend State Park, one of my favorites.

I’ve worked hard to stay in touch with many of the people that I met last year. I’ve seen the Professors (Chris & Steve) on several occasions. Dawn & Nallie (South Africa) were in NOLA and we met them there. The A&M Kids (Sarah, Greg and Madison), now all graduated are in touch and I’ve seen the all, except Madison, who I will see this weekend.

My friend Katja, mi Amiga is headed back to walk the Norte & Primativo this May/June, Susan and I will visit here on our vacation this summer when we travel to Germany. Friends are funny, you know them when you meet them or, at least I do. I wish we were all going back with her.

I will also see Alex while we’re in Germany, Alex is young enough to be my son and in a way, I look at him that way but, he is also my brother.

Our vacation this year will take us to Iceland, Ireland and Germany. I’ve never been to Iceland and I’m really looking forward to that visit. Bernie and Nigel (N Ireland) have graciously offered to show us some of the west coast of Ireland, County Kerry. I heard that it’s beautiful and having locals show you the area is always special.

I’ll have more after the weekend, weather is supposed to cooperate so it should be a great adventure.

Like a petulant child, I have not written for almost six months. Leaving the Camino had a profound effect on me that I’ve been trying to understand and cope with.

While walking, I met so many people who I now consider to be my friends. Leo who I have probably not been as good a friend as I should have been and he lives right here in the Dallas area.

Dawn and Nallie from South Africa, we were lucky to have met them in New Orleans while they were here. Genuinely good people who I hope to see as often as I can but, SA is a long way from here. Dawn, if you ever read this, thank you for being my Big Sister on the Camino, you’ll never know how much it meant to me.

Bernie and Nigel from Northern Ireland. As far as I can remember, we really became friends in Estella over G&T’s. You were the last of my Camino family that I saw in the lobby of our hotel in Santiago. As I walked to the train station, I was already missing you.

The Professors, Chris and Steve. They’re the friends that I see and communicate with on a regular basis. The Camino would have been a different place had I not met you both.

Alex, my Camino son or little brother. What a kind heart you have and I enjoy your emails when I get them. Be well my friend and I hope you make it to Dallas next summer.

The person who best represents the spirt of the Camino to me, I met on my next to last day as I walked up to the lighthouse at Finisterre. Katja from Frankfurt and I met as we stopped about half way up to the lighthouse to take a picture of the last Pilgrim statue. It was meant to be that we were walking alone and we needed someone to take our picture. We walked the rest of the morning together talking about all sorts of things. Since we parted, we’ve continued our conversation, both of us trying to comprehend the meaning of our individual Camino’s. Friends like her are what the Camino Spirit are all about.

All of these people and those not listed specifically contributed to an event that has changed how I look at myself and the world around me. They’ve helped me understand how lucky I am to have my wife, family and friends.

So many things have happened since I last wrote, now that I can process them, I’ll be writing more.