Finding treasure on the Camino de Santiago

“ To those who can dream there is no such place as far away” Anon

A taste of what’s to come!

I have been planning to walk Le Puy Route (also known as the GR65 or Via Podiensis) to Santiago for five years or so. The route starts in Le Puy-en-Velay in Southern France and follows a path through rural french villages to St Jean Pied de Port at the base of the Pyrenees, where I started my first Camino in 2016, The French Way. It is approximately 840 kms to St Jean. The plan was to walk all the way to Santiago de Compostela (1800 kms), which meant re-walking the 2016 route too. And then one morning I woke up with an epiphany ”Walk to Pampolona, and spend the rest of the time in a place just being a local!”

So dear reader, this is my plan. In 16 sleeps I leave for Paris, France. I spend six glorious nights in Paris and then on to Le Puy where my pilgrimage begins. I will walk for at least 47 days, crossing the Pyrenees at St Jean and into Roncevalles in Spain and on to Pamplona (+- 930 kms of walking) where I will get a car and drive to Santiago de Compostela for two days and then fly to Florence where I will spend a month being a local. Glorious!

I will be accompanied by Jennie, a pilgrim and now very good friend I met on my first Camino in 2016. we will be walking together but apart as we have very different walking styles, she walks fast, I walk really slow and dawdle. We have separate accommodation and we will connect every evening. I will introduce you to Jennie soon.

AND some other people benefit too from all my fun and dreaming with your help …

I will also be walking for a cause (Proper fundraising details to be posted soon). Another friend Elly, is walking her first Camino from Pamplona to Santiago and is raising funds for the special place so I decided to help too. I am so privileged and grateful for what I have.

The Butterfly Centre in Stanford – The Butterfly Centre in Stanford is a specialised learning centre for children with challenging conditions who do not fit into the mainstream learning environment. By using a one-on-one approach, combined with specialised learning techniques children are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Most of the students at The Butterfly Centre are unable to pay full fees, so fundraising is vital to continue to manage and grow the project. A dedicated team of passionate and skilled staff are joined by generous volunteers who donate their time to this necessary venture. The Butterfly Centre’s goal is to graduate young men and women to be employable and, together with their families, empowered to deal with their challenges.

Watch this space ……