Well, as I said in my last post, my plans will have to change - and change they have!
I decided, as the day approached, that I did not want to spend my 60th birthday so far away from family and loved ones, so I found my way home from Toulouse, and arrived unnannounced to give Diane one of the biggest surprises of her life, which was the present I wanted.
So after nearly 8 weeks and 1348 kms, my pilgrimage ends, but as always, the journey continues. The challenge for me now, is to try to maintain the same degree of present awareness as I return to my day to day routine.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this amazing undertaking. That support has been manifested in many different ways: many gave generously to the Leukaemia Foundation; others offered support and good wishes; some offered advice and suggestions; many stopped me along the path to wish me well; and some asked me to carry their prayers to Santiago.
Although I was unable to do this in Santiago, I did seek out the Chapel of St James in the Basilica of St. Sernin at Toulouse and offer the prayers there.
Perhaps I will return to complete the walk at some time in the future, but at the moment I am happy to be home, and look forward to catching up with many of you soon.
Thanks again.
Ultreya and suseya!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Toulouse - the half-way mark!
Today I'm in Toulouse, having covered 1348 kms so far, which is just over half way to Santiago. However, I am more than half way through the days available, so plans will have to change.
I had been looking forward to walking the Canal du Midi, but as with a lot of expectations, the reality turned out to be very different. Based on hearsay, I had fantasies of wine, women and song - well at least I was hoping for the odd bar along the way. However, for the 4 days of Canal walking, I passed only one bar. Okay, I didn't walk straight past it, I did stop for lunch and a beer. Okay, maybe 2 beers. But it was a very long way between drinks.
In many places, the canal was quite beautiful, with huge plane trees arching across the canal, and creating a 'natural' cathedral a hundred feet high. It is amazing to think that it was built in the late 1600's, with a workforce of over 12,000 people, including over 1000 women, who contributed a lot of knowledge because they were the ones involved in the construction and maintenance of the water supplies to their home villages and towns.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best with rain threatening all the time, the odd shower or two, and a fierce westerly wind, which didn't encourage taking time out to smell the roses. I tended to just put my head down and slog on until I reached my destination for the night. As it was downhill with good surfaces underfoot, I could easily manage 5 kms an hour, so the days weren't too long.
I now have the Pyrenees in sight to the south, and will parallel them west for a week, before starting the 3 day climb to the Somport Pass.
I had been looking forward to walking the Canal du Midi, but as with a lot of expectations, the reality turned out to be very different. Based on hearsay, I had fantasies of wine, women and song - well at least I was hoping for the odd bar along the way. However, for the 4 days of Canal walking, I passed only one bar. Okay, I didn't walk straight past it, I did stop for lunch and a beer. Okay, maybe 2 beers. But it was a very long way between drinks.
In many places, the canal was quite beautiful, with huge plane trees arching across the canal, and creating a 'natural' cathedral a hundred feet high. It is amazing to think that it was built in the late 1600's, with a workforce of over 12,000 people, including over 1000 women, who contributed a lot of knowledge because they were the ones involved in the construction and maintenance of the water supplies to their home villages and towns.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best with rain threatening all the time, the odd shower or two, and a fierce westerly wind, which didn't encourage taking time out to smell the roses. I tended to just put my head down and slog on until I reached my destination for the night. As it was downhill with good surfaces underfoot, I could easily manage 5 kms an hour, so the days weren't too long.
I now have the Pyrenees in sight to the south, and will parallel them west for a week, before starting the 3 day climb to the Somport Pass.
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