I hope some of you have had a chance to read the Itinerary page.  I looked at it once then decided it was a bad idea to read the whole thing.  All of those 18km, 28km, 24km notes make me nervous.  Don’t get me wrong; I have been training  but I have no idea what the terrain will be like, the weather and where exactly does one go to the toilet in the middle of flat open ground with (apparently) hundreds of Pilgrims trudging past?  Sometimes I have difficulty behind a locked door; doing “it” in public is simply not an option.  I may come home with a hump, like a camel and become the subject of great scientific study.

I want to thank those of you who have signed up.  Seriously, I might really need your encouragement on this trip.  I’m not so much afraid of the physical challenge (as long as my body cooperates), but this is a long time to be away from “home” which, translated, means this is the longest separation I will have had from Tim in the 6 years we have been together.  He’s not much for Skype (If I can even get Internet) and phone calls are always awkward with the time difference.  Your Comments or Emails will be much appreciated.

My hope is that there are some truly interesting people on the trip.  When I lived in Spain I met a couple that were in their 80’s at the time.  I visited them recently at their Retirement facility and we got caught up.  The Klein’s had lived overseas most of their adult lives and had been stationed in Russia working for the State Department back in the 1950’s.  They had known Kennedy, Kissinger, and even had an autographed photograph of Jacqueline Kennedy hanging on their wall.  I still say they were spy’s but Mr Klein always deflected any questions in that direction.  Their trip to Madrid was their last trip overseas and I will always remember sitting outside the pub just below our apartment building listening to Mr Klein tell stories.  Since both of my parents are gone, they are now my Foster parents; that’s how close we got to them.

Mr Klein (Front Right) regaling us outside the bar (Plaza Menor).  The couple to the far left were also State Department, the woman in the middle was our Spanish Mama, to the right of her Bobby (ex), and myself and Mr Klein.  The guy in the back right is not anyone I remember (God I hope I didn’t know him).  

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