It’s the journey, right?

April 23, 2024 Redmond WA, evening

Final packing, repacking, cleaning the house, giving final directions to feed the dog, water the plants (thank you Samara and Josiah), and so, in this final lull before the storm.. Oh, we did look at the weather and the rains are supposed to start just as we begin our pilgrimage on the Camino. :)…. I thought I would go back a bit about the ups and small downs along the way.

Are we really going to do it?

A few months ago we had been planning this maybe in fall, maybe a shorter time in spring, and then it was all in and let’s do it in April. I have a tendency to get a bit overexcited.. but then we asked, can we, should we really do this….but we both calmed down, took a breath and started to just check flights…

Travel and Life Hint #1: When you are truly on the fence about a choice, choose the one that is not the status quo. According to a recent study, more people were happier after only six months after they had taken the risk and chose the new path. So, we jumped and took the risk. You will have to check back on how we feel in the fall….

Travel Hint #2: Book your flights on a Tuesday and fly on Wednesdays. Much cheaper. really. Siri had heard that somewhere and sure enough that was our experience. Maybe just lucky, but it seemed like the Camino spirits were shining down on us…

The Camino will provide… right?

There is a strong ethos along this journey, as an earlier post talked about the Spirit of the Camino and the first one says it clearly, – Live in the moment, there is a sense that you should be flexible and not plan too far ahead. I was all in on this spirit. About 6 weeks ago I even told Siri, “Isn’t it great that we only have booked 10 of our 29 days?” Siri responded, “Can you reframe that using ‘I’ statements?” She was not as excited about this casual attitude I was displaying So, as a test, we decided to see if we could book the wonderful places that some friends had told us about or guidebooks had suggested, and you know what? They were already booked! I got a bit concerned that there would be no room at the inn (well, not at least one with a private room and bath). Now, to be clear, there seems to always be a place to stay, in an albergue (hostel) with 50 of your closest friends in bunk beds (pan to images from The Way starring Martin Sheen) and there are stories of people on the floor of the local fire house.

Travel and Life Hint #3: Yes, the Camino will provide, but you have to at least put your own effort into it as well. That evening, we started to book our main places. We had both computers open on the kitchen table, two paperback guidebooks open, as well as two different apps and several internet searches. We are now fully booked for all 29 days away.

Travel Hint #4: Be sure to check and recheck the dates. During that first evening frenzy, I was excited to find a place and quickly booked it. …. Then, I realized I had the wrong month, so cancelled and rebooked again. Then, I realized I had the wrong day, and Then, I finally I got it right.

Travel Hint #5: Check you math (or at least your confirmation codes) Last week, yes, just last week, Siri asks if I have all the confirmation codes and I quickly say, “Of course,” I say. I know that since 3/4 of them are on booking.com (seems to be one of THE places to reserve your stays in Europe) so they are on my app. But then I wonder about the 1/4 of stays that were done through WhatsApp or the hotels own websites. I go to show Siri how it is all there, and then I realize our first night in Portugal, I do NOT have a confirmation code, email or any communication. I go into panic mode and email to the Poet’s Inn in Porto (doesn’t that sound like a lovely place?). The next morning they confirm … that we do NOT have any reservations. (!!) Fortunately, the next sentence says, “but we can accommodate you and your guest on those dates,” I come down from the ceiling and finally took a breath. We quickly book those dates. Whew! Crisis averted and that was only our first night’s lodging…

Travel Hint #6: Listen to your significant other. You know, they are probably right. Once again, Siri saves the day by actually paying attention and keeping organized. We now have lists of the actual addresses where we are going to stay, has it been paid or not, and more, and she was the one who got us going on choosing a luggage transport company – which we did and not wait till we arrived

And life goes on, the journey continues…

And as we are making these Camino plans, we, just like all of you, had other things that took our time and attention. A few examples include a few house chores to do (fixed a screen door after our dog Yoda literally ran it through 2 months ago), landscaping to finish (put in a yard of mulch last week), continue to go on other adventures (Josiah and I did a 63-mile ride this past Sunday, while Samara and Siri went to the Seattle Reign women’s soccer game for her birthday), and we had two wonderful baby showers to go to (congrats to Kimberly and Tiffany!), the weekly family zoom calls, field trips with Siri’s Dad (just got back from the tulips), and continue to visit with family and friends (Thank you Friday Night Light friends) and even this past week being on WhatsApp, I was able to reconnect with some of my Indonesian students I taught 35 years ago. Now we are starting to think about when we go back and visit them… but I get ahead of myself, let’s just live in the moment and enjoy THIS adventure that is just about to begin.

Travel Hint #7:  Be sure to enjoy and appreciate the friends and family along your journey…they are all pretty amazing.