LP and VQT

Purple irises  Amaryllis  Foxgloves  We are so fortunate to live in a city that has the most beautiful spring.  It’s the perfect time to stay home and enjoy the best weather and flowers but it’s the best time to walk the Camino - cooler temperatures.    Last year on day one we weighed our packs at St Jean Pied De Port and they were 23 pounds.   We carried those packs across the Pyrenees and for 12 days until we bought a duffle bag and started transporting all but our essential items - what a game changer for us.   This year our starting packs are much lighter (15 pounds?) and we will be transporting a lot of this weight starting day one.  We will still carry our packs but only essential items.    Long night and day of travel ahead of us     

  Posted by LP - LP and GJA (very supportive spouse) have friendship bracelets to wear while LP walks and GJA takes care of everything else! - 3 days till wheels up ✈️🌎 (Photo description = LP’s and GJA’s wrists - LP wears a green thread bracelet and GJA wears a pink thread bracelet)

Swallowtail butterfly.  LP holding a sign “oh, the places you’ll go.   Posted by VQT Now shall I walk Or shall I ride? “Ride” Pleasure said. “Walk” Joy replied. W H Davies We are choosing Joy! It’s been almost 1 year since we left to walk the French Way of the Camino de Santiago.  Our feet are only now recovering.  And I’m struggling to remember how to post to this blog.   We are leaving in a few weeks to walk The Camino Portuguese.  Our friends think we’re crazy- maybe we are?  We learned so much last year that we feel like pros - hope that proves to be true    We hope all of our blog readers will follow us for this long walk.   Buen Camino 2023. 

Posted by VQT Souvenirs   Tiny tiles of Camino signs   In my front yard.  Made by SR.    Beautiful Flowers from PP, CM and Walter the dog.   So used to posting in the morning where we are headed and how far and maybe a point of interest along the Way.   We are fortunate to have several weekly farmers markets within walking distance.  Today LP, MAK & LS (both from river gang) and I will walk to a market held each Saturday in the parking lot of The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library grounds.  Looking forward to fresh organic vegetables and PEACHES.  Bon Appetit.   Hope all our Camino friends that are walking to Finisterra are well and others had safe and easy travels home. 

Posted by LP - the clam shell and yellow arrow of El Camino - we must have seen hundreds, possibly thousands, over the course of 38 days LP and GJA with Esme hiking in the woods (prior to the El Camino trip) GJA giving treats to an enthusiastic chicken (I think it is Honesty in the photo - there are also Peace, Mercy, Joy, Charity and Liberty = The Virtue Sisters) Esme, the terrier of uncertain origins  GJA and a frame of happy bees  We are sitting at the gate, having negotiated the COVID testing, check in and 3 sets of security - only another hour to wait, plus 10 hours on the plane, then customs and immigration in Atlanta…..then we will be home Want to say this one more time, we walked 500 miles!!! Thank you everyone, we couldn’t have done it without you :)

Posted by VQT Bingo. At Madrid airport   Waiting on Covid test results to check in. 40+ days away from home.   Buen Camino   

Posted by LP - here are a few photos that I don’t believe I shared with you via this blog: Wild forget-me-nots on the side of the trail as we walked into Santiago  Accordion player on the street in Leon (he gave me a card that told me he was a world champion musician) VQT walking down the trail (I don’t remember where…..38 walking days have all blurred in my mind) Decoration at one of the numerous cafes we visited - this is a Spanish style clog containing a little gnome garden The first cafe/bar in a village or town was usually the busy one - we saw a lot of variations of this sign reminding us there are cafe options - this sign says, “In the next village there are 2bars” Pots of geraniums outside the pizza restaurant where we enjoyed a meal in O Pedrouza (great name for a town) Calla lilies where prevalent in lots of gardens we walked by I took nearly as many photos of chickens on weather vanes as I did of green doors In fact, I took lots of photos of living and decorative chicken...