Final Preparations
My departure date is drawing ever closer so this weekend it’s been time to start preparing my kit — including making sure it will all fit in the bag!
One critical part of the gear is all the energy bars and electrolyte drinks which I usually use on a hike and which I’ll need every day,
There’s no way I can carry enough for six weeks, so I contacted the supplier to see if they could send them out to Spain in batches for me. It turns out that because of new EU shipping regulations they can’t guarantee delivery, so I needed a plan B. I discovered that as Switzerland isn’t in the EU they can deliver all the bars and powders there. Handily my eldest son Chris lives just outside Zurich, so I’ve had a huge box sent over to him, which he’ll parcel up and send on to Spain on a weekly basis. It’s a slightly convoluted arrangement, but we think it’ll work!
The other crucial part of the trip is making sure I have somewhere to sleep each night, so I’ve been in touch with the travel company to double check arrangements. All sorted on that front so there’s just one last thing… the route!
I’ve explored a number of possibilities, including the directions provided by Camino Ways, the travel company I’m using. Their maps appear to be as good as any, but still nothing like the Ordnance Survey ones that I usually use. They do however identify the footpaths and importantly the direction of travel. To be doubly sure I’ve also acquired a book of maps for each section of the walk, so one way or another I shouldn’t get too lost!
The logistics of getting out to France for the start, and back from Spain at the end, are a little more complicated than if I could simply fly, but I’ve figured out the trains and booked the tickets, so I think all is in hand…
Now all I have to do is to continue my training up to next weekend, in the hope that I’ve done enough to get through what for me is a fairly long expedition.
I’ll be keeping this blog up to date during the hike, so if you’re interested please do check back for regular updates.