Volunteering At the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago

I am really happy to let you know that I have been accepted as a volunteer in the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago.  I will be one of those happy faces to greet you when you come to receive your Compestella or to ask for help in any way.
I heard about this opportunity last year when I was walking to Finnesterra from Santiago.  A woman I met had just finished her 2 weeks.  It sounded like a great idea and I applied to Johnny Walker on the Forum  (the Camino de Santiago Forum) and was accepted.  I was sure that wouldn't happen as my language skills (Spanish) are almost non-existant.
So on July 17 I will be at my post for 2 weeks.   I will be one of 4 for those 2 weeks and I am really looking forward to it.

I will report back in August.

Know Your Pilgrim Partner

Hello dear Pilgrims.  Haven't posted in a while as you can see.  I have been back to the Camino though.  2012 I walked from Pamplona to Burgos with some friends.  I then took the bus to Santiago and at last walked to Finnesterra!
My latest news is that I will be in Santiago for 2 weeks this year as a volunteer at the Pilgrim Office.  If you are there between July 17 and August 2 look me up!
The Camino continues to be a blessing in my life.  I turned 65 this year and I know that the walking has contributed to my health and well being.

Last year's walk was quite an experience.  One of the men that was with us was truly unprepared for the trip.  He had researched the walk and his packing needs very well, however, at the end of the day his decisions were not good.

First of all he is a severe type one diabetic but he neglected to tell us about how bad he was before we left.  On the first day out of Pamplona, we were very afraid that we were going to lose him, that climb is pretty strenuous.  Second, he had a 36 pound pack.  We left alot of clothing, etc in Pamplona because he had brought 2 of everything "Just in case..."  We had difficulty finding a place to stay that first day out and by 7 p.m., he was is such pain and anxiety that he cried when we finally found a place.

He only walked 4 part days after that, taking the bus and meeting us at our daily destination point.  He suffered greatly from his first day. 

Thankfully he was o.k. after 2 weeks but cut his walk short and changed his flight for home.  It was really hard on him as you can imagine.  We were greatful to him for taking the bus daily as we were able to enjoy our walk. 

I mention this as a caution to those of you who will walk in the future.  It is so important to pack light, really get to know your walking partners before you go and to make emergency plans should anything go wrong.

On my first Camino, my sister-in-law and I agreed before we left that if anything goes wrong, the other would continue walking once the problem was in good hands.  As it turned out, her shoes were too small and she suffered really awful pains.   She stayed in Lyon for a few days, took the bus once or twice and we were able to meet up a week later and finish into Santiago together.

Do pay attention to packing lists.  Check out my book "Planning Your Camino" on Amazon as part of your research and enjoy!

Buen Camino
Beverley