davkel

Very quick post to say that after 500 kilometers both Kelly an I are in the camino 'zone'. We are both walking comfortably and pain free. It's almost a shame there's only 100 to go...... read more

Here's a post I made on the Camino Forum website. It contains some observations on walking so far: Having now walked Lisbon to Porto, I think it's time for me to pass some judgements on what I've experienced so far.General Observations ... read more

It's always the case that the camino will re-teach you what you should already know. Sunday's on the Iberian Peninsula are quiet. Very, very quiet. Kel and I left Tomar this morning and walked on quiet roads passing through quiet hamlets. These would have been quiet in the middle of the week, but on Sunday they were positively funereal. We passed the last cafe on the route at 10 and to survive until we arrived at Alvaiazere this afternoon at 3.00 on a bag of crisps, a can of lemon ice tea and some hideous chocolate in bread thing we bought at a service station. Every cafe in town is closed. The only restaurant opening nearby tonight we thought opened at 6.30. It opens at 7.30. We are re-learning patience - and living with hunger. Cheers ... read more

You all know those cliched rom-com moments? The one where the male lead - think Matthew McCona... I can't be bothered thinking of the spelling of his name, is bewailing his impending marriage to the female lead - think Kate Hudson - who at least has a spell-able name - usually with the phrase 'I'll never know the feeling of meeting another girl. The excitement of getting to know them, of learning all about them etc, etc'? You know those moments? Why does the man he is saying this to never say to him - 'Shut up - whenever you travel, whenever you discover a new city, you can have this feeling all over again, and you can have the joy of sharing it with Kate'. Because that's what happened to me this morning in Lisbon. ... read more

Is the third time a charm? Kel and I desert our children (not that they're children), for six weeks to walk northwards through Portugal from Lisbon to Santiago. It's been more than a tough few working months. I calculated that by the middle of the year I'll have spent more than half of the year out of Australia (that's counting this trip, but still). Saudi Arabia, where the work has primarily been, is at once the most exotic and the most boring place to visit. Exotic in the sense of being foreign and boring in the sense that we commonly understand it. The four weeks in Riyadh last month was too long to spend in a city were Fridays resemble Melbourne Sundays in the 1960s. When one is living in a compound with 20 foot high ... read more