Count Down in Earnest

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37 days to go before my flight leaves. Things are moving quickly now . Time/space continuum warping my reality. I turned 70 a couple days ago , I turned 70 a couple days ago and I turned 70 a couple days ago . I have to repeat this to fully grasp it and yet, it ( grasping )doesn't work. Something just ain't right folks . My grandparents were 70 . I am not my grandparents! I'm gasping not grasping .

I might have a slight change of plans . Instead of Leaving from Los Arcos I will be back tracking a bit and probably leaving from Pamplona . Couple reasons for this , One: It's so much easier getting from Madrid to Pamplona then getting from Madrid to Logrono ,Two: I want to revisit a couple places I enjoyed in 2014 and also see a couple I missed plus I can save on taxi fare by adding these 58 miles to my trek . I will still have to pay for the albergues I stay at and some of the food I eat but I am there for the texture of the place and moment experienced, taxis be dam I say. Three: Who wants to stay two days R&R in Logrono when you can stay in Hemingway's Pamplona!

If you don't know what an Albergue is its a place to stay with many beds in the same room . It has one bathroom sometimes two , 2 electrical outlets where everyone fights over and a kitchen and central room where everyone hangs out in and gets to tell their story . Sometimes you get a communal meal with wine . It's cheap, pricing anywhere from a donation to12 Euros ($14) . Next is a hostel . This is a step up in quality from an albergue . Then you have your hotels . In France the Albergue is called a Geet , In the USA the Albergue is called a Flophouse . The big difference is in Spain only Pilgrims walking the Camino are premitted in to them



Last week I hyperextended my left knee on a slippery rock at Lake Fayetteville . I thought my pilgrimage was trashed. Here I am now 95% recovered and I owe that recovery in large part to yoga . I mentioned earlier that I take yoga twice a week. My friend and neighbor Tami Thomas is a certified yoga teacher and she gives me and her hubby free lessons . Yoga is not for the weak of heart . It challenges you to face the crusty musty parts of your ignored bones and atrophied muscles and get them back into a workable , manageable healthier place. I really think yoga help me get fixed quickly . I also LOVE it . Laurie's ice packs and tender loving care help heal the rest. I cannot show you a picture of Laurie . If I did that no yoga in the world could heal the hurt she would put upon me . I can however show you some pics of Tami . Tami btw is some what younger than me being in her early 50s 😊

I retire in 13 working days . Once disconnected from my professional life I will start in earnest ratcheting up getting ready for the Camino .

For now ... Buen Camino

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Happy 70 happy retirement
Good luck on the Camino. We will follow your blogs!