Twice last week I had to step out into traffic and pretend I was a traffic cop, because some cute dog came running out to meet Vimy, and had no problem running right across the road toward us. There is no way a dog was going to get killed in front of me, not on my watch. Me, rather than the dog, I figured. I could live with that! Thankfully, all vehicles had plenty of time to stop.
When you hike with a dog, you can't help but have encounters, which leads to my highlight of the week, and my lowlight of the week.
My LOWLIGHT: I had just passed a house where the German Shepherd tied up outside had been barking at Vimy constantly, straining at his leash, as we passed. I had reached the far side of this property and was ready to turn around when the owner dashes out and yells at me "Can you get going where you are going!" WHAT A ..... candidate for "charm school". Definitely lacking in the social graces, I would say. Well, if he had said that to me thirty seconds earlier, I would have nodded and left Vimy's big "bomb" on his front lawn. As it was, I had just stooped to pick it up. Too bad! So I replied oh so calmly and loudly, "I am just picking up my dog's poop off your lawn." It takes all kinds to make a world, doesn't it?
My HIGHLIGHT: I was alternating walking and jogging on a back road, when Vimy ran to make friends with a Black Lab. I stopped to chat for a few minutes with the young girl outside, eleven year old Olivia. Then I resumed my run and the next thing I knew, she was biking beside me. We exchanged more pleasantries about ourselves. When she asked me where I lived, I said I was really "homeless" at the moment, but staying in a friend's cottage until I leave on a hiking trip to Spain. Olivia didn't respond right away, as she gave this information some thought. Then she said, "I am sure if I asked my mother, she would let you stay with us". Spoken straight from the heart of a child, bless her.
Another Camino tidbit, for those of you who might be thinking of doing this trek, pilgrimage, hike, or craziness, as my former 90 year old neighbour Lucy, calls it;
I have read on a Forum that you should never, ever put your backpack on a bed in a hostel (albergue). BEDBUGS will invade your backpack. Ah... seems to me you shouldn't put your body on that bed either then?
CAMINO COUNTDOWN - 27 days to departure/départ en 27 jours
I have found a new love. It is hiking! Je suis mordue de ...la randonnée pédestre. I absolutely love it!
Since I last blogged, I have added another 50 kilometres and hiked every step of the way from Durham Centre to Charlo, and back. Not all at once though! I have hiked all the backroads around and taken two days to run, instead of hike. I now carry my full sized backpack, with 19 pounds of STUFF in it. All of which I tell myself I will need on The Camino, but some of which will surely stay behind when I do my last packing purge.
I have seen beauty and decay all around me. Panoramic views of la belle Baie, the scenic mountains of the Gaspé, the mother duck with her newborn goslings who waddled right across my path, the chickens who scooted up the road to get away from my curious Vimy, the cutie in the convertible who stopped to ask me where I was headed... and then there is the ubiquitous Tim Horton's coffee cup in the ditch, the constant litter of beer and pop cans, numerous abandoned and caved in houses- where families once lived, but everyone has "gone" away, never to come back. Amidst these contrasts, I have found pure and simple joy in putting one foot in front of the other, with Vimy leading the way.
Being out in the great outdoors, at all times and in all kinds of weather, I have made a few observations. People who litter in the backroads, will throw out more trash on the right hand side of the road, which leads me to believe they are getting rid of it before they hit the main drag, where, heaven forbid, they should be seen littering (or drinking in a vehicle!). The further north I trek though, the more pop cans and energy drink cans I see. "Bible Belt" country methinks? Bud is still number one though!
J'ai appris que l'appli "RunKeeper" est tout simplement merveilleux comme outil. Je n'ai plus besoin de me servir de mon cerveau pour mes calculs de distance, etc. L'appli fait tout ça et me le dit. La technologie ne cesse de m'émerveiller.
J'ai réussi à ramasser cinq gros sacs de bouteilles recyclables pendant mes randonnées. Étant éco-consciente, je ne peux pas m'empêcher d'en ramasser, et je les mets dans le bac réservé au Radiothon des Roses, au centre de recyclage. Un bon oeuvre mène à un autre bon oeuvre, non?
Camino Tidbit: Over 270,000 pilgrims (pelegrinos) hiked The Camino last year; less than 3% were Canadian. I guess I will stick out like a sore thumb with my Canadian and Acadian flags, the latter of which will be on my facecloth hanging off my backpack to dry. :)
Since I last blogged, I have added another 50 kilometres and hiked every step of the way from Durham Centre to Charlo, and back. Not all at once though! I have hiked all the backroads around and taken two days to run, instead of hike. I now carry my full sized backpack, with 19 pounds of STUFF in it. All of which I tell myself I will need on The Camino, but some of which will surely stay behind when I do my last packing purge.
I have seen beauty and decay all around me. Panoramic views of la belle Baie, the scenic mountains of the Gaspé, the mother duck with her newborn goslings who waddled right across my path, the chickens who scooted up the road to get away from my curious Vimy, the cutie in the convertible who stopped to ask me where I was headed... and then there is the ubiquitous Tim Horton's coffee cup in the ditch, the constant litter of beer and pop cans, numerous abandoned and caved in houses- where families once lived, but everyone has "gone" away, never to come back. Amidst these contrasts, I have found pure and simple joy in putting one foot in front of the other, with Vimy leading the way.
Being out in the great outdoors, at all times and in all kinds of weather, I have made a few observations. People who litter in the backroads, will throw out more trash on the right hand side of the road, which leads me to believe they are getting rid of it before they hit the main drag, where, heaven forbid, they should be seen littering (or drinking in a vehicle!). The further north I trek though, the more pop cans and energy drink cans I see. "Bible Belt" country methinks? Bud is still number one though!
J'ai appris que l'appli "RunKeeper" est tout simplement merveilleux comme outil. Je n'ai plus besoin de me servir de mon cerveau pour mes calculs de distance, etc. L'appli fait tout ça et me le dit. La technologie ne cesse de m'émerveiller.
J'ai réussi à ramasser cinq gros sacs de bouteilles recyclables pendant mes randonnées. Étant éco-consciente, je ne peux pas m'empêcher d'en ramasser, et je les mets dans le bac réservé au Radiothon des Roses, au centre de recyclage. Un bon oeuvre mène à un autre bon oeuvre, non?
Camino Tidbit: Over 270,000 pilgrims (pelegrinos) hiked The Camino last year; less than 3% were Canadian. I guess I will stick out like a sore thumb with my Canadian and Acadian flags, the latter of which will be on my facecloth hanging off my backpack to dry. :)
CAMINO COUNTDOWN CONTINUES-COMPTE À REBOURS CONTINUE
Well, I have hiked all over the rolling hills of the North Shore and even across the Baie to Mont St. Joseph in the Gaspé, since July 7th. I did take a break this past weekend for a big family birthday party blowout. In 11 days I have hiked over 100 km. Only one little blister. Thank you to my favourite son-in-law who lent me his expert advice and help on choosing the right hiking boots and socks. He was right!! Un gros merci à ma fille aussi pour l'emprunt de son sac à dos. J'ai réussi à porter 14 livres sur mon dos, sans m'écrouler par terre. J'ai même pu faire un petit besoin dans le bois, sans l'enlever et sans tomber sur dos!
From my hikes I have made a few observations. Firstly, the beer of choice in this area is Bud and Bud Light. I know because I have made a point of picking up some cans on my way home. That is my way of being "eco friendly", one small gesture at a time.
Secondly, the lottery tickets of choice are the pop-opens, because someone loves to buy them and chuck the losers out the window of their car. They are all over the main drag. I should have them all picked up by the time I leave in mid-August. Another "eco friendly gesture" on my part.
I have hiked as early as 6:30 in the morning, and as late as 2:30 in the afternoon on a hot day. NO dawn or dusk for me; I am not into meeting any bears or moose, BOTH of which have been spotted on these roads. Je suis une grosse peureuse!
Vimy (my faithful dog and companion on ALL my hikes) has been spooked more than once by fake lawn deer; I have seen the cutest little front garden full of gnomes of every size and shape; I have been surprised by a "deluxe outhouse" on a front lawn (for show only!) and had a senior citizen in a purple pantsuit (so sixties!) whiz by me on her bicycle, with a perfectly coiffed head of hair! I had spotted her leaving a hairdressing salon two minutes earlier.
However, the highlight of my travels was stopping to chat with the mother of an old school friend of mine. She was stepping out of her house at 8:00 am, dressed perfectly from head to toe, including hat and pearls, and carrying a milk pail. She was on her way to get fresh milk at her son's farm behind her house. Did I mention she is 90 years old?
Jane, you are an inspiration to us all!
From my hikes I have made a few observations. Firstly, the beer of choice in this area is Bud and Bud Light. I know because I have made a point of picking up some cans on my way home. That is my way of being "eco friendly", one small gesture at a time.
Secondly, the lottery tickets of choice are the pop-opens, because someone loves to buy them and chuck the losers out the window of their car. They are all over the main drag. I should have them all picked up by the time I leave in mid-August. Another "eco friendly gesture" on my part.
I have hiked as early as 6:30 in the morning, and as late as 2:30 in the afternoon on a hot day. NO dawn or dusk for me; I am not into meeting any bears or moose, BOTH of which have been spotted on these roads. Je suis une grosse peureuse!
Vimy (my faithful dog and companion on ALL my hikes) has been spooked more than once by fake lawn deer; I have seen the cutest little front garden full of gnomes of every size and shape; I have been surprised by a "deluxe outhouse" on a front lawn (for show only!) and had a senior citizen in a purple pantsuit (so sixties!) whiz by me on her bicycle, with a perfectly coiffed head of hair! I had spotted her leaving a hairdressing salon two minutes earlier.
However, the highlight of my travels was stopping to chat with the mother of an old school friend of mine. She was stepping out of her house at 8:00 am, dressed perfectly from head to toe, including hat and pearls, and carrying a milk pail. She was on her way to get fresh milk at her son's farm behind her house. Did I mention she is 90 years old?
Jane, you are an inspiration to us all!
COUNTDOWN TO EL CAMINO - COMPTE À REBOURS
El Camino:
Je pars faire El Camino dans 42 jours. J'ai commencé mon entrainement physique de façon sérieuse. Hier j'ai fait 7.5 kilomètres avec mon sac à dos de 9 livres. Aujourd'hui je n'ai pas trop mal. D'ici mon départ, je dois tout simplement tripler le parcours et doubler ma charge. C'est simple comme bonjour!
I leave for The Camino in 42 days. I have started my get-in-shape training. Yesterday I hiked 7.5 kilometres with a 9 pound backpack. I don't hurt too much today! All I have to do between now and my departure in 42 days is triple my distance and double my backpack load. Piece of cake, right?
I hasten to add for those who might not know - El Camino is a Spanish word meaning the road. It is universally used to describe a 820 km pilgrimage through southern France (very short part) and northern Spain. The destination is the church of Santiago de Compostella,(St Jacques de Compostelle), where this saint is buried. For many, like myself, it is not so much a religious pilgrimage, but rather a physical challenge, whereby our inner spirituality will also guide us along the way. I am going with a dear, old friend of mine who now lives in Michigan. We hope to well represent the friendship between our two countries, as we hike the mountains, flatlands, valleys, and cities of northern Spain.
I hasten to add for those who might not know - El Camino is a Spanish word meaning the road. It is universally used to describe a 820 km pilgrimage through southern France (very short part) and northern Spain. The destination is the church of Santiago de Compostella,(St Jacques de Compostelle), where this saint is buried. For many, like myself, it is not so much a religious pilgrimage, but rather a physical challenge, whereby our inner spirituality will also guide us along the way. I am going with a dear, old friend of mine who now lives in Michigan. We hope to well represent the friendship between our two countries, as we hike the mountains, flatlands, valleys, and cities of northern Spain.
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