You CAN be too well prepared... so buy duct tape!

Two days before departure, I realize I have worn out the heels of my hiking boots! Can you imagine? I have hiked less than 40% of my upcoming 820 km trek, and I have just been told by my shoemaker that my boots will not last this hike. Furthermore, it is too late (timewise), for him to try to fix them. OMG, I press the panic button. I do that instinctively and then calm down later. It happens every time.

Many frantic messages, emails and calls back and forth to my wonderful daughter and son-in-law, have resulted in their obtaining a refund on my boots for me from a well-known outdoor store in Edmonton (MEC). That is wonderful!  It means that on my way to the airport tomorrow morning, I have to stop and buy a roll of the most expensive duct tape I can find.  When my boots really start to fall apart, I will duct tape them, find the nearest outdoor sporting goods store in whichever Spanish city I am closest to, and buy myself another pair of hiking boots. I am already overloaded in my backpack. Il n'en est pas question de charroyer une autre paire de bottines dans mon sac avant d'en avoir besoin.

ALL of which means that I will end up doing what I tried to avoid by breaking in my new boots and hiking  all over the North Shore IN THE FIRST PLACE; I WILL be breaking in a new pair of hiking boots somewhere on The Camino. Which is a no-no! So, I may be looking at blisters and aching feet after all, I guess.  Oh w-e-l-l, as we say in French; L'homme propose et Dieu dispose.  In other words, the best laid plans of mice and (wo)men... are all for naught. Hey, in the grand scheme of things... this is just the beginning of my adventures.

Un gros merci pour vos souhaits si nombreux, de "Buen Camino", "Bonne Route", "Safe Travels".