After days of trips and much expense I will finally start walking in the morning. If September is a light month on the Camino, a heavy traffic month must look like the Macy’s parade. Yesterday 350 people started the. Walk. This summer the average was 450 per day. To think that I ran into hundreds of people that never heard of the Camino. So far my prediction of a million friends along the trail that I have not yet met just might come true. This is a cute mountain town that looks like it could be in Bavaria. It is filled with people of every continent and every age. I am not the oldest nor heaviest so I remain confident. Big day tomorrow. 27 km up hill over 5000 ft and in the rain. Sure know how to have fun in retirement
caminopapi 
MIke,
I am enjoying your messages and continue to pray that your trip will be without incidents. Good luck to you on your first leg. My thoughts are with you and I wonder if I could do that walk in the next 2 years.
Caesar
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¡Vamos,vamos! Estoy esperando a mitad del Camino. Me preparo para recibir a esos cientos de Peregrinos que se acercan.
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You’re the best!
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And…..you’re off!!! What a great photo. I keep thinking of the amazing stories you are going to have — mostly about the people, the towns and the experience (i.e. food), and perhaps that will outweigh the stories of fatigue and blisters! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
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Michael, best wishes on what may turn out to be the most difficult of the trek. Uphill, rainy, and your rookie day – tough combination. But, I’m confident that you can do this with the panache that you had with other challenges.
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By the time you read this you’ll be at Roncesvalles, and enjoying a couple of well-deserved cervesas at La Posada… Don’t let the sign get you down…
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