Hola First name / pilgrim 👋

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So I knew it had been a while but seriously it was October when I last sent one of these???!!!???

 

It's been in my calendar every week and I just kept bumping it down the road.

 

To be honest, I've been in a bit of a hole and now I realise why.

 

Yesterday I finished my book. 87,000 words sharing about my life over the last ten years and before through my Caminos. It has been a very deep introspection and has been emotionally and spiritually draining.

 

What I felt yesterday as I wrote those last words and sun beamed in through my window was pure relief (God, my hair has grown!).

 

I hadn't realised how much it was taking out of me.

 

Today I feel many things are possible that I just couldn't do during that time of going deep within. I was paralysed in many ways andnow I feel I have let go of it all. Maybe this is what colonic irrigation feels like ;-)

 

Could you help me with the title?

All prefixed with Your Way, Your Camino - Book 1.5:

My first book “Your Way, Your Camino: Book 1 – The Ultimate Camino Planning Guide” is a very practical Camino planning guide which I wrote before undertaking my deeper dive into Book 2 – The Inner Journey”.

 

One of the things I have learned through all my work and life was that the more honest I could be with people about my journey, what had happened and how I felt, the more it helped me and them.

 

The plan for book 2 was to dive into more about the feelings, emotions and discoveries of the Camino and how to identify, process and integrate these.

 

What this became was two books.

 

The book I have just finished writing has now become Book 1.5 and is more autobiographical about my Caminos and the feelings, emotions and discoveries on and as a result of them. It also has tips for dealing with the major themes that come up through my discoveries to support the reader on their Camino.

 

The next will be Book 2 which is intended to share ways and ideas that I have learned to work through all these and identify, process and integrate them, but that’s later - I need a rest 😉!

 

Above are a few suggestions for titles – please let me know which appeals to you as a pilgrim who might like to hear what someone has discovered on their Caminos that might help you too.

 

Just reply to this email with the numbers you like.

 

Thanks so much 😊

I have also now finished most of the videos of all of my Caminos. They are on the website but also on my YouTube Channel.

 

Here's the link and don't forget to subscribe to get notified of more as I add them…

So what news???

The main one is that we finally found a house in the Spanish Countryside on the Camino to make our home.

 

I mean - seriously it happened!

 

It's on the Camino de las Asturias - you remember that one I attempted last July but couldn't do because there was no infrastructure.

Yep, we decided to actually start to create one ;-)

 

The best bit is the little yellow arrow on the lampost by our allotment

We have 500m2 of house, workshops and stable to convert as well as a lovely graden and allotment.

 

It is so exciting, but is taking some adapting to. It's tough in the winter as it currently doesn't like to retain any heat but when the sun shines!!!! WOW, it's beautiful and the view of the Sierra de la Tesla mountain range is gorgeous.

 

The toughest part is being away from Jaun Carlos again as he is still working in Vitoria-Gastezi while my days are filled with sorting and DIY in the village - my favourite has been the powertool to remove old grout ;-P 

 

It's OK, we have done this before and I missed missing him, so it's nice to do that again.

In other news we attempted the Camino Catalan in December - just a few days from Barcelona to the Moonastery at Montserrat was the plan.

 

Unfortunately the route was closed due to a swine flu in the area.

 

2 lessons I learned;

 

1) Do a bit more research to check if all OK on the route - We had joined a FacebookGroup but it wasn't active. Asking in other groups would have been a good idea, or maybe a search online, or making a point of calling the local Camino Association, Ayuntamiento or Albergues in advance.

 

2) Go with what feels right to you - I posted on socials to help others in case they were planning it and some people commented that they we should have walked anyway and that you can't close a Camino. That might be OK for them but it wasn't for me. Watch for those opinions - They are like arseholes, everyone's got one!

 

It's still there - we will be back another day

I will update you soon on the book and upcoming workshops but until then…

Shout if you need 'owt