16 DAYS TO GO! Wild Animals on the Camino

Cantabrian brown bear

Yikes, bears on the Camino!  I thought it was a joke when I first heard this, but it is true!
From Wikipedia: 
Cantabrian brown bear refers to a population of Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. Females weigh, on average, 85 kg but can reach a weight of 150 kg. Males average 115 kg though can weigh as much as 200 kg. The bear measures between 1.6 – 2m in length and between 0.90 -1m at shoulder height. In Spain, it is known as the Oso pardo cantábrico and, more locally, in Asturias as Osu. It is timid and will avoid human contact whenever possible. The Cantabrian brown bear can live for around 25–30 years in the wild.

  
This is the location of the bears and also our route.  Note the snow in the picture!

 A view of the habitat of the bears and our route!  
Note the few houses, I have been told that some of the villages only have about 5 houses.  I presume this is a picture of one of the small villages. 










And I thought that the only animals on the Camino were bulls and dogs!  


 
 Apparently there are also wild horses in the area.  Every year in July there is a festival, the Spanish love festivals, and approximately 400 horses are round up, caught, have there manes and tails trimmed and the released into the wild again! This picture was taken in July 2014.










Some of the protected Iberian animals include: storks, several species of vultures, the Iberian wolf, Iberian wild boar, Iberian lynx, Cantabrian brown bear and Iberian fox.

Iberian Wolf

 

3 WEEKS TO GO

Pilgrim's shell (scallop shell, concha de vieira)

Only 3 more weeks, 21 days.  The time seems to be going very quickly now.
Today I am posting some interesting information about the Camino Shell.
The scallop shell has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings, even if its relevance may actually derive from the desire of pilgrims to take home a souvenir. Two versions of the most common myth about the origin of the symbol concern the death of Saint James, who was martyred by beheading in Jerusalem in 44 AD

Version 1: After James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, however, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.+

Version 2: After James' death his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. As James' ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on the shore. The young groom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, and the horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells.

I have been given my shell by someone who previously walked the Camino.  David found his shell on the beach at Struis Bay. 

ONE MONTH TODAY! Interesting video

San Francisco park, in the heart of the city of Oviedo

For anyone interested in seeing some of the area and towns we will be passing through, the link below shows an interesting short clip of the Primitivo route in Asturia.  It forms part of the route we will be walking as we start along the Northern or Coastal Route and then branch off to follow the Primitivo or original route.
Enjoy.

http://www.whereisasturias.com/the-camino-of-st-james-the-original-way/

5 WEEKS TO GO

This is what I will be taking for 7 weeks of walking! 

Lots of you have been asking about our kits.  Over the past 18 months I have slowly been working on what I will be needing for the walk.  It has been lots of fun and I think I have, at last, got to my final bits and pieces together.  Everything in the picture will be packed into my pack.  I have not included the clothes that I will be wearing i.e 1 pair boots, 1 pair socks and 1 pair sock liners, 1 set underwear, 1 pair trousers, 1 technical shirt and my hat.    The other "missing items" are my two water bottles.  I will be taking 2 pump water bottles which will hold 1.5L water. 

 

Sorted into categories for packing.

Once I had everything out I divided it into categories.  The green waterproof stuff sac contains all my clothing.  The blue bag at the back has night wear,  my sleeping bag, sleep shorts and t-shirt.  I still need to get one more dry sac which will hold the pink fleece and kikoi pictured in a plastic bag above.  This bag also contains everything I may need during the day e.g. mug, spork, penknife etc.  The plastic bag on the right has my rain gear.  This I will keep in the front pocket of my pack for quick and easy access.  My wash kit is in a ziploc bag leaning against the blue bag and the small khaki bag on top of pink things, is my first aid kit. 
The purple bag on the right will have things I want at hand whilst walking e.g. my camera, specs, purse, tissues etc. and finally the bag at the back will be around my waist under my clothing.  This will hold my passports, tickets and extra money.

Everything packed and still some space.

Finally all in the pack and the best part is, this pack weighs in at just over 5kg!  It seems I have reached my goal weight.

David is working on his pack and taking tips from me.  He insisted on us getting a scale which weighs things in grams.   I ordered a cheap scale from China on ebay.com which arrived safely.  It has been extremely helpful in making decisions on what to take. 

I am training with my pack filled with all sorts of odds and ends to make up the weight.  Yesterday I walked with 9.5kg.   David is walking with his pack filled with his Camino kit. 

35 days to go!