My feet is my only carriage. So I’ve got to push on through

Ten things I learned on the Camino:

That there are a myriad of ways to tackle the Camino, and it’s best to speak to a specialist to choose the route that’s best for you. We used Camino Ways …

That before boarding that plane, someone- thank you Jef in the green –

needs to map out the daily walks on All Trails – Sometimes those Camino seashells are hard to spot, not to mention decipher …

That making a bad weather call and joining our motley crew a day late was the right move

But when the sun came out there was no place I’d rather be..

That blister pads and poles are essential,

not to mention waterproof boots, wool socks, a sunhat, cash, battery charger and an open mind..

That the best conversations happen on the road

And since I walk a lot faster than my beloved Stretch those conversations were not with him

That I don’t like pinxtos, but love Catalan artichokes

That it’s good to get out of your bubble (for short periods), as long as there’s hot water, clean rooms and people to laugh with

And that I still don’t like the Beegee’s

The Camino delivers. At the end of each day I felt a mixture of exhilaration, exhaustion and peacefulness. I left my laptop at home and barely checked emails. There was a real sense of connection and community on the trails. Strangers were constantly wishing us a Buen Camino and vice versa. It felt freeing to be so switched off from the day to day grind and at the same time very focused on spotting those seashells, figuring out our route, lunch and getting from Point A to Point B each day. It was kind of like being on a very long treasure hunt. Who knew what was around the next bend.

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I lie, this is only one of the places- as we’ll be changing hotels (‘hotel’ seems generous) every night.

Stretch peppers most mornings now with statements like-

You’ll need to get mountain gloves as the mornings will be quite chilly.’

Has anyone ever heard of mountain gloves? Or …

“We should pack rain ponchos.”

Sadly, I know what that is, and the visuals are making me weep. From liner socks to clothes that wick to heel balm, this trip is anything but sexy.

This morning, Easter Sunday, a day of celebration or at least relaxation, I was just pouring my first cup of coffee in the kitchen- planning on bringing it right back to bed to start my daily meditation and journaling ritual- when I got distracted by Stretch who was busy trying on his latest purchase- a complicated and ugly backpack.

“So, you see it has these belts in the front, one by your waist and another by your chest to distribute your weight evenly” he explains as he snaps various buckles like a flight attendant in my kitchen.

I nod sleepily. He’s kind of blocking my way to the stairs and thus my bed.

“And then…” (He’s now taking the backpack off, walking to the sink, turning on the tap and filling a huge aqua-colored sac within the backpack with tap water) “There’s this nifty section here where you can store water. And another here where you’ll keep your electrolyte cocktail.”

Generally, with Stretch when he’s on a nerdy roll like this, I nod a lot, don’t ask any questions and try to exit the space quickly and subtly.

“You’ll need to take your bathrobe off”

“What? I ask.

“It’s too thick. This is your backpack. You need to try it on.”

Readers, I am wearing a luxurious la Perla nightgown and a thick warm terrycloth bathrobe and Ugg slippers. Not a hiking outfit in any size, shape or form.

“I am not taking off my bathrobe,” I say imperiously, moving past him with speed, Josephine in tow.

My morning zen has been shaken by this man I married. We are in some ways very different people. Do opposites really attract? Some days I wonder.

Postscript-

I just came back from an Easter day hike. Stretch said we needed to train for Spain. He told me the hike was 4 miles with ‘some elevation.’ Dear readers, if there’s one take away from this blog, never ignore or underestimate the word ‘elevation.’ We just climbed gargantuan boulders, the size of meteorites. Maybe they were meteorites.

One of these rocks had a chain to help you pull yourself up. I kid you not. I would have turned around but that was even scarier. Have you ever tried sliding down a boulder? Stretch always does this- takes me on a loop hike where the only thing to do is move forward. On the way home I asked him how much ‘elevation’ we covered. “1200 feet, the same as climbing up the Empire State Building. You should be proud of yourself” I would be if I wasn’t so tired.

So, on this celebratory exhausted note, Happy Easter! I hope you all had a great Easter with zero elevation. And if you know of a nice hotel along this Camino thing, please email me pronto.

April, 2023

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Here are my nine Easy Dos and Don’ts for anyone who is 50+ planning a honeymoon with their beloved. My tips guarantee that when the honeymoon is finito, your marriage won’t be.

Do be chill about where you go — I wanted to go to Italy, being a pasta-over-paella, Rome-over-Madrid gal but Italy’s quarantine rules for those coming from the UK made that a no go. Accepting that no honeymoon will be perfect, starting with the destination, is a good way to keep your attitude in check. You might just realize that someone in Madrid has an amazing recipe for asparagus and string beans.

So go with the flow and you might be surprised at how much you like where you end up. Lovely Lisbon and Comporta in Portugal for example …

 Don’t Forget You Aren’t Twenty Anymore – It’s not all about the adventure, it’s also about the arthritis. My Away suitcase gets an A*- great for storage, love the tidy compartments, and most importantly, the wheels work really well in airports, train stations and on other smooth surfaces, less well on cobblestones, sandy paths and stone steps. I love the nifty bag that comes with it- my back and shoulders were ever so grateful.

Do Save the Multi-Country Expedition for When You’re Not on Your Honeymoon – Three countries in three weeks was probably two countries too many, especially with the added expense and hassle of Covid tests. Any post-spa bliss was erased by the nail-biting wait for test results—Would we get them in time for our flights? Would they be negative? Where do we save them on our phone for easy access at the airport? Stretch proved himself a model husband. He remained relaxed and tech savvy throughout. But even when Covid is over, you might still want to heed this honeymoon tip. After all, wouldn’t you rather gaze at the sunset from some idyllic perch that isn’t an airplane window?

Don’t Take a Three Week Honeymoon –  Let’s face it, when you get older, you pretty much always want your own bed. Three weeks is about a week too long even when you’re having the time of your life. Throw in a new husband, and you risk several moments of TMI. I love Stretch, but I also like a touch of mystery, and the mystery disappeared around day 16, maybe even 15—right about when he shared his toe-nail clipping techniques with me. What’s seen cannot be unseen.

Do Remember, It’s OK to Spend Time Apart on Your Honeymoon–  In fact, I highly recommend it. We were relaxing by the pool at the peaceful and luxurious Cap Rocat hotel in Mallorca. Once a military fortress, Cap Rocat is now a unique and uber-chic five star oasis with a zen spa, pool plus beach plus delicious beachside restaurant. Why would anyone want to leave?

I have to exercise every day or I’ll go nuts, “ announced my new husband after a lazy day by the pool.  “I found a great hike for tomorrow. It’s an hour’s drive.

I should have said:

No problem new husband, I’ll see you when you get back from your eight-hour odyssey. What’s eight hours apart when we have a lifetime?”

I should not have said:

It’s our honeymoon, we need to be together. I’ll come with you.”

I am a fearful person. Stretch is not. The ascent on our hike the next day was not the issue. It was quite lovely in fact.

It was the descent where marital cracks surfaced.

I don’t do heights.’ I said when I spotted the vertical boulder-filled ravine that I was expected to scale down. If I stumbled, Stretch would be wifeless.

Needless to say, I did fall and survived, but only barely.

After that we had trouble finding the path.

Time to retreat to your inner child where getting lost was half the fun,” Stretch joked. I wasn’t amused.

So, he tried a different tact—

See those rocks there, that means there’s a path nearby. Call me ‘the path whisperer”.

Luckily for our new marriage, he was right.

Do Spend Some Time with Friends if You Can– This isn’t your first rodeo. No one needs to be with their partner solo every waking hour. See friends en route. Mix it up. Alternate alone, not alone, alone. It gives you something to talk about. We stayed with friends in Provence and Comporta: two places I would go back to in a heartbeat.

Do Plan Ahead –   Spontaneity is great, but not during Covid where numbers of visitors are being limited and lines can be long. I’m glad we booked tickets to the Arles Photography Festival and equally glad that our organized friend Dede thought to book a guide – the fair is huge and rambling. It takes place throughout the historic town, including in a supermarket. Our guide helped us navigate what to see and what to skip.

In Portugal, we missed seeing the spectacular Baroque library at Coimbra University,  apparently, one of the most stunning libraries in the world, and an inspiration for Harry Potter films. Who knew you needed tickets to see a library and that the ticket office would be impossible to find. We’ll just have to go back.

Don’t Plan Ahead –  On the other hand, a honeymoon is really supposed to be a relaxing time. Maybe choose your destination based on the hope that if all else fails you will sit by a pool, or on a beach, or at a cafe or on a terrace sipping rosé or Port Tonic – a delicious Portuguese cocktail we discovered at the stunning Six Senses in the Douro Valley –  reminiscing about when exactly he fell madly in love with you.

Do Notice How Wonderful Your Partner Is –  My tips above are about the holiday, not the husband. Stretch proved to be almost as perfect as his wife. He’s super patient (I don’t find Waze or Google Maps that straightforward), highly competent (he does find Waze and Google Maps that straightforward), forgiving (I was a tad moody the night my earring got stuck in my ear and my cell phone wasn’t working- both disasters at the same time!) and he’s pretty much always sweet, upbeat, curious, attentive and loving – except when he doesn’t get his exercise.

August, 2021

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My favourite writing teacher Elise Valmorbida is leading one of the retreats. Her latest book Madonna of the Mountains is being published by Faber next year.

Her publisher loves the novel  “a 21st century Gone with the Wind“. Read what Faber said about it here. So even if it rains everyday on idyllic Syros  (which it won’t), go if you can!

June 2017

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You sure that’s a good idea- we don’t speak Spanish? Stretch asked.

The place is supposed to be phenomenal. It’s the only fun thing I’ve booked. It’ll be great.

Not if we sleep through it it won’t. Never book a special meal – the kind you want to nonchalently boast about when you get home – after a long flight, especially where a non-refundable deposit and an inflexible maitre d’ are involved. Then Stretch evened things out by forgetting to rent a car. And then Stretch evened things out even more by telling the taxi driver in his best Spanish where to take us. Suffice to say that while the National Art Museum of Catalan on the outskirts of town was not where we intended to go, we liked it nonetheless.

It’s always good on a holiday to be prepared and have a just-in-case mantra – the one you learned when things weren’t looking so peachy.  ‘Life is a journey’ is my failsafe fallback. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it. Nora Ephron’s “Everything is copy” is another saviour.

Barcelona is a beautiful, vibrant city by the sea with glistening architectural eye-candy.  I really wish that I’d known Antoni Gaudí, genius master builder of Catalan Modernism – I think I would have really liked him. As he’s no longer around, I made do with his fab buildings which look as fresh and original today as they did a hundred years ago.  Below are a rooftop and a gate from Gaudi’s La Pedrera.

And that’s Stretch below, not Gaudi descending from the heavens.

The Cathedral of Barcelona began construction in 1298. Its central tower was not finished for another six hundred years. Builders!

The line snaked around the corner of  Gaudi’s most famous building, the Sagrada Familia. In the future we’re booking ahead.

Next stop was Mallorca where we stayed at one of those hotels that I’d go back to in a second. Owned by a Swedish-couple, Hotel Portixol overlooks the sea, has a stylish poolside restaurant, contemporary, clean, light-filled bedrooms,  and a laid-back, bohemian-chic vibe. Plus, it’s a pleasant 20 minute walk along the coast to Mallorca’s bustling capital city, Palma.  Be sure and request a room with a terrace facing the Mediterranean.

I had planned to do a bit of shopping in Palma in the the charming Old Town with its ancient buildings and leafy squares.

One shop leading  my list was Rialto Living, touted as one of Europe’s top lifestyle stores with 2,400 square feet of interior design, fashion, art, gifts, books and accessories all under one nifty roof.

Then Stretch told me about his five minute rule.

Why is it that straight men hate shopping, especially when it’s browsing, i.e. no set goal involved? Stretch looked like he should have been in Rio doing the 100 yard dash he was so speedy at Rialto Living. These pics were taken on the fly – literally. (try and spot lanky bf darting ahead.)

I pointed to a whole line of men waiting patiently outside a huge impressive looking Zara on Passei del Born. I’d heard good things about this particular Zara. Stretch glanced at the men sympathetically as if they were sad lions at the zoo.

When I saw how happy Stretch and his son were doing man things like bouncing behind a boat,

or hurling themselves off of a cliff  (Stretch’s back hurt from the boating adventure so he abstained)

I decided to channel my inner goodness from deep, deep inside me. As long as I didn’t have to commit hari-kari, I was happy to spectate. Life is journey, and here is the copy.

An area where our interests do align with the stars is the sport of eating and drinking. Our favourite night spot was La Bodeguilla, a chic wine plus food spot on Carrer de Sant Jaume,

the same cobblestone street as our next favourite dining discovery, Tast Club.

La Bodeguilla is a cosy restaurant with delicious food and an extensive, affordable wine list, while Tast Club (tip from my friend designer Willie Yeoward) is more about the chic interiors and hip atmosphere. The iberico jamon is delish at both.

While in Palma don’t miss the Miro Museum. Check out the Spanish artist’s perfectly preserved studio next door and contemplate how he created his magnificent works.

September, 2016

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