I can't get my current photos to load on Google Plus yet...so I guess I will just type for now. My mind has been scrambling the last few days, getting from place to place. I think walking the Camino will be easier because the path is laid out for you. Not so much the days leading up to it. Yesterday, for example, I took a train to Pamplona (I was so excited about figuring out the two trains I needed to take for that). But once I got out I realized that there were no wifi hotspots at the station. I bought an international package through AT&T before I left...but that only promised me the ability to connect to a bunch of available hotspots....hotspots that weren't popping up at the station. I ended up turning on my "roaming" so that I could use my  HostelWorld app and book a room. The hostel was about 3 miles away so I decided to turn on "maps" and hoof it. They have round abouts in the city and my little beacon kept giving me misleading information. I only had an hour of sunlight left. I decided that I should try calling a taxi....using "roaming charges" to look that up. (I haven't found a market with a SIM card yet.). Finally, I waited at a bus stop that looked like it would go in the right direction. I took a screenshot of the place I was going with its address. When the bus arrived, I showed the picture  to the driver. Thankfully, he said yes and brought me there...letting me know when it was time to get off! The kindness of strangers to the rescue!  When I sat down to dinner at my hostel, I felt so grateful to have found my place to stay before dark, the goal for that day met. ✅

Ready, Set, Go!

It's a little crazy getting the last minute things ready. I was so excited to see or speak with everyone of my siblings, my kids, and my mom.  This really meant so much to me!  I'm packed and ready to go...                                                      

 

                                                                            

I've been practicing trying to blog on my phone and it is very different from using this computer.  It took me at least 20 minutes to get 2 photos on this page, and the blog page jumps around when I'm trying to work on it.  My blog might look kinda dumb until I work this out...but either way, even if the pictures have to go on FaceBook and Instagram while the journaling is on the blog along...I will share my trip!

Cell service may limit how often I can post.

Oh, I'm getting excited.. 

Well, I'd better go to the bank.  I almost forgot to get some US $$$!        

          

Go take a hike!

Patti

Get Ready, Get Set...

This summer’s heat had already killed the last of the ivy that ran along the eaves of my front porch. It felt as if last week’s heat wave was trying to finish off the rest of us as well.  

Have you ever notice that when people post
these kind of "car temperature" shots, it always
shows that the doors are the car is open. It's too
dang hot to close the doors for at least a few minutes!

This morning feels better.  

It is 7:20 am and I am not sweating.  

The cats seems intrigued with walking on the dead ivy branches, my dog has stopped panting, and I hear birds again.  I think it is going to be a good day.

The recent hot days have meant that good days to practice long hikes were harder to come by.  As I get ready to leave I will have to squeeze some in whenever I can between some of the other ways I've needed to prepare.

I wanted to share some of those other things that I’ve had to prepare. My ideas may help someone who wants to plan a long trip, but more likely…someone will have some great ideas to share with me. Please let me know via comment or a direct message if you’ve had something really work out for you. I know that some of you are expert travelers, please share with us what you’ve figured out!

 The Bills 

Let me start by saying thank you to Maru and Sarah for sitting with me and learning my bill pay system.  I do have some bills that auto pay, but it’s so nice to have real people (with real brains) reasoning over my real-life finances while I’m away. I am so lucky that they agreed to sit down with me and go over the myriad of ways I pay different things.  

There are some bills that I will take care of before I leave.  Usually my AT&T bill gets paid through my phone…but I can’t be certain that the necessary link-via-text will come through when my Spanish SIM card is in use.  So I’m putting enough money into my AT&T account to create a pool of credit that they can dip into to pay my bill each month that I’m away.  

I also paid $40 extra per month to be able to use my USA line while in Spain, too.  That might seem like a lot but it’s so much cheaper than the hundreds of dollars I paid in roaming charges after my “budget” trip to Puerto Vallarta!  I have a texting/photo sending habit which requires enough data to satisfy. 

This way I can switch back and forth between my Spanish SIM card and my USA account so that I can use my phone whenever I need to, saving data for precisely the time I need it most.  Having the phone completely set up gives me a feeling of security as a solo traveler.  I may not be able to shoot an attacker with my phone, but I can sure post their picture! LOL! 

Feeding/Caring for the Dog

Everyone needs a loving dog sitter when they travel, but when your dog is vegan…you really need a sitter that you can trust to prepare their food right. Enter Sarah and Maru…do you see a pattern?  These two are my travel heroes.  They love my dog…so they are the best sitters for our Jazzy.  

 

I mix a vegan kibble with a homemade preparation.  Maru and Sarah have watched me make Jazzy’s food many times, so I just pre-ziplocked all the dry ingredients to make the prep go easier.  They are learning to use my Instant Pot pressure cooker to make the base recipe of sweet potatoes, brown rice, and lentils as well.

Maru knows Jazzy’s vet as well as I do.  The whole family gives Jazzy love every time they pass her.  She makes sure she gets noticed by laying in the most awkward positions right at doorways so you have to talk to her to ask her to move.  She usually gets love every time!  So I’m not worried that she will ever be hungry, sick, uncomfortable, or feel unloved.

My only concern now is that Jazzy will realize she doesn’t need me anymore when I get back!

Clearing out the Fridge

It’s weird for me to go on my weekend shopping trip and have to ask myself, ”If I buy that, can I eat that up within 10 days?” I don’t want to leave food to get fuzzy in the crisper…so I’m keeping the shopping down to only what I can consume soon.  I’m guilty of leaving food to get fuzzy in the past when I went on shorter trips. I just think that with a two month absence, a mold monster could be born.  I don’t think it’s cool to have other people need to clean, or live with, my mega mold monster. One problem, however, is that the food is the fridge doesn't look appealing to me! Look at this mess!

So far, I have mixed leftover spaghetti with mushrooms and marinara sauce fromTwo Guys with my leftover homemade chile.  It was actually really good! Two ziplocks down, not bad!  I am buying small cartons of coffee creamer instead of the big one even though it doesn’t work out as cheaply.  Most importantly, I am looking in the fridge and figuring out what to make based on what I have. I usually don’t do that because I am terrible at making impromptu meals…at least ones that taste good.  I don’t know what the name of that skill is…but I don’t have it.  Maybe this is my pre-Camino lesson, to make stuff from the fridge!

I am also cleaning up my side of the room, my bathroom cabinet, and my car.  I want to return to a fresh start when I get back.

Plane fare
I purchased my air fare months ago. Don't get me wrong, I love spontaneity, but when it comes to getting the best prices...I try to buy my tickets as early as I can.  I love using a site called Skyscanner.  This site really helps if you have the ability to be flexible with the dates you want to leave.  You can get their app on your phone or find it at skyscanner.com. 

If I have dates that I definitely need to go, I just type them in.  When I hit "Search Flights" they will pull up the best deal they could find for those days.  

The real cool part is if you don't have definite days.  Just hit the "depart date" field and a monthly calendar will appear.  

Their is an option on the top of the calendar where you can select "whole month."  

Next, choose the month you think you would like to leave in and click on it.   It will seem to take you back to the original page but notice that they have filled in the depart/return dates with the month you chose.  

Now select "choose flights" and a calendar will come up with the prices for each day.  

Sometimes the prices are just slightly different, other times there is a big difference. If you find a day that works for you and has the right price...just select it and you can be finished booking your flight in minutes.
(check to see if you have clicked on one way or round trip before booking!)

I have use other apps to look for fares (Kayak and Hopper) but this one keeps winning me back.

Travel Insurance
Because I always buy cheap tickets, I end up getting travel insurance to make sure my trip is insured in case something unexpected comes up.  Many of the cheapest seats on a plane are non-refundable.  

I know, you're probably thinking that I could have bought a more expensive ticket and had the same thing...but with travel insurance comes other benefits that are worth having.  Like dental insurance in case you get a surprise killer toothache, or a filling falls out.  What if you get sick?  What if....you can fill in all the blanks.  For the same price that I can get insurance for my health and safety, I can insure my cheap tickets.  

I have used two insurance companies that I've been happy with; insuremytrip.com and world nomads.com
I have liked Insure My Trip because it works like Progressive does with car insurance.  If you put in your travel dates and destination, it will come up with a list of policies from the minimum coverage to comprehensive.  You can pick a package that suits your needs and know the price up front.  

With World Nomads I loved the benefit of them having good coverage for the trips that involved more excursions or "dangerous" fun things to do.  The prices are really reasonable, too.

How cool would it be to make a space trip! I think I would need more than travel insurance, though!

BTW: This is from the Space Museum inWashington DC and was in the movie"Hidden Figures."

Guide Books, Videos, and Forums
I cannot get enough of watching videos/movies about where I'm going.  I love watching other people's YouTube videos that show me portions of their experience.  I have picked up a million tips from that resource (e.g. dinner is at 8:30 pm in Spain, so eat lunch late and be ready to wait!)  

I also love my guidebook about the Camino because every time I have learned some history about where I am going, my experience has been a zillion times better. It also includes all of the maps, tips for places to stay and eat for each stage of the walk.  If you ever walk a camino, just check Amazon for the guidebook that fits the exact camino you have chosen.

Best of all, for this trip, I have loved using the caminodesantiagoforum.com .  This forum is hosted by people who have already completed a variety of the caminos and have huge, helpful hearts.  I can log on anytime and post a question in a frenzy, and be talking to someone who has all the answers in no time.  Many other people will post answers to your questions as well.  I can't believe how helpful the different perspectives and advice has been.  
(Thank you Wily!)

Miscellaneous 
I've chosen to recover from my walking days by staying with a friend who lives on the Canary Islands. This meant I needed to send clothing on through the mail so that I would have something that smelled pleasant to wear during my visit.

It seems as if I've been preparing something everyday lately, but I think I've covered the biggest items. Again, if anyone has learned something via their own travels and wants to pass on the tip, I would appreciate that...it would be so cool. 

Well, I’d better start walking and cleaning.

So until next time - go take a hike!

Patti

PS:  At the time of this post, my fridge looks way better. 😇

Weight Training Even I Can Do

I have been really frustrated by the fact that no matter how much I hike lately, I can't seem to lose a pound.  I can hike for 6 miles in the mountains, 10 miles around the city, with or without my big fat backpack...and I won't shed even one pound.

I have even been trying to watch how much I eat and to make the healthiest choices possible.  Even as a vegan, it is incredibly simple to make bad food choices...after all, potato chips, oreos, pizza dough with faux pepperoni, spicy eggplant dishes, and many beers are vegan.  I know that I tend to eat too much even of good things...but still. It seems like all of this walking should count for something!

Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    There is no shortage of good things to eat...and I love good food.  So while I do have success at avoiding the potato chips and oreos, I usually end up having one meal like the ones in these pictures about twice a week.
   Some of them come with white rice or pasta...and go really well with a cold beer.

Ok, maybe I do understand why I don't lose weight!

A virgin Mango Margarita 

An amazing vegan burger with fries

Black bean nachos with salsa
and...a beer.

Black bean sopes that I ate in an airport in Mexico

Beans and rice with marinated carrots...oh, and
a beer. I think I see a pattern!

These were the best tacos I've ever had. A man in Puerto
Vallarta Mexico made these mushroom tacos in his little taco
stand on the side of the road.

I learned some other information that shed some light on my situation, too.  I found out that as a baby boomer...I have probably already lost 20-40% of my muscle mass just from getting older.  I read that if I don't actively try to avert the muscle loss, I can continue to lose muscle until I am just a mushy old person who can't perform simple tasks.  

I also found out that aerobic exercise, like my hiking, can get rid of some overall body fat, but it won't shape up my body the way I want it too.  It is making my calves and thigh muscles stronger...and those muscles weigh more than fat...so I am in the middle of a balancing act where my body is gaining some muscles mass which may end up weighing a little more than the small amount of fat that I'm able to make disappear when I hike.  (Does that make sense?) So while it's good that I have a bit more muscle and a bit less fat than before...I need to make some changes in my daily exercise routine if I want to see some real results.  That's where strength training comes in.

The strength training workout I've started using requires 

3 lb. weights. Well, I have 2 lb. and 1 lb. weights.  Thankfully they both

fit in one hand. A lady's got to do what a lady's got to do!  

I have always found weight lifting to be undesirable, confusing, and something that would take up too much of my time to get involved with.  I've had personal trainers work with me at a gym...but they never taught me anything that would help me work on my own.  I always still felt incredibly dependent on the trainer to know what exercises to do.  I couldn't tell which exercise machines I should go sit at...or which muscles I really should focus on.

A boomer friend recommended a book from way back in the day, back when I probably should have started strength training and didn't.  I have fallen in love with this author because she has laid out the terms, the exercises, the machines...all in really easy terms that have filled in some of the gaps that I had in understanding how to make the strength training work in my life.

These are the books my friend recommended.
The meal plan it includes isn't vegan, but it was easy to veganize.

The coolest parts are that the routines are 12 minutes a day, and I won't need more than 3 lb. weights for a few months. I can actually stay with the 3 lb. weights as long as I want. This is perfect because I thought I would have to start working on this upper body and lower body strength routines when I got home from the Camino de Santiago in November, (two months from now!) but I can use my two water bottles from my backpack as weights and just spend 12-15 minutes every morning doing my workout before I hit the trail.  This has got me so pumped, I started the workout today.

I will be making some changes to my diet...that part is inevitable.  I will eat less white rice, more greens, add chickpeas to my salads...And.Not.Drink.Beer.For.Now. I will only add whole, plant based fats, and even then, sparingly.  

According to the book, I should see some results in three weeks.  That would be great...to see some results before I leave for my big hike. I'm dreaming that I can continue to work out and really surprise my family when I get back later this year.

Having more muscles will mean that I can lose some of that nagging, tenacious fat I've been dying to get out of my way.  If I lose enough weight, my backpack will probably sit right on my back instead of my butt looking like a backpack shelf.  I believe that I will be able to bend my body more to scramble over rocks on the Appalachian Trail and fit through the narrow caves that I will have to wiggle through.  In other words, I can't wait to get rid of old weight that literally gets in the way of my hiker dreams.  I want to really live my last half without unnecessary  limits.  I dream of getting strong and becoming an athlete...a baby boomer transformed! I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, take care
and go take a hike!  

Peace!

     

Packing a Cruelty Free Back Pack Part 3

Today's post is the last of the three parts titled "Packing a Cruelty Free Back Pack."  In it I will show you the rest of the items I have found to help my backpack be a guilt free load to carry on my upcoming trip to the Camino de Santiago.  It has been so much fun creating these posts...I don't think I've ever scrutinized the things I'd be taking on a trip anywhere before...ever.  I've learned a lot about what I can include in my pack...and what to avoid that I may have thoughtlessly put in my backpack before.

This is me testing out the Nemo
that has a figure 8 shape to give
a girl a little room to move.

                                              The largest item in my pack is my sleeping bag. I have to admit that I had to buy a new sleeping bag in order to put this cruelty free pack together.  My old sleeping bags were both down feather mummy bags...one was a Kelty while the other was a Nemo.  Both are great bags (although I've fallen out of love with the Kelty mummy bag because it absolutely encapsulates me...I can't move in that thing.)  The Nemo was supposed to be my improved bag...it has a figure 8 design and allows more room for your arms and knees so you can get blood flowing back to most parts of your body in the middle of the night.  However, now that I'm packing a cruelty free sleeping bag that is light enough to back pack with...I found a brand I had never heard of before to save the day.

Norsens Camping E220 2-3 Season Bag

I haven't slept in it yet, but I already think this bag is pretty awesome. It is described on Amazon.com as "Norsens Hiking Camping Backpacking Sleeping Bag Lightweight/Ultralight Compact, 0 degree Weather sleeping bag for Adults." It is 100% water resistant polyester with fill 100% cotton. It says it is ideal for near freezing temperatures. It weighs in at 2.5 lbs.  There are four straps that pull down and tighten this bag into a really small ball, making it easy to fit into the bottom section of my backpack.  It got it for $39.99  Less than $50!  That's pretty incredible! I will have to let you know how the bag fared on the trip...to see if I still love it...but so far, I'm so impressed!

This is my rain jacket by Northface. I think I'm crazy about it, too.  The materials are all synthetic, it is rain proof, it has zippers underneath the arms so that I can let air in (many rain jackets make you so sweaty that you might as well just let the rain get you!), and it's nice and light.

                             




                                     

In the photo I am pointing
to the zipper that allows you
to open up the jacket and let in air.

I love that the jacket has large pockets inside so that I can slip my cell phone into it, or other objects I don't want to get wet.                                       

 

I also really like that inside the pocket there is the Stow tag.  This means that I can fold the jacket up into that inner pocket and zip it closed.  I love that I don't have to babysit all of the little compression sacks! The people at Northface who put this jacket together also understood that I don't want a pouch that is so small that I can barely zip it closed.  Once I had the jacket stuffed in there, I found it to be perfect. It wasn't so tight that I had to fight to get the zipper zipped...but it was nice and compact so that I wasn't going to be wasting space.






This is how it looks 
when it has been stowed 
away.

This will stay in the 
very front section of 
my pack so that I have 
quick access to it.  

These are the sandals that I have chosen to wear in the shower and at night after I take off my boots.  I have been wearing these for so long already...I mean they have really been through it.  I have walked all over dirt roads in Costa Rica with these, walked in the Mexican Pacific ocean, and they have put in some good local mileage too.  These are called Xero shoes and are pretty minimalistic.  They're nice and light, the soles are thin enough that it's easy to slide these into the pack, and they have enough tread to help you feel secure on wet surfaces.  Each part of your foot can be velcro-ed in nice and tight for ocean walking or loosened up at night when your feet are swollen.

Osprey Pack Cover

This tiny little bag holds the backpack cover.  If it starts to rain, I can just pull this out and fit it over my Osprey nicely.  In theory, if I'm wearing my rain jacket and use this pack cover on my backpack, we should make it to shelter without having ruined my phone, its chargers, my passport and plane tickets...everything!  That sounds like it would be worth the two minutes it takes to get this on.  The pouch it comes in is separate...thank goodness it's small and I can stuff it in a waist belt pocket where it won't get lost.



Speaking of my phone and its charger....

The flash drive for an iPhone 7+ and its case ran about $50 for both

This is my phone, the charger, an external battery charger, a flash drive for the photos on my phone (64 GB) and the waterproof case that the flash drive goes into.  I love that I could get all of these items in a rose gold.  I'm not usually the "pink" kinda girl...but rose gold is fabulous!


Of course, I will need to bring some sunglasses, so I've chosen these blue ones that I picked up at a Big 5 Sporting Goods Store.  They are a little scratchy, but not too bad...and I really like the blue lenses. 

I will also need some cruelty free lip gloss and was pretty excited to be given this stuff as a gift!

Too many lip glosses that say they are all natural are made with bee's wax...and so they don't qualify as cruelty free.  This brand uses a plant based wax that works like a charm.  It feels good when I wear it, it's a tiny tube so it fits into my pack easily, and with some great flavors...this stuff is making its way onto my list of favorites.

north books found at gonorthbooks.com

This is my journal...a bullet journal that I will keep all of my diary entries into during my walk on the camino. I usually use one every day at home to stay organized because I love how easy it is to customize my format for calendars, daily to-do-lists, and meal planners. It will also work well on the camino because the journal is small and light.  The bullet points inside will help me to control the size of my writing and keep things neat.  I got mine (in a pack of 3) for about $9.00 from Amazon.

These are gators and the little blue bag where they will live when I'm not using them.  Gators go on your ankles and over your shoes to make sure that stones and water don't go into your shoes/boots.   I've heard that some hikers wear shorts in the rain...as long as they have gators on over there shoes and a rain jacket.  This will be my very first time using gators. I got these NUOLUX waterproof gaiters for $11.99, including the little pack to store them in.             

These are my hiking poles below.  I've had them for probably 4 or 5 years now...possibly longer.  They are Black Diamond Trail Ergo Poles with Cork handles.  The handles are slowly molding to my hand and wick away any sweat. They are really soft to hold onto. 

You might notice that I have tape wrapped around the poles about a foot below the cork handles.  It is Leuko tape which can come in handy for a blistered foot. If you get a blister, you clean the blister and then apply a patch of this tape over it.  This tape will keep your blister from rubbing against your shoe (like Moleskin) and is reputed to stay on even when you get it wet in the shower...repeatedly.  I tried it for one shower and it stayed on like a real trooper!  So I keep some rolled around my trekking poles so that it is handy if I need it. I may be rolling some duct tape on there also before I go.  Once...it was duct tape that helped me get rid of stinging nettles on my bum!

Remember the deodorant I mentioned in "Packing a Cruelty Free BackPack Part 2?"  Well, I forgot to mention that I wouldn't be lugging the entire jar with me. I actually fit enough deodorant from the jar into a contact lens case (it's on the right).  On the left, I have put enough of my rose petal face cream to apply it once a day during the trip.  The rose petal face cream will make me feel like I'm home...and if I can fit both the deodorant and the face cream into a contact lens case, I think that will be light enough.

  Andalou Beautiful Day Cream is vegan

                          

I haven't decided between my black puffy jacket (synthetic, not down) and my Columbia fleece jacket. The puffy jacket is lighter and would make a great pillow if I stuffed it in one of the mesh bags...but I feel like my backpack would be more stable on the fleece.  I'm going to have to practice with both...but regardless, they are both cruelty free and therefore options.

I do have a fanny pack coming in the mail, but other than that, I am pretty close to having shown you everything I will be bringing...wait, my toothbrush!

Well, now that you can be assured that I will brush my teeth...I think I will call this Cruelty Free BackPack a wrap! I hope it will help you as you pack your cruelty free backpack. 

So, until the next time...

take a hike!

Patt!

Peace!