Have you ever thought of walking the Camino de Santiago?
Many people have. Maybe they’ve seen the Martin Sheen movie The Way and said to themselves, Gee, I’d like to try that! But it’s also easy to come up with excuses, like, I’m too old, I’ve got a bad back, I’m not fit enough, I don’t have time … fill in the blanks.
In the summer of 2018, my wife Bina and I walked over 200 miles from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela and arrived with zero blisters or other injuries. And we did this despite some age on us (me mid-60s, Bina late 50s) and a few heath issues (arthritis for me, diabetes and asthma for Bina).
Experienced hikers? Not! Until embarking on this month-long trek, we had never done anything more ambitious than a day walk in a park.
So, relax. Sauntering to Santiago: the Camino de Santiago for Slow Walkers will demonstrate that it is indeed possible for people who are not particularly young and fit to walk the Camino and enjoy the time of their lives.
Of course, some preparation is required, and we take you through those steps. We show you how to pick the route that’s most appropriate for your level of conditioning, suggest how you can approach your equipment choices and then how to pace yourselves on the trail so that each walking day is a comfortable experience rather than a stressful chore. And then we take you through each day of the journey, from Porto to Santiago, and describe all of the wonderful sights along the way.
If we can do it, you can too.
If you enjoy the book, don’t be shy about putting a review on Amazon. That will help bump the book up in the rankings and encourage other readers to give it a try.
Many thanks and Buen Camino!
Ken Cline (Yemen, 1983-1985)
