Pre-trip: Day 1 - Making the Decision!

I have been thinking about walking the Road to Santiago for a few years now.  If I am honest - its because I read Paulo Coehlo's book The Pilgrimage.

It never seemed like a good time to go.  There were so many other places to see and things to do since I moved to Europe.  I went to Santiago de Compostela a few years ago by train from Barcelona after a conference for work.  Its a gorgeous city, but going by train isn't the same as walking the 783 kilometers (487 miles) to get there seems a bit far-fetched.  If I felt pretty awe-struck seeing the cathedral and the shrine after wandering in from the train station - it will be even more awe-inspiring walking in after 30 days on the road!!  I can't wait!
Now those who know me will be very surprised by this decision.  I might go away hiking most weekend in the summer, but I am a very fair-weather hiker, to say the least.  I am extremely lazy and feel that hills should all be flattened with dynamite.  Even better - we should build bridges from the tops of hills to the top of the next hill so you don't have to keep going up and down!  I live in England and feel that the "mountains" here are too high and too much for me to climb.  Hell - walking up the escalator in the tube station is a trial.  Basically, I strongly dislike walking up and down hills!!  So - the fact that the first part of the Camino de Santiago is in the mountains is a bit daunting, but I am pretending that its all ok and that these are just small hills and won't be a problem.

So - I have decided this is going to be the year.  Why put it off any longer?  I have quit my permanent jobs and become a contractor so that I can take long trips and see more of the world and my New Years resolution is to travel more - so all signs seem to be pointing to this year being the year of my Camino!  Looking in my diary (calendar for my American friends) the month of April is pretty blank, with a lot of time off of work at the end of the month for Easter and the Royal Wedding - so what better time to go.  I'm sure I wouldn't work much then anyways!  Just need to figure out how to live without any income.  Which is the next step - budgeting and financial planning!! 


Here are a few links for those of you that don't know what the Camino de Santiago is:
http://www.santiago-compostela.net/%20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James
http://www.caminosantiagocompostela.com/
http://www.csj.org.uk/

PS:  I plan on following the popular French Route (Camino Francés).