Batman & Robin Walk the Camino?

I came across Tim Drake's "review" of his Camino in an online newspaper. For those who don't follow Batman, Tim Drake is the third orphan that Bruce Wayne picks up to be his sidekick (after Dick Grayson grows up and Jason Todd gets killed). I'm pretty sure that the author of this article is a different Tim Drake, though. He is clearly a professional writer, as the story is long on words and short on content, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Anyway, the newspaper is the National Catholic Register, so the article is more religious than others. It gives one of the versions of how St. James' relics (i.e. remains) ended up in Compestella. The story seems to be a bit too "legendary" for my tastes, much like the story about the discovery of King Arthur's tomb at Glastonbury. Pope Leo XIII supposedly addressed the issue in the 1884 Papal Bull Omnipotens Deus, but I have not been able to find a translation to see what his justification was.

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Camino Camera Confusion

I like photography; it is one of my greatest hobbies. My cousin Beth introduced me to single-lens reflex cameras in the late 1970's and it was love at first sight. I got my first job when I was 14, and saved up all summer to get a Pentax K-1000. I have always had and used an SLR since then.

A few years ago when I took Sammie to Hawaii, I re-evaluated my needs for the trip. I wanted a camera I could toss on the beach without fear of it being stolen (or at least small enough to hide), so I bought a simple point-and-shoot digital.  It wasn't anything spectacular, but it got the job done.

When I was packing for my Alaska trek, I put the point-and-shoot away and took my DSLR. It was a pain carrying one lens in my pocket and another on the camera, then swapping them out while hiking up to a glacier. On the other hand, the pictures I brought back were simply amazing.

In the guidebook, “Jack from Ireland” says that bringing a camera will inhibit a deep experience. Maybe that’s the vice of experience, seeing that he took all the pictures in the book, but that’s simply not an option for me. So, ignoring his advice, now it's time for me to wonder what camera I should bring with me on the Camino.

Last year I bought a used 18-250mm travel lens, so I don't have to worry about lens swapping. But the camera is still pretty bulky and heavy, especially once the lenses is mounted. Do I really want to carry around that much weight?

So, like I did for Hawaii, let me evaluate my needs.  The ideal camera would:

• Be light weight.
• Be at least 16 megapixels (I like to crop).
• Take standard batteries that I can buy along the way, instead of carrying a charger and a plug converter, and taking up valuable "outlet space" at the albergue.
• Have an integrated GPS receiver. If I'm travelling for a month, it would be nice for the photo itself to know where it was taken.
• Have zoom capability of at least 375mm (full frame equivalence).
• Be able to handle the elements.
• Involve as little cash outlay as possible.

So I did a search for cameras. I viewed the zoom and GPS as non-negotiables, so I eliminated anything without both. I also eliminated anything that would cost me over $300 (things that I already own or have access to cost me $0, so your mileage may vary). My search yielded these five options:

Camera	Weight	Batteries?	Pocket?	Zoom	Cost	Notes
Pentax K-30	1171g	YES	NO	375mm	Free	Weight includes Sigma 18-250mm lens and Pentax O-GPS1 receiver. Camera is weather-resistant, but lens isn't. I already own this, so nothing to buy.
Pentax K-01	1081g	NO	NO	375mm	Free	Weight includes Sigma 18-250mm lens and Pentax O-GPS1 receiver. No view finder, which is irritating, given the camera's weight and bulk. I already own this, so nothing to buy.
Nikon CoolPix P520	550g	NO	NO	1000mm	Free	Can borrow this, but walking around with something borrowed is more stressful to me than walking around with my own stuff. Even though it's lighter than the previous options, would still need to be worn around my neck full-time.
Nikon CoolPix S9700	232g	NO	YES	750mm	$275	Would have buy this. The fact that it can fit in the pocket is a very nice benefit. Has some bad reviews on Amazon for breaking.
Sony CyberShot HX50V	246g	NO	YES	720mm	$285	Would have buy this. Another "pocket camera". Pretty good reviews.

The K-01 is out—90 grams is not enough to justify its limitations over the K-30.  Between the CoolPix S9700 and the Cybershot HX50V, the Sony seems the superior camera, so that rules out the Nikon.

Of the remaining contenders, the Pentax is the most powerful and the Sony is the most convenient, with the Nikon being the happy medium. I’ll have to give it more thought, but it’s nice to know what the options are.

About Me

I've added an "About Me" page. While it seems to me to the the height of egocentrism, a friend suggested that I add it.

That's it for the "meta" blog posts. Next time I will talk about my internal struggle about bringing my camera.

The Gear Page

I hinted at it earlier, but I have a page where I'm keeping track of my packing list. The page includes not only the items, but their weight, cost, and where I got them. Things I don't have yet are listed, but blank.

A Guide

I bought a gift for my brother and myself. I got us each a copy of John Brierley's A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino Portugués. Now that some money has been actually poured out on Portugal, I guess that's solidifying the decision to take that route even more.

I've not actually read the full book yet, but have rather flipped through the pages. It looks like a good resource but the author puts notes of his personal spiritual journey at each town listing. This bothers me, because I want this to be my camino, not John Brierley's camino. Even worse, i feels to me that he actually dares to try to tell me what I should be reflecting on.

As I read it, I'm reminded by the movie I mentioned a while back, The Way. In that movie, the character are joined by a writer named "Jack, from Ireland".  Jack just happens to write guidebooks for the Camino, and has strong viewpoints what it takes to be a "true pilgrim." At one point Martin Sheen's character goes off on "Jack-ass from Ireland", calling him an arrogant boor.

It so happens the John Brierley lives in Dublin, and I can't help wondering if he's "Jack, from Ireland."

I'll know more after I finish reading the guide.

Speaking with Forked Tongue

In choosing to walk the Camino Portugués, my brother Don and I have committed to two spending a month or so walking across two countries where we don't speak the local language. I told Don that he was in charge of Portuguese and that I would take care of Spanish.

To help me with my Spanish, I've started the free lessons provided by Duolingo. It's a pretty neat site. It provides a number of exercises to help you learn a language. Each exercise is one of the following activities:

• Given a written phrase in English, type the Spanish phrase.
• Given a written phrase in English, select all the correct Spanish translations of those listed.
• Given a written phrase in Spanish, type the English phrase.
• Given a written phrase in English, speak the Spanish phrase. It uses speech-to-text technology to determine if you're right.
• Given an spoken phrase in Spanish, type it out in Spanish.

It's a pretty neat system, and I like it a lot. I definitely can't complain with free! They offer other languages (including Portuguese). While I don't expect this will make me anything close to fluent, it will at least give me enough Spanish to survive.

That reminds me; I need to add a Spanish phrase-book/dictionary to my gear list!

Fit for a Pilgrim

I previously mentioned how I wasn't completely satisfied with the (lack of) fitting help I got when buying my backpack. I went back to Eastern Mountain Sports today, and explained the situation to an assistant manager.

She said that she could help me, and lived up to that promise. She loaded my pack with weights, and explained what each of the adjustments did. She also had me try on another size, and took the time to show me in the mirror exactly what we were looking for in a fit. By the time I left, I felt confident that my pack was the right pack for the trip.

What's a Camino?

Whenever I've gone shopping for Camino supplies, regardless of the store, the salesperson always asks me what I'm going to be doing with it. I'll usually ask back, "Have you ever heard of the Camino de Santiago?" The answer has always been "no". I've given up asking the question.

Today when the assistant manager asked the usual question, and I just muttered back something about hiking across Portugal and Spain. "Doing the Camino?" she asked. Apparently she's helped outfit a lot of people for the Camino.

Conclusion

So, in the end my experience with Eastern Mountain Sports was positive, and I will probably go back there for future supplies.

The Way

Like most Americans, my brother had never heard of the Camino before. After he agreed to go with me in principle, I wanted him to have a fuller idea of the Camino experience. I wanted that experience to come from someone other than me, because what do I know? I've never walked the Camino. So I asked him to watch an indie (if you can call Emilio Estevez "indie") film called The Way. Fortunately it is/was available for streaming on Netflix, so he agreed.
I think it's a great movie. It's definately a drama with some comedic moments. If you want all your movies to have lots of action, this isn't the film for you. One reviewer called it a "thinking man's movie". Having said all that, I recommend it:

After seeing the film, my brother is more psyched than ever to walk the Camino with me.

Boy, I Have to Carry that Weight

There are two pieces of gear that I want to get early: my backpack and my shoes. Why? Because I want get used to wearing them both under load.

I had read some things and decided that an Osprey backpack was probably the way to go. Looking them up online, I saw that Eastern Mountain Sports was one of their authorized resellers, with special equipment to help them size you to a pack. Awesome!

So one day last week I stopped by the store after work. Sure enough a young lady was buying a backpack, and the employee was helping to fit her to the pack by adjusting straps and such to give her a good fit. This is the kind of service that I’m willing to pay for rather than just buying online. So I stood around a bit, but he was busy with her, and I really had to pee, so I left.

I went back today and stood around the backpacks for a long time before someone finally came over to me. She talked to me for a few minutes, and I left with a Osprey Talon 44. While she was helpful in selecting a pack, in no way did I get the custom fitting help that I was hoping for. Maybe I should have been more assertive and asked.

I’m thinking I might go back with the pack in hand during lunch this week and asking someone there to spend the time to make sure this is the right size for me. I’m going to be wearing this thing everyday for a few weeks; I think it’s important to make sure it’s a good fit.

Update: I went back and they took very good care of me!

Got My Passport

My U.S. passport arrived in the mail today. While it was originally ordered for a trip to Canada that I had planned, it will be needed to travel to Portugal and Spain for the Camino.

Note that this a “normal” passport, not the so-called “pilgrim’s passport”.  That document, also known as a credencial, is carried by pilgrims as proof of their journey by being stamped at various points along the path.  I will order that next year.

Someone to Walk Beside Me

In my last post I mentioned that my paternal grand-parents were Portuguese. Family dynamics being what they are, I actually relate more strongly with my the Irish side inherited from the maternal branch of my family. On the other hand, my brother has a stronger connection to the Portuguese side (or so it seems to me). Having decided on the Camino Portugués, it would seem a shame to go and leave him behind.  So I decided to invite him to join me.

Of course there are more reasons. Like Shrek’s onion, the motivations of most things with the Camino have layers. The one given above is the surface layer. I’ll spare you from reading the deeper layers.

So how does one invite someone else to spend weeks trudging through foreign countries on the way to a Cathedral? By text message, of course!

“I’m thinking about a very funky vacation next year,” the text said, “and I think you should go with me.” After a series of texts and phone conversations, he agreed to go with me.

The Second Step: Picking the Path

As I said in my first post, there are lots of ways to walk the Camino, with many common starting points. Here’s a map showing the various paths:

The path shown in red is the Camino Francés (The French Way), which is (by far) the most common route. Indeed, before I started earnestly planning for the Camino, it was the only route I knew of.

The problem with the Camino Francés, though, is that it’s long.  At 500 miles from the most popular starting point, it takes most pilgrims over 30 days to complete.  As much as I would like to do that, I’m not sure I can get 30 consecutive days off work, especially the second job.  While I could begin at a closer starting point, the completionist in me doesn’t like that.

I was looking at all the other routes when I noticed the Camino Portugués (The Portuguese Way, or Caminho Português in Portuguese).  This not only has the benefit of being shorter, but it also speaks to me because my paternal grandparents were all Portuguese.

So right now, I’m thinking I’ll be walking the Camino Portugués.  Whether I’ll start in Lisbon or Porto, I’m not yet sure.  Maybe there’s anther appropriate starting point between the two.

So the second step is largely complete.

Map credit: Map by Manfred Zentgraf, Volkach, Germany. Used under license. Original image and more information can be found in Wikimedia Commons.

The First Step: Deciding to Take the Journey

I have decided to walk the Camino de Santiago.
This blog is my personal, though public, journal about my pilgrimage. It's about my preparations, my research, and my thoughts. Once I'm on the Camino proper I may even update this blog a few times from Internet cafes on the route. If you're reading this, and if you're so inclined, I welcome you to join me (in a sense) by following my postings and by leaving comments.

The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage that leads to the (Catholic) cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain where the remains of the Apostle James are believed to be interred.

Over 200,000 people will walk the Camino this year, and I estimate that the number will be close to a quarter of a million in 2015. Everyone has their own reasons for walking the Camino: some still walk it for religious reasons, but most do not. My own reasons will be a topic of a future post.

The most common route starts in France, and is about 500 miles of walking. There are other starting points and other routes depending how far you want to go, and how much time you have, though it seems that 100 km (just over 60 miles) is the minimum to be considered an actual pilgrimage by the Cathedral. As of right now, I am not sure where I will start.

I've also decided that the late Spring of 2015 will be the time for my trip. I want to give myself time to prepare, both physically and financially. The extra time will also allow my employer to better plan to cope for my extended absence.

So that's it. The metaphorical first step has been taken. The only thing to do is to take the next step.