A bit more equipment

After much thought I have decided to add another item to my list. In Brazil we call it a "canga", in English I´m not sure - maybe a sarong or a beach wrap? Since I am nearly 750g under my maximum weight, I thought my canga would be worth its weight of 230g as a useful addition. I can wrap myself in it in the unisex bathrooms, use it as a shower curtain, or a bunk curtain should I feel the need for a little privacy, use it as a bed sheet or a shawl, or even as a picnic cloth - the possibilities seem endless - so it is definitely going. I have just bought a new one as my last one disintegrated from too much sun and sea. The lightest one I could find (I took my kitchen scales to the shopping mall - beware the mad Englishwoman!) was a bright red/pink/black/purple (I know). I only hope the colours are fast as I don´t fancy coming out of the shower with a multicoloured skin!

I did my usual two hours training walk with The Beast yesterday morning. It wasn´t much fun as it was drizzling most of the time, but very warm. I wore a showerproof jacket and got soaked with perspiration. On the Camino I shall wear a poncho which goes over the rucksack, so that shouldn´t be a problem. I also don´t think the temperature will be around 30C in Spain in May. In the evening my legs felt rather stiff. God help me if that is how I am going to feel after just two hours walking on the flat. On the Camino I should be aiming for three times that every day, up hill and down dale...

Unfortunately I live in the middle of a very large city. It is extremely flat around here and I have to walk in the streets or parks. There is no hilly countryside nearby that I can get to, so I have to just do the best I can. As my training starts to build up I intend to start using the stairs every day as I live on the eighth floor. I´d love to be training in the real countryside as it is rather boring this way, but I don´t really have a choice. I try and focus on the reason for it all and that keeps me going.