The three amigos had their weekly meeting and wine tasting this evening.  We had Portuguese wine so I hope that is OK.  We checked out my new boy pack.  We talked about communications.  We talked about how to get pix from a camera to my Kindle and then onto the blog, this blog.  We talked about training for the coming week.  We talked about how we have only one month to go!

Kelly, I have talked about some in the past.  He is in his sixties like me.  He is a retired school teacher.  Now he keeps himself busy helping his daughter remodel her house and he helps with their two children.  I started calling him Padre because he has an eerie resemblance to Padre Pio the Italian saint.  Kelly lost his wife to cancer a year ago.  That is not the reason I chose him to go with me but I used to see him out in the rain and the dark of winter walking alone and I said there is the guy.  He is also slower than I am so that is helpful!

Than there is Rick who we both invited along because once he heard about our idea just couldn’t control himself.  He is like a piece of spring steel physically, seventy years old and walks circles around us two.  So, we nicknamed him Mario like the race car driver.  I worked with Rick in the past and we always had a good time together.  Rick and his wife, Carolyn,  run a nursery where they grow beautiful landscaping plants.  This keeps them busy and in shape.  Padre and I figure that with Mario’s speed he will be able to sprint ahead late in the day and line up the hostels and dining when we are on the trail!

So, we have a plan.  Yea, for once.  Kelly and I are flying to Madrid where we land on St James Day, July 25th.  We are busing to St Jean in France  to the start.  We will walk to the 17th of August, somewhere around Leon,  where Kelly will put me on a bus to run me up the road to the west.  Later that day I will get to the monastery at Samos and meet Rick.  Kelly will be on his own for some personal inner Camino till his son Michael will join him to do the last 100 kilometers.  And Rick and I will walk from Samos to Sarria and do the last 100 kilometers.  God willing, Rick and I will be at the Pilgrim’s Mass at the cathedral in Santiago at the end of the Camino on Sunday August 24th.  Then the next day Rick throws me on the plane for Madrid and then I am off to Seattle.  Will be traveling with the time zones this direction and will arrive the same day.  Then next day I will be on my way back to Swedish Hospital for an appointment with my psychologist and have a scan later that day.  Rebecca will probably have to strap me to a hand truck and deliver me there.

All three of us amigos are practicing Catholics and all along this Camino there will be religious activities and events to participate in.  We are planning on the moderate pace of 12 miles a day to allow us time to do this.  “It is not a race!” as Kelly, or should I say, Padre reminds us.  And our parish, St John Vianney, here on Vashon has written letters in Spanish for us to announce that we are on official pilgrimage.   And at Mass toward the end of July we will be blessed for our journey by Father Marc.  All official, right?  Let’s get started!