Ho Hum...Grammar & Spelling

A posting from a frustrated blogger ,stalked by his wife....a grammar & spelling snob.(lol)...who has correctly pointed out the spelling and grammar errors in our blog....

We deserve to spoil ourselves don't we?

It was a quick short walk this morning before we went shopping...so it was off to Victoria Point and the shores of Moreton Bay on a warm day,cooled by an onshore breeze.
It was also a shake down for some of our new gear including my new Tilley Hat (wife and I now a pigeon pair) and new socks - Ninji toe sock liner, Smart wool outer and Anita's Marmot wicking green shirt....all worked fantastically.

So off we went for the next hour and a bit...

Not the longest walk we have done but...................we thought we deserved a treat at "The Wishing Well Cafe"....devonshire tea if you don't mind, we couldn't resist.

now back to the chores..some grocery shopping.

Shakedown of new Boots and Hat

Received my Merrell Moab Mid's 1/2 size bigger and thought we would take them out for a short 10 km walk and see if the larger sized helped some issues with one of my toes....so off we went on a beautiful sunny Saturday ....Anita trialing her new Tilley LTM6 Airflow Hat.

Plenty of shade, venting kept her cool

As usual we came across some amazing wildlife on our walk...that kangaroo looks a bit dodgy don't you think

 Another item that caught our attention was the Australiana letter box's we saw on our walk...how cute are they!

 Spring is a great time to walk ....the flowering plant make the walking more colourful and smelling sweet.

SO all in all a successful walk ....loved the new shoes , Anita's Tilley hat worked a treat and soooo comfy....the flowering plants and the delightful real Aussie mail boxes.

So...its off home...for a nice cuppa

Walking with Friends

It was still dark as the sound of a thunder crack echoed around our house...rain had been forecast for this morning..but I still had a few hours sleep to go so I rolled over and hoped it would blow over for our walk with friends.
So this was an opportunity , with some precipitation around, to test out our Mamut Precip jackets. We packed our gear and headed off to to Venman Bushland to meet up with our friend, Noel & Narelle.

So it that where we are going?

In the end , apart for a few spits the rain did not materialise , the cloudy and cooler conditions made it nice to walk....but Anita did look good in her pink precip jacket don't you think.

Off we went for a leisurely 7 km walk and we immediately noticed that many of the creek crossings had simply disappeared due to the very dry conditions in the last month. It was great to enjoy this walk and lots of laugh's with some friend.

After a refreshing walk we enjoyed a great morning tea and more laughter.

enjoying a great morning tea..sorry for the angry selfy!

Oh I am so unfit and my feet hurt!

A nice ,if not cloudy ,spring day in the great South East with a breeze blowing , a good day for a longer walk. So we headed off a little later than planned (tried to get a longer Saturday sleep in), for a 15 km walk in the country side around our home at Mount Cotton.

We pulled on our packs weighing six kilos, about half what we will carry on the Camino, but its good to get used to our Osprey's and so far so good, both fit like a glove.
Anita , after suffering from having to access bottle water, now has her new 2 ltr Osprey hydration bladder and though she is still coming to grips with the initial "plasticy" taste (and leaking in the fridge last night...) she appreciated its convenience.

Anita powering on... she could be on any Camino road

It warmed up during the walk with a predicted high of 30degC...and I was only wearing a cap, bad idea as I think I was suffering a little  sunstroke by the time I got home...so its onto the net to find a classic Tilley sunhat (life time guarantee!).

Its just one foot in front of another....cannot shake my shadow though

So it was down past the chicken breeding properties (which are dotted everywhere and cattle grazing....quite amazing seeing we are only 10 minutes from a large suburb and shopping complex

Despite the threat of a thunderstom we made it back home without having to use our Mamut Precip jacket...but am sure will have the opportunity sometime soon.
Must say today did expose some of my weaknesses...need to get stuck into our exercise plan ( laid out by our PT) and to deal with my feet which were hurting (no blisters) by the investment in looser socks ,a new pair of larger Merrell Moab Mids which are on the way and a visit to my foot doctor to sort the old ingrown toe nail....what a pain getting old but thankfully we have plenty of time.

Survivor - The Election Walk

Who will survive the election

Voting Day  !!!!!  We decided to not only EXERCISE our muscles but EXERCISE our democratic right to vote and walk to the polling booth instead of driving.

It was a 2 hour round walk in lovely spring weather, blue skies and 27C, through our local park and along a long tree lined road. Once again trying out a different pair of socks.

Paul striding out

We made it down to Mt Cotton School, Voted had a drink and snack then headed home.

I don't think the Mt Cotton Kids are THAT bad ☺

As expected the good folk of OZ decided it was time for Krudd to Zip and now Tony is in the top job.
I guess he didn't know how to outwit, outplay and outlast Tony.

another beautiful day in paradise

This beautiful weather just keeps going on and on...starting to get a little dry and warming up into spring (24deg C not as warm as the Meseta I know) so we thought we would stretch our legs with a short 5km walk in our local area of Mt Cotton.

Anita with her day pack

I was trying out my new lightweight, wicking, Marmot shirt..... trying out stowing my walking poles on my pack.....the wife thought I looked a bit funny in our suburban street , all kitted out and all so I had to walk ahead (ha,ha)

Paul all kitted up

Anita loving the fresh air and sunshine

ahh.....could be anywhere on the Camino....

Basecamp Fitness....the challenge to get us ready

Whilst doing more shopping at Globetrekker we came across a group that focused on getting people ready for whatever adventure they had in mind, this could include Everest basecamp, Kokoda, Tibet and yes, even the Camino having  trained 6 people in the last 12 months. So we set up a meeting with Chase (the usual young hunk that is fit and buff...but a nice guy) today....and once he had got over the long leadtime till we go ( normally get involved 3-6 months out), he talked us through what they could do for us... from endurance training program, trekking poles and walking technique and group weekend treks... so it was then down to the gym to what our capabilities were...what a sight in our shorts and running shoes going through their motion ...the trainer was suitably generous in his comments. So we left pleased ,with a training schedule being prepared and a professional reference point over the coming years to work with.
It was then down to Westend and Globetrekker to spend more of the kids inheritance, purchasing a Osprey 2ltr water baldder for Anita's pack, some lightweight shirts and our Marmot Precip softshell rain jackets....the latter being very lightweight and a long running; well performing jacket.

Show Holiday...lets go for a quick walk

It was an Ekka show holiday in Brisbane so, after a number of very busy weeks, we thought we would take the opportunity for a short 7km walk and afternoon tea at our favourite bushland, Venman National park.
It was a little cloudy after many weeks of blue sky and sunshine...but good for walking.

ahh...luv the Australian Bush

As we walked in the Aussie bush today we were taken to the Gum tree Forrest on the Camino...here is a little background
"In the mid to late 1800s, Don Salvado, the Spanish priest who established the New Norcia monastery and mission in Western Australia, decided that eucalyptus trees would be of benefit to his home country. So he exported some of the species he thought would grow there.
The trees were planted in Galicia, in North Western Spain, and it was hoped that these would be good for furniture making and could become a cash crop. As it turned out these gums were of no use for furniture, or anything else for that matter."

Anita , all kitted out and ready to walk. In front of a big old gum tree.

Then it was down for the hard yards...this is a great training ground with plenty of varied landscape and surfaces 

  Off we go ,the pack looks great and the walking poles are so good, particularly for  ascents and descents. 

So after a refreshing 7km walk we enjoyed a nice afternoon tea in the well set out facilities. Noting the sign not to feed the animals posted everywhere.. Someone who will remain nameless (ok her blood sugar was low and she didn't have her glasses on) she tried to tempt the local wild life to a little cracker.

looks like the message is clear

thankfully some animals are smarter than others..and.prefer something more substantial

ET the "old man" of the Camino

You can read as many books as you like but its only when you sit down and talk with someone who has done it that you gain a real insight into the Camino and if it is for you.
And so it was today, on the most magnificent day that thanks to our friend Noel and a chance meeting on a train that we had the privilege to meet Eric, who had walked the Camino with his step daughter in 2009 at the age of 75! He reminded us that we were "spring chickens" and when he mentioned that he was going to do it again next year when he reached 80....we were truly inspired, we'll only be 60.

We listened as ET shared many of his experiences on the Camino, Anita had also emailed a set of questions the night before and he came with typed responses...a true kindred spirit for Anita. Over coffee (a couple) and cake, along with our friends Noel & Narelle, we joked and laughed listening to most inspiring man tell of his journey. We had the advantage of reading Eric's 186 page amazing manuscript documenting the journey (on the table in the pic) but there is nothing like hearing it from the horses mouth(no offence Eric).

He shared also the sequence of events that set him on the path to planning a second walk....which included Noel's meeting on the train that Noel normally doesn't take. With Eric reading a Camino guidebook that he would not have except for.......the story goes on from there. But you get the picture....and here we are meeting together....God does have a plan.

And so after nearly 3 hours together we wished each other "beun camino" and went our separate ways....with plan to catch-up again sometime.

Increasing the Kilometres with a few hills thrown in

It was another beautiful day in the Great south East and a nice day to tackle a new 15km route we had plotted that involved an initial climb up West Mt Cotton Rd near our home then a run through Venman Bushland National Park then back down the hill. This gives experience of all terrains and walking services...and practice dodging cars which will come in handy on the Camino.

Beautiful views looking back down West Mt Cotton Rd

Anita watching out for traffic with her new trekking poles

 The weather was warming up quickly and I was wondering weather my walking apparel was a little warm but with plenty of shade around it wasn't a problem.

Anita resting with her new Osprey pack and trekking poles

Anita's Osprey Sirrus 36

Anita powering along with here new poles, across water and up hills.... in the beautiful Australian bushland 

watch your step Anita

When we stopped for lunch and it became a real wildlife experience, the birds and even Kangaroos had little fear of humans

Anita, didn't the sign say "don't feed the Animals!

"here skip......

This is Australia OK, we will pose for a picture but it will cost you.....

so lets get training...

Being of average fitness and us both existing in sedentary jobs we were grateful that we had a couple of years to EASE into this walking gig....but we had to start somewhere and so on a raining long weekend the wife dragged me out for easy start on local streets and bush roads for about 7km.

We then looked wider afield an came across a good 8 km track in the local "Venman" national park, it had creek crossing and some reasonable hills in a lovely bush setting. So on a dry Saturday morning we kitted up and headed off, me with my walking poles (which was great for the creek crossings, hill climbs and particularly for the descents...take pressure off the knees)...subsequently convinced the wife that they were really worth the investment. the carbon fibre Komerdells were really light and gave so much stability on uneven ground.

taking a rest having just climbed a big hill...Pyrenees will be more difficult!

Anita, with a smile loving the outdoors

Paul playing with his GPS tracker...do we really need it on the Camino

So we made it back...thoroughly enjoyed the walk in nature..it was perfect walking condition...not quite the meseta in 40degC weather. Even with a camel pack on you realise how much useless stuff you carry, so we are going to take our real pack from now on just to get used to them.  We have plotted our next walk already, about 15km up and down hills.....the adventure continues.