Over the years we have simplified our Christmas traditions to a table top tree and no gifts, stockings only. Thinking back to more frenzied times, I have an appreciation for those working families who maintain the cultural expectations and customs. I don't know how you do it. Christmas aside, like all retirees I know, I don't know…

It's our 33rd anniversary, our longevity as a couple lasting more than half our lives, as C pointed out. We agree that a sense of commitment to get through life's hurdles is a given, but I wanted to think beyond that. If we knew what we know now, 33 years and 1 day ago, what would be…

Upon arriving in Santiago I mentioned that I'd post about our souvenirs later, the criteria being an item light in weight and unbreakable. I gave another hint in this post where the photo of the Camino symbol of the city of Navarette appeared, our favourite symbol on the Way. So, we took the big step to…

We're out of data and by the time you read this we'll be close to arriving back home in Vancouver, having cruised across the Atlantic with 20 friends and family, who met us in Barcelona to celebrate and help us sail into retirement. Our Camino dream came true and that's how it seems now, a…

As our children were born we established some new traditions. Each Christmas I bought a Time Magazine Year in Review, presenting each child when in their 20's a stack of world history since their birth. When I turned 30, C and I celebrated with a bottle of wine from the year of my birth from…

The budget question is probably the most common question asked of us, followed by the weight loss question. As for the latter C lost 3lbs and I'm not weighing myself. The bottom line is you eat like a horse on the Camino in order to keep up your energy. Another woman from Vancouver said that…

We continue to shed the cocoon of our Camino experience. Chuck in Santiago: Chuck now: He concedes that he's more comfortable this way. We did a 12k day yesterday to enjoy the beach and the Pablo Casals museum in Sant Salvador. My mother was a huge fan as cellist/conductor Casals had strong ties to Puerto…

So, you're thinking about doing the Camino de Santiago, or you don't want to do it but you're curious. Here are some suggestions and what I wish I'd have known ahead of time: 1. Almost everyone I talked to on the Way agreed with me – it's harder than they were expecting terrain-wise. The only…

The relationship is a little complicated. Stay with me. We're staying in a house that belongs to a former coworker, whose family were from El Vendrell, a Catalonian town with a population of 36,000. Family members still live here and one cousin recently spent some time in Vancouver. We were invited to that cousin's parent's…

We've had the luxury of a slow re-entry back to regular life. We've arrived in El Vendrell, Spain, where we recovered from jetlag prior to the Camino, in a house generously loaned to us by a former coworker. The familiarity was comforting after almost two months. Coming back to our two suitcases filled with stuff…