Preparations for Departure

Getting Ready

Rangiora:  3 weeks to go...

About the title of the Blog.

In 2019 after Michael retired from NIWA (which no longer exists) - we set out on a 6-month trip around Europe in the Motorhome that we purchased from Zion Motorhomes in Pokeno... but took delivery of in Isny im Algau, Southern Germany.  As it turns out, and for a number of reasons that you can read about at The Uddstrom's European Adventure (2019), that journey terminated in an unexpected event... and then along came Covid. 

So, this is our blog for the last stage of the journey we began in 2019. This time we will be visiting Spain, Portugal and Southern France over a period of 61 days, 57 of them in a Motorhome we are hiring from McRent in Barcelona.  Following that we will train and bus to Saint Jean Pied de Port in Southern Fance, to begin walking the "Way of St James" (or French Way) pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. It is about 800km, and we hope to walk it in between 35 and 40 days. If you are unaware of this pilgrimage you can get a sense of what we will experience by watching "The Way, My Way" on YouTube (The Way, My Way ) or some other streaming platform.  and then we come home!

And should you watch The Way My Way - then you will understand the following milestone: 

Our Packs for the Camino are 'packed"... and weight tested - indicating that we don't have to put on more weight in order to ensure that our packs do not weigh more than 10% of our body weight (the generally agreed maximum weight of one's pack for a gentle walk in Northern Spain).

We depart for Barcelona on Sunday 8th February 2026.