This week I interview John Carroll who now lives in Australia, but you can certainly hear a strong Manchester accent! John spent some time walking the French Way as a group with 7 friends from sunny Oz, but then ventured off on his own to experience a different Camino along the Ingles Route in October 2018.
QUOTE: Is from the song. “You will never walk alone”.
Highlights:
- Tip – a good tip to get over jet lag is to know that if you are travelling 10 time zones, then it will take approx 10 days to get over jet lag.
- How did you hear of the Camino? Not only was John inspired by the film The Way, but he had also read a book called In Search of The Way, by a priest who he had met in England.
- John walked from Sarria to Santiago (the last part of the French Way with his friends from Oz).
- What was the main differences between the French Route to the Ingles Route?
- The Inges Route is very quiet and John was worried that he would be walking it all on his own, but that soon changed!
- Lots of people from Oz, but not too many from the UK tend to walk the English route.
- What was the weight of your pack? – about 22lbs / 10kg
- John talks about walking poles and how valuable they were to his journey. There are many steep ups and downs on both Camino trips.
- Tip: Always add rubber paws to your walking poles.
- Did you bring anything that you didn’t use? Yes, I took 6 pairs of socks that I never used!
- Did you get any blisters? No, but I did hurt some of my toes. He walked into low concrete bollards which hurt his feet.
- Did you take a luxury item? Yes, a 2nd credit card.
- John would recommend taking a sleeping bags if you are travelling in October onwards.
- Did you have a reason for walking the Camino? Yes, for the adventure and to take some time for reflection.
- Was the Camino everything you thought it would be – yes, and more.
- Be inspired by the people around you. Not just on the Camino but in everyday life as well.