Bye to all of the noise

"Bad day looking for a way home
Looking for the great escape
Gets in his car and drives away far from all the things that we are
Puts on a smile and breathes it in and breathes it out
And he says bye bye
Bye to all of the noise"

 -Patrick Watson from "The Great Escape"

And so, the day arrives...and much, much faster than I ever thought it could.  I've only just finalized my packing list after a series of "can I do without this" analyses.  There were a number of things that I had wanted to bring that sadly didn't make the cut.  I had to keep reminding myself that the goal is to simplify, and that each non-essential item I pack moves me away from that goal.  If nothing else, the non-essentials complicate the process of finding the essentials in my backpack. 

Ever since I started talking about walking the camino again, I've been asked why on numerous occasions. I don't really have a good answer; it's hard to pin down an exact reason.  Or perhaps that's the problem:  "reason" isn't the right word, as it wasn't really a rational decision on my part.  I suppose what it boils down to is that the last camino affected me deeply.  In ways I was only starting to understand when I wrote the last entry of my 2006 blog.  I look at the world differently than I used to, and the same holds true for people, relationships, events, possessions,  priorities, etc.  I'm a much happier person now because of it (granted, that wasn't a very high standard to beat).  So why am I back?  Because I feel like I need to say "thank you".  And while I'm still trying to figure out the answers to the who/what/where questions, I at least have the answer to why.  That's a good enough start.

As for travel plans, I'll arrive in London at about 7:00am local time on the 12th, and then again in Bilbao at about 8:00pm.  The next morning brings one quick bus and train ride each, after which I'll be in St. Jean Pied-de-port.  Shortly afterward, I'll get a glimpse of the mountains and curse my decision to start on the wrong side of the Pyrenees. That's about it for now - I'll post more as more happens.