Background Info & Preps & Starting Thoughts

Packing List

Clothes

Everything is quick dry nylon or such. NO COTTON!

2 pr hiking pants with removable lower leg section

2 pr undershorts

2 pr smart wool socks

2 pr shirts

1 outer heavy shirt

1 Buffalo Bills Starter Jacket (good for down to -20F, I believe)

1 wool cap, 1 scarf, 2 buffs, 1 pr glove  liners

1 pr hiking boots - good for cold and snow

1 pr running sneakers

1 pr flipflops

1 rain slick

Electronics

smart phone

power adapter for Spain to USA

Charging and USB cables

Adapters

Be very careful of voltage and/or current surges when connecting your electronics to wall outlets. Best procedure is disconnect your device from the charging cord. Insert the adapter into the wall outlet, then the power plug of your device into the adapter and only then, connect your device via the charging cable. It is not uncomon for voltage and / or current surges to arc across the wall outlet, into the transformer and then travel to your device, possibly damaging some of its features or even crippling the device.

Comfort / Ease

Sleeping bag liner

Packable laundry line with clips

Pocket flashlight

Backpack rain cover

Extra carabiners

Extra eyeglasses and sunglasses

Chemical foot warmer packages

Sanitary Needs

Quick dry towel

Razor blade, toothbrush, dental floss, toothpaste, deodorant

Medical Kit

Blister kit (needle, sterile pads, bandaids, gauze)

Sun block, insect repellent

Burn cream, antiseptic cream

Ibuprofen

24 hr allergy pills

Things I am Leaving Behind

Keane Walking Sandals (seriously, it is January in Germany)

Fitbit

Hearing aids

Expected Climate/Weather for January

Average High and Low Temperature in January in Berlin

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

Random Thought of the Day

Originally blogged in 2022, prior to my Camino Madrid.

At home, working on this blog and listening to some music. 

Thinking how great music does not necessarily comply with the spirit of the Camino.

Case in point. I love the James Bond title songs. Many of them are really great songs which capture the angst of living in a world that is not camino-like many times. But the answer that they propose to the listener stands in start contrast to what we learn on the camino.

In a sense, it is both understandable and inevitable. The reality of the world collides head-on with the spirituality of the camino.

So here is one song that is angst-driven and not camino-like and one that is very camino-like ... from the world of 007.

The World is Not Enough (Garbage) (1999): I know how to hurt I know how to heal I know what to show And what to conceal I know when to talk And I know when to touch No one ever died From wanting too much People like us Know how to survive There's no point in living If you can't feel alive We know when to kiss And we know when to kill If we can't have it all Then nobody will I feel safe I feel scared I feel ready And yet unprepared The world is not enough But it is such a perfect place to start, my love And if you're strong enough Together we can take the world apart, my love	I have known people in my time who have been as nihilistic as the lyrics convey.  Emotionally they are very draining as they seem to need to destroy the world around them to prove that life has a significance beyond their own pain. In the video, (no spoilers) the main character is clearly devoid of spirituality, humanity ... that essence that we seek to find within ourselves as follow in the blood, sweat and tears of past pilgrims.  I must really try on the Camino Madrid to look into my past and find those moments where I would have rather taken the world apart instead of extending a hand.  I expect that there will be dark thoughts. I have not been a thru hiker on the Appalachian Trail or other such hikes. What do those thru-hikers wonder about or ponder on? Do they go deep also, or are they more focused on the beautiful forests and woods through which they move, and stand in awe before the mountain ahead?
And then there is the exception!!!
You Only Live Twice (Covered Ren Harvieu) You only live twice Or so it seems One life for yourself And one for your dreams You drift through the years And life seems tame 'Til one dream appears And Love is its name And love is a stranger Who'll beckon you on Don't think of the danger Or the stranger is gone This dream is for you So pay the price Make one dream come true You only live twice	Slightly disappointed because the YouTube video, which was very dreamlike, has had the music substantially altered. I could not find a version with Nancy Sinatra. (I could have picked the movie extract but that bugged me by taking the mood out of reality and into the cinematic universe.) This song seems to me to capture the spirit of the camino and many of the people that I have met on my various caminos. If I have learned anything while hiking thru Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Switzerland on pilgrimage routes, it is that one who lives and goes for the dream, who walks with purpose rather than drift aimlessly, is the one who wakes up with a purpose rather than a task.