Msafiri and Shingy chatting in the garden.

15 April 2019

 'Hi Shingy, have you noticed that Punda and Mpanzi are packing their bags for another Camino trip?'

'O yea, I see the backpacks are packed and repacked, again and again. And I hear long discussions on what to pack and what to leave, weighing each item. It seems to me they are not as strong as they used to be, each gram counts now. When are you leaving?'

'We depart on 24 April, flying from Cape Town to Lisbon.'

'For how long will you be gone?'

'Forty days.'

'O my, that's a long time to be alone at home! Last time the neighbors looked well after me, but it still was a long lonely time.'

'Don't worry, this time some British friends of Estelle Mundell will come to stay with you for a week and then Mike's daughter Robin will be here for the whole of May. You will have someone to look after for the whole time.'

'OK, that can be fun. I hope she likes cats. What route are you walking this time?'

'The French call it Le Chemin de Saint-Jacques. It is the Camino route from Le Puy-en-Velay in the Auvergne region to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the Spanish border. The route is also known as the Via Podiensis or the GR-65 long-distance walking route in France. Google it, and you will find lots of information.'

'Thanks, I will do that. Yesterday, when they came home from church, I heard them talking about how the news of Mercia Farmer's death shocked them. She passed away on Saturday. That is so sad. She had cancer.'

'Yea, that is sad. Is it not written: The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die? '

'O yes, but it still hurts.'

'When we walked from Pamplona to Burgos in 2016, I saw they often took pictures of the markers on the road showing the way. They then sent those pictures as an encouragement to their friend, Lynne Budge, who was walking a difficult road with cancer at that stage. Here are some of those pictures.'

'Ja Msafiri, that's life. As Punda often says 'Walk while you can...'