This is the start of my preparation for the Camino De Santiago. After a winter in the casa in El Sargento, Baja California Sur Mexico, a winter filled with many personal challenges, lots of soul searching, and a quest to find my personal truths. I have decided to walk the Camino De Santiago starting in Mid to late May 2016. The “Camino” as it is called, is a pilgrimage from St. Jean France in the Pyrenees mountains, across all of Spain, and ending in Santiago, Spain.
Once I decided to walk the Camino, I had the stark realization that this old body is not in shape to walk 800 KM, almost 500 miles, of the Camino De Santiago. So, I have changed my carnivore, fat filled, pizza eating, ice cream loving, cheesey mexican food loving diet, to a more healthy diet of, fresh fruit, yogurt, smoothies, veggies, and fish. I do allow for the temtation of a fat juicy rib eye steak, and a fully stuffed baked potato, including sour cream and cheese and bacon bits, once in a while. Basically, low fat, no or limited dairy, no sugar, no bread, no soda pops, and drinking lots of water. I have not stopped , beer , rum or tequila.
I started exercising three weeks ago, hiking here in El Sargento, My first walk was about one mile, I was huffing and puffing walking up hill, and needed a nap when I got back to the Casita. Day two I doubled the extreamly long distance of day one, and needed two naps, and a beer. after a week I was walking 5 miles or more in the morning, on the beach and then up into the mountains , using the single track mountain bike trails that twist and turn thru the cactus filled area of the Cacachilla mountains here in the Baja. As of this date I am walking 6-9 miles a day, today I did the mountain, and beach walk, a total of 8 miles in 2 hours and 15 mins, with a fair amount of vertical climb. I am walking 5 or 6 days a week and have lost about 10 pounds, would be more, but I fall to temptation , beer , Margaritas, and ice cream, with a filet mignon thrown in. all in due time , I will corral my temptations.
mybuencamino 
We are all behind you here on Whidbey Mark !! We hope to get to see you in a couple weeks, we’ll take you out to a fish dinner at Las Palmas, can we slip in a margaritas ?? if we have a grande we can say we only had on.
Love you lots buddy !!!!!!!
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Awesome Mark!!!! Let’s walk in May……lovely river trail in Sacramento…….then we will drink beer and tequila:)
So proud of you!
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