Final preparation

Oyez, Oyez!  Let it be known throughout the land that Fabien-The-Pilgrim was born today!  Yes after hiking in the Pyrenees for 3 days, taking cold showers for 3 years, fasting for 30 days and blogging for 365 days I have decided to combine all of my activities into a 60 day Pilgrimmage from Le Puy-en-Velay to St Jacques de Compostelle.  However, as my wife would like us to spend our 10th wedding anniversary together and preferably not in a cold dormitory in a gite on the Aubrac plateau (she's clearly very difficult), I will be interrupting my journey after 10 days.

For those of you who don't know me I am undertaking this pilgramage as a spiritual voyage to a higher plane which will allow me to become a better person through a greater understanding of my core purpose and connection my my soul... For those of you who know me I foolishly announced that I was going to do this and I might as well try to lose weight in the process.

I have spent the last 2 days preparing my backpack to balance comfort with weight.  In the end I am taking 2 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of hiking socks,  1 foot powder, 5 blister bandages, 3 pairs of underwear, 3 T-shirts, 2 polar sweaters, 1 warm sleeveless jacket, 1 rain poncho, 1 new pair hiking shoes (which I have been using in Paris for the last 2 days), 1 mobile phone, 1 pair earphones, 1 tablet and keyboard, 1 charger, 10 aspirin, 2 walking sticks, 1 Credencial (see photo), 1 sleeping bag, 1 bottle of water, 1 manual razor, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 1 soap, 1 travel towel, 3 surgical masks, 1 rain hat, 1 head band, 1 knife, 1 lighter, 1 wallet with ID, credit cards and cash.

I have also been reserving beds in simple gites along the way.  I am not reassured by the fact that half the gites are not yet open and the ones that are systematically ask me if I do mean March and not April.  It seems that my planned stroll through sunny countryside may turn out to be a hard slog in wind and rain.

PS: As always in my blogs there is a competition.  10 points to the first person who tells me where the blog title comes from.