We arrived back in wintry NZ after our tropical Cook Island stay for two weeks max, which has stretched to four!
But with an offer on our house we decided to stay until settlement and do the life admin we’d put off, being so determined to leave NZ on the first day of winter. Settlement is in three days time.
We are desperately missing the warmth, the water and especially the daily constitutional with Neil at Cook Island Coffee Company (Matavera, look out for the orange road cone 7.30am – 10.30am 7 days. Mon/Wed/Fri you can also pick up his son’s incredible croissants & sourdough – It’s like this local secret coffee lovers don’t want to miss).
But of course this is how it’s going to be the next 18 months, repeatedly saying goodbye to amazing experiences and people to make way for what’s to come. Next up for us that is the Camino. Hopefully this coincides with Europe’s heatwave simmering down as we will soon be walking 20-30 kms daily. Some say your Camino begins the day you make the decision to do it, for others it’s that moment you walk out your front door to catch that plane/ train/ bus to your start point. For me it really began when Neil at CICC gave us a scallop shell to return whence it came, the beach at Finisterre, once considered the end of the earth. A 2-3 day walk that continues on from the Camino’s finish at Santiago. All of a sudden it’s real.
So we’ve been getting prepped. FYI if you need any outdoor gear and have an excuse to head to Hamilton we discovered the best, most helpful/ knowledgeable outdoor shop staff ever, almost by accident, at Trek ‘n’ Travel on Victoria St. We’ve been looking at backpack solutions, seeing as we’ll be carrying all our possessions on our backs for 3 months, including a 3 year old, and they introduced us to Aarn packs. This is mostly for Alissa, seeing as 90% of the time I’m going to be carrying our giant 3 year old lump on my back so she’ll be carrying for both of us. She didn’t want to love the Aarn. At all. They are not about aesthetics, but man they are about function. With a harness system like nothing else I’ve seen. It feels like magic is all she can say (maybe wait and see what she’s saying with 30km under her belt).
Next stop, Paris.
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