Last Minute Preparations...

Only a few days until we leave! Well 4 to be exact! It seems as though everything has been left to the last minute we we are doing everything in the last week. There is a good reason for this, as we have both had a rather nasty chest infection for the past month. Lucky for us, we had already done a lot of research so know exactly what is left to be done and can do it quickly! This week we have; picked up cash cards, got my bike serviced, brought any bike spares we need, written packing lists, got some bike boxes from the local bike store, and FINALLY got the camino route description book and maps in the mail! just in time  :) This weekend the plan is to take the bikes fully loaded for a test ride to make sure nothing needs fixing/adjusting, and then to pack all our gear into the bike boxes ready to go. We are only going to check in the boxes, and then take one pannier on the plane as carry on.

This book is AMAZING! Such good quality! It has very good English descriptions of the entire route, breaking it up into 42 stages. As we will be on bikes, it will not take us 42 days  :-D but the level of information is fantastic. There are descriptions of each town you pass through as well as colour photos and of course, route maps. I managed to buy it online here: http://www.libreriadesnivel.com/libros/the-way-of-st-james-from-valencia-to-santiago-gr-239/9788496715332/

Just be aware that it may not be in stock and that you will need to know Spanish (or someone who does) to organise with them to send it to you once it gets in stock. I only had to wait a week so it was fine. The book itself was not expensive, but the postage to Australia, plus the currency conversion meant it was about $100! expensive, but definitely worth it. Will make for a good souvenir on our return too  :-)

These are the bike boxes we managed to pick up from the bike shop. We plan to put most of our gear in here. Flying Qatar we are allowed 23kg in each box without any excess fees. The heaviest things like bike shoes, tools (as long as they are not sharp!), toiletries and electronics we are going to carry in one pannier each on the plane, and then the clothes and the rest of our gear can go in the boxes with the bikes to help protect them. I will post a photo of the packing when it happens on Sunday  :-)

My packing list. We are trying to travel light and only take the essentials. We are pretty good at this, having done a bit of backpacking before. The less we take, the less we will have to carry up the hills! I am hoping to stick to this list, and also hoping that I have not forgotten anything!  :-D I am not really that worried.... if we need anything we can buy it in Spain.

Thats all for now! Will post our packing experiences in a few days, and then off we go! Now we just have to cross all our fingers and toes that our health will let us complete this journey that has been two years in the making!!