Done and Dusted - Where next?

Months and months of planning, booking flights, trains and beds, googling the towns where we would be walking and family dramas in between, the walk is now over, done and dusted. We are now back home with just photos and memories of where we walked and the many people we met. Some things we would do again and some will need changing but this is what happens with every walk we plan, big or little.

We started in France in the heat and some very high hills to climb. We thought we had trained for hills but guess we thought wrong. The next few weeks walking was much cooler and a change of clothes and flatter walking but parts were extremely dangerous in spots with very narrow paths falling away to the ravines, large fallen trees across the paths which we had to climb over, green fields that were fenced in with electric fences and which had us climbing under the fences so we could proceed. This section of the walk took us out of our comfort zones many times. Times I could have said "NO more I want to go home".

As we entered Switzerland we walked to the symphony of the cows and sheep munching on the hillsides, we saw the steep hills approaching and knew we would be climbing them soon. Could we do it, other people had and some much older than us. We saw the snow on the high caps of these mountains and it looked cold. On our free day we caught a Mont Blanc train back to France and it was cold, -4 degrees and snow and ice and lots of fog. We could not see much except snow and ice but we enjoyed the day.

The steep rocky hills kept getting closer and the days walking became harder and more exhausting. The closer the hills, the closer to the end of the walk for this section of the Via Francigena and closer to Italy, the border where we would finish this walk. The days became hotter again or was it the climb? The walk up St Bernard Pass was hard, rocky, exhausting and possibly a little sad as it meant the finish. We were close to tears of joy when we stood in front of the hostel/hotel, the steep rocky hills surrounding us and the sign that said we had climbed 2473metres. In the beginning we thought we had trained enough and were prepared for this climb but after walking and climbing little steep hills for four weeks we knew we were ready to climb the big one. A quick trip over the border into Italy and some well deserved R & R days in Switzerland.

Switzerland is a lovely nation, a nation of people who appear happy and content, bikes, quiet cars and even quieter and faster trains which can be a little scary at times. It took us the five weeks to become accustomed to the cars and walking on the opposite side of the road, especially when we had to cross the busy road. We met some lovely people and managed the different languages - sign language and the basic school French and German came in handy. Most people in France and Switzerland speak a little English, some speak English as if they were never born overseas. We found Switzerland an expensive country to live in but we went reasonably prepared. Well sort of!!

The Cancer site is still up and running and will not be closed until early December. Sue and I promised to try and raise $2000 for Cancer Queensland and we are nearly there. 

https://give.everydayhero.com/au/walking-the-via-francigena-to-italy

Where is the next walk? I have been trying to decide and it looks like the John Muir Way in Scotland in October 2020. This is only a small walk of 215klms starting at Helensburgh and finishing in Dunbar. I may tack on a further small walk in England or Ireland but these decisions will be made over the next few months. Lots more training and decisions in the next few months.

Will I write and publish the walking diary? Yes I will but not sure when.

I would like to thank Sue for keeping me on track and her exceptional organisation, Carol Neville (Via Francigena Tours) for helping us with the walk and accommodation, her husband Paul for being our Sherpa and having our main bags at the accommodation each evening and for their friendship while overseas. I WILL return to finish this pilgrimage to St Peters in Rome.

The final run before Switzerland

After seven weeks of walking on a non stop roller coaster I am back walking and hugging my grandchildren again. I did not give this "Cancer thing" a chance to cause much trouble. Surgery over and the thyroid and cancer is gone for good, I am told by the doctor. I just live with more medication and regular blood tests - no chemo or radiation. This idea I like.

Before retuning to Cairns I had to prove to myself and everyone else that I was OK and capable of taking on Switzerland. Not a little morning 8klms walk, I decided on a 161klms walk down the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail or better known as the BVRT, the longest Rail Trail in Australia. Why this one you ask? It is close to home, it is there to walk on and a phone call away from family if I found I had taken on too much but me being me - this would not happen. I had family and friends and the BVRT Ranger close by so I felt safe and capable of the walk. The first day nearly killed me as I had not carried a backpack or walked long distances and back to back days since Portugal last year. I had also had two lots of surgery in the last previous four months so probably I did not factor all this into the walk. I had a bed each night and friendly people along the way but not much company on the trail.

After 7 days and walking170klms I was ready for the big Cancer walk with Sue.

The walk and days off are nearly organised, just some trains to sort out and the bags to pack again and again. I have purchased a smaller Osprey day back pack as we have decided to have our larger bag delivered from bed to bed. After the France walk I decided I did not like the idea of carrying my wardrobe on my back as some days it became a real burden. I never overpack but it was still heavy some days. I also must decide on these walking poles. Do I take them or survive without them? I will still be making this decision when I am closing and locking the bags.

This walk is only a little over 6 weeks away and I will still train, but much shorter and local walks. I am as fit as I can be after these last few weeks. I have been one of the lucky people and already I am looking at life with a new set of glasses.

Sue and I have extended the promised amount to Cancer to $2,000 and already the donations are flowing in. A small amount from the sale of each book is donated back to Cancer and the Kuranda Information Centre has kindly placed a Cancer tin on the counter and I am surprised at the generosity of the local community and the tourists that pass through the centre. Every little bit helps for this good cause.

https://give.everydayhero.com/au/walking-the-via-francigena-to-italy

The walking books that are available are:

1. Walking Ireland for the Craic        -   2016 walk through Ireland

2. In the Footsteps of Pilgrims Past   -  2017 walk across England and France

3. Their Mother Wore Army Boots    -  2018 walk in Portugal and Spain

In late 2018 I walked up the coast of Portugal into Santiago de Compostela, a day of rain, wind and very cold. A walk that was chosen and booked after a glass of red wine, not one of my best decisions but glad I made it. The walk was easy and plenty of signage which was great as my body just needed to walk and my brain and head to tag along. No worries of home as the previous year had been exhausting and draining, something I had not realised until a few days into the walk. I returned to life in North Queensland and continued the regular flights home to Brisbane. I slipped back comfortably into my old routine.

It was only weeks later that I decided on another long walk for Cancer Queensland. Where should I go? I kept googling the Via Francigena, the walk from Canterbury to Rome, the walk that I had started in 2017. Why not pick it up in Besancon where I had finished? I would have to chose my season as this walk was to be in Switzerland. Next email to my walking companion and sister - "want to walk across Switzerland with me?" My answer in 5 minutes and so the planning started.

I knew this walk would need to be planned so we contacted a friend who organised these tours so in 12 weeks Sue and I will walk for 4 weeks starting in Besancon in France and finishing at the Italian border. Planning was going well. The company would sort the beds and only a day pack to carry each day. After shoulder surgery 4 months ago carrying a full and heavy pack was not part of the plan.

In the blink of an eye life can change and this change was not expected, a bolt out of the blue. I walk for cancer in honour of my brothers who have had cancer and other family and friends who also live with the disease. I have never smoked, eat well, walk, get rest and generally  feel great. Cancer was never a thought in my head but how wrong could I be. This hideous disease called Cancer or the Big C does not care whom it chooses or which part of the body it invades and goes to bed with. It stikes when you least expect it and there is no way of it going away without surgery, chemo or radiation of some sort.

Two weeks ago after a routine chest CT for a chest infection and cough some suspicious growths showed up in the scan in my thyroid. Where is my thyroid I asked and still thought "so what, a course of antibiotics will fix that". The local doctor gave me follow up paperwork for blood tests and ultrasounds, which I nearly did not proceed with. A little voice within me gave me a sharp jab and said "do it, the doctor knows better". The next thing I knew I was having a biopsy and a flight to Brisbane and a specialist visit/s had been organised. I was not in control and I hated it. I was either in tears or cursing the world. This thing called cancer had got it claws into me  and I am determined I will beat it. This past week has been a series of tests, scans, specialist appointments and then some more, prepping me for surgery in a few days. Surgery does not worry me but the unknown does. It scares the pants off me. I pray it is just in the one spot which can be removed with a surgeons knife but will know next week if my wish has come true. Doctors tell me it is a good cancer to have -  as if any cancer is good but I know place myself in their hands.

This news is just a hiccup. I will walk with Sue in 12 weeks, I will walk in Scotland and England in 2020 and Italy in 2021, I will see my 3 little grandchildren grow up, leave school and get married. I will nurse my great grandchildren, I will see my 3 sons grow to receive an aged pension and I definitely will celebrate many more wedding anniversaries with my husband. This "thing" will not beat me.

Sue and I have promised to raise $1000 for Cancer Queensland and we will with the help of great friends and family. I will leave the cancer link at the bottom of the blog.

Https://give.everydayhero.com/au/walking-the-via-francigena -to-italy