He said it was “a miracle” I walked 800km on my knee.

He couldn’t believe it.

I have bone on bone.

Officially, the specialist (one of the top in the country) calls it an osteoarthritic knee. Unofficially, he calls it rooted.

Knee replacement territory, longer term, he says. Major surgery.

Short term, he wants me to get a brace for the knee custom-made – at a cost of $1,000; and an anti-inflammatory injection, once yearly, at a cost of $500 each shot.

He also wants me to do stationary bike, and rowing machine.

For those of you interested, the x-ray below shows that on the left side of the knee joint (or the inside of the knee), there’s no gap between the bones. There should be a gap around about the same size as on the right side.

Bone is rubbing on bone. That’s what’s causing the pain, and the inflammation.

All of this is not going to stop me doing the tour next year, no way.

I can perform miracles again!!

I have had some figures back from my travel agent – and will post more details on the Camino Tour forum.

Essentially, the travel agent is suggesting a two tired price structure; US$2,950 for the PGS family for 14 nights, hotel accommodation, meals and private van support. This is close to cost price.

For others, it’s US$3,950.

He’s suggesting that we limit the PGS numbers to 6 with 15 on the tour in total.

I will lead the group, which will include Sister Clare, along with my wife Jennifer. Sister Clare will provide Centering prayer sessions, and counselling if requested, and I will do a daily photographic tutorial, and will give camera/photo advice during the walk.

Jennifer will be on hand to discuss PGS and other esoteric things!

The tour will go from Porto through to Santiago – approximately 240kms. It will most probably be 1st or 2nd week of April, 2014

Check the forum for more details –

http://pgsthewayforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=91

Bill

For the last couple of days I've walked around Hobart – a beautiful town – the capital of the state of Tasmania.

At least, I've tried to walk. My knee is still giving me problems – a residue of the Camino in April/May.

Tomorrow I see a knee specialist.

If I'm to do any serious walking in the future, I will have to get my knee fixed. It will probably require surgery.

The numbness in my left foot is slowly fading – as the Neurologist predicted. That's good news. But the knee over the past couple of days was so painful I limped everywhere.

I walked the Camino on Ibuprofen – for 28 days, 3 x 600mgs. That's how I got through it, by masking the pain.

Stupid, really.

But I wanted to finish the pilgrimage.

And I have absolutely no regrets, because that walk changed my life.

I’m travelling again today – back to Sydney.

The Hobart art gallery MONA is every bit as good as people say it is. I’ve been to art galleries all around the world – and MONA has to be up there with the best.

(pic below)

So over to Sister Clare – always wise, thought provoking, and irreverent at times too!

Thanks Sister…

Firstly, thank you to you all for wishing me a happy birthday.

It was incredibly thoughtful, and halfway around the world I felt your kindness and love. So again, my thanks.

A strange thing happened when I woke on the morning I turned sixty. For a moment, just at that transition stage between sleep and wakefulness, I was in the hospital room where I was born, in Wimbledon London.

I looked on at my mother and father – they were so young – and they were so full of love for the baby they'd brought into the world.

It was a very strange sensation, being a witness to this, my birth. Seeing the impact it had on my parents.

And it occurred to me that I should in future turn birthdays around so that it's not a celebration of me, but a celebration of my mother and father – for all that they did to nurture me through childhood and adolescence – for all the sacrifices they made to enable me to be what I am today.

I don't think I'll look at birthdays the same way from now on, after that strange vision just at that moment before the world clutched me from sleep.

Firstly, thank you to you all for wishing me a happy birthday.

It was incredibly thoughtful, and halfway around the world I felt your kindness and love. So again, my thanks.

A strange thing happened when I woke on the morning I turned sixty. For a moment, just at that transition stage between sleep and wakefulness, I was in the hospital room where I was born, in Wimbledon London.

I looked on at my mother and father – they were so young – and they were so full of love for the baby they'd brought into the world.

It was a very strange sensation, being a witness to this, my birth. Seeing the impact it had on my parents.

And it occurred to me that I should in future turn birthdays around so that it's not a celebration of me, but a celebration of my mother and father – for all that they did to nurture me through childhood and adolescence – for all the sacrifices they made to enable me to be what I am today.

I don't think I'll look at birthdays the same way from now on, after that strange vision just at that moment before the world clutched me from sleep.

I have now created a special forum for the proposed Camino Tour.

Here is the link:

http://pgsthewayforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=89

Please indicate your interest on the topic thread there – and please post any questions or info you might have. Putting it on the forum keeps it separate from the blog and compartmentalised, so it will be easy to access information.

The more I think about the tour, the more I think it’s something I might do. Jennifer would attend too, as would Sister Clare. And it would be from Porto to Santiago.

I think it would be enormous fun!

Bill

This is what Jennifer bought me for my 60th birthday.

Hand crafted by wonderful Sydney jeweller John Tarasin.

The scallop shell design is based on the large shell on the side of the Santiago Cathedral. I gave John the shot below and he worked off that.

If you want John to make a piece of Camino jewellery for you, I can put you in touch. He's been a friend for many many years, and is an extraordinary craftsman and artist.

The ring is so special. I just love it. It won't leave my finger now, ever.

Thank you, beautiful Jennifer.

I listen carefully to words.  The words people use, and the words I find myself using, are endlessly fascinating to me.

Here is an example – yesterday I overheard Bill, effusive in his appreciation of help from a  work collegue  say: “I am eternally grateful to you.”

It struck me as an odd thing for him to say for two reasons –

1. Pre-camino Bill would never have used the word “eternal” or “grateful” and –
2. The expression “eternally grateful” itself.

How does such an expression exist in our thought processes? We, as a group of human beings believe ourselves to be finite – we are born and then we die. It’s a consensus belief, one we all agree with.  In fact we often say that death is the one thing we can be sure of.

And yet we carry this expression eternally grateful in our thought and language. But in this expression we acknowledge the opposite. We acknowledge our ability to be grateful to another person for all eternity. We say I am eternal and you are eternal.

How is it possible for us to carry an expression like this within our group thought structure?  It goes against all society’s accepted ideas of our finiteness. It denies “death” as a possibility. And yet it exists within our language.

Could it be that when we say “I am eternally grateful,” we are remembering who we truly are?

Eternal beings…?