After more than two years of being grounded in New Zealand as a result of the pandemic, I’m excited to be returning to France in May, combining a long walk with some time back at our French house, sorting out a bunch of long-overdue maintenance.

Along with a friend, I plan to walk the 750km Via Podiensis (the GR65), a route that will take us across France, starting at Le Puy and finishing in Saint Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees – hopefully by the end of June.

If you follow this blog, you’ll know I am a regular hiker in New Zealand and in France and I’ve long felt a calling to walk the Camino, but it was only when I was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s in 2019 that I realised why the path was calling.

I’d always enjoyed walking, so when my neurologist said that exercise was about the one thing everyone agreed could help ward off the progression of Parkinson’s, I thought that was a sign that it was time to hit the trail.

I always feel better when I’m out walking in nature. Putting one foot in front of another every day is also a simple, positive action I can take to keep moving forward. It’s a ‘no-brainer’. While I can walk, I can walk!

With Parkinson’s Awareness Month in April, I’ll be taking the opportunity to raise funds for Parkinson’s New Zealand while I walk. I’ve set up a Givealittle page. You can follow my progress and donate there, and I’ll also be posting on this blog from time to time.

If all goes well on the Via Podiensis, I plan to complete the pilgrimage by walking across northern Spain from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela, in 2023.

Ultreia!