Practical stuff for fellow Pilgrims

To say I spend time on the computer...starring at other blogs and forums related to Pilgrimage, is a little like saying alcoholics think about drinking morning, noon and night.  I think I might need a group where I can stand in the room, wearing my jeans long, in an effort to cover my hiking shoes.  Where I can say (sans translation)  "Hola, mi llamo Karin, soy Perigrina".  Without having to launch into a dissertation on what is a pilgrimage.  Or an explanation of who is St. James.  Or a graphic lesson on where Santiago de Compostella lies in Spain, done using my right hand made into a fist (purely illustrative purposes mind you, not to punch someone, perish the thought).

Ahh well, it's probably my itchiness that is making me so cranky.  So, focus, Karin, Focus!

So, in my efforts to prep, for the day my granddaughter releases me, I keep shopping, weighing and selecting gear.  Working out a bit more and trying to test the feet.  The new Keens didn't get a good try today because of torrential downpours (on the off chance I have to return them!)

On the practical side of things I have made some excellent discoveries, many courtesy of the Camino Forums I frequent.  Things like solid shampoos and conditioners.  There are even solid "lotions" and they're terrific.  Why?  Well they can be physically lighter than their liquid options, and when flying from the US with all the TSA restrictions, easier to transport.

In my quest for these items, I've also stumbled to options that were complete failures.  Here in the US there is an excellent brand of natural products called Burt's Bees.  They have a form of baby shampoo in a solid bar, so I thought great.  Till I tried it.  As someone who has mucked out a few stalls in my time, I know where of I speak when I say this, my hair felt like the straw before the stall gets mucked out!  Gross and disgusting.  I tried it more than once, thinking perhaps I didn't rinse enough.  So, should you think of trying this one type of solid shampoo, all I can say is don't.

The search went on.  I was now fairly skittish regarding raves about solid type hair products.  I decided to persevere  and tried a company with world wide retail and online sales.  Lush.  Luck would have it there was a brand new store in one of the local shopping malls.  So I wandered in and opted for one called Godiva.  I've only one complaint.  It's a tad to fragrant.  Some how the smell of jasmine and pilger pong just doesn't seem to strike the right cord for me. To say nothing of those who can't tolerate scents.  So Godiva will remain at home.  On to "Ultrashine" with nearly no fragrance and terrific lather ability.  At two ounces its a great replacement for about 3 bottles of shampoo (or so they tell me!).  It lathers well enough I think to be used for all of me in addition to the hair.  So double duty, which for backpacking purposes, I think is perfect, as is the solid conditioner called Jungle.  It also really works!  Lush can be found on line at www.lush.com .

Lush didn't seem to carry a solid form of lotion.  So the search continued and as luck would have it a small local shop in Mt. Holly, called  Jersey Made, had some.  Unfortunately the list of ingredients is near impossible to photograph, but they're as follows: coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil and scent.  The scent is truly imperceptible. (At least to me!)   They had a sample in the store and I have to say it seems to work very nicely.   The brand was called Green Cow Studios.  The stores website is: www.jersey-made.com .  They're currently located at 33 White St., Mill Race Village, Mount Holly, NJ 08060 Ph. 609-914-1536.

So bit by bit things are falling into place.  If only a certain little miss would decide to come out of her hiding place!!