Day two (only about 640 to go!)

On my kitchen sill

I've been thinking about why I've chosen to do this walk when I turn 50. Well, I guess because I'm only human. We start panicking when we get older and it seems we get bolder and tackle adventures that are much more significant than what we did when we were younger.

The more I think about it, the more the emphasis seems to fall on the word 'panic'!

So I'm going to stop myself from getting stuck in the '...have to prove that I still can, no matter what age I am' rut and really investigate why walking the Camino de Santiago is so appealing to me.

Lets face it, a month ago I didn't know it existed and now it's all I can think about. Lets start with the word pilgrimage, as this really caught my attention before anything else.

So, let me open up my crossword dictionary. (I did say I'm over 40...)

Apparently, a pilgrim is also known as a crusader, wayfarer, sojourner, traveller or wanderer. A pilgrimage is also described as a journey, trip, excursion, tour or expedition.

So I guess I can describe myself as a traveller of sorts, planning a journey. In this case however, the journey that I'm planning is going to entail so much more than just packing a suitcase. It feels more as if I'm going go have to unpack before I can start packing because the more I read about this very spiritual journey, the more I realise that I might not be sleeping in the nicer guest houses and my backpack really is going to filled with only the bare essentials...

An old poem, referring to the Camino Santiago reads ' The door is open to all, sick and healthy, not only to Catholics, but also to pagans, Jews, heretics and vagabonds'.

It therefore seems that I really do have an open invitation, and a choice as to which guise I choose... I'll have to continue thinking about it. I certainly have enough time!

In the meantime, its Saturday afternoon, the fire has been lit and soon we'll have a chicken grilling on the coals. In honour of my Mediterranean adventure and my husband's heritage, I decided to prepare a Portuguese marinade a couple of hours ago. I'd love to share it with you!

Marinade ingredients for a 1,5kg chicken:

3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon chilli flakes
1/4 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
60ml olive oil
60ml lemon juice

Mix together using a mortar and pestle until a paste has formed. Flatten quartered chicken, cut a few slits in the skin side of the meat, marinade in a shallow dish in the fridge for 2-3 hours before grilling.

Will let you know how it tasted tomorrow!

Nothing like fresh ingredients! Combining cooking and photography is one way for me to actually enjoy the process of preparing ingredients for recipes!