1,000 km trek for Simon Community
KILMACANOGUE MAN DAVID SETS OFF ON WALK ACROSS SPAIN
DAVID Healy from Kilmacanogue has travelled to Spain where he is about to embark on a 1,000km coast-tocoast trek across Spain for the Simon Community.
He will walk from the south coast to the north coast, Cadiz to Gijon, and hopes to raise €2,500.
The walk should take around a month and a half. The only deadline he really has is a ticket to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Slovenia on October 30.
He flew out yesterday and will spend a couple of says in Seville before getting the bus down to Cadiz and preparing to make a start around September 2.
The Kilmacanogue man has always enjoyed walking, and even joined a friend on some mountain treks.
Growing up in a hilly and picturesque area, walking was bound to be a natural pastime.
Last summer. Trinity graduate David walked from Dublin to Galway. He covered around 20km each day and did a bit of camping along the way, as well as some B&B stays. He will find it a bit warmer in Spain compared to that particular route.
David studied ancient and medieval history and culture in university before taking a year out to travel. He went to Asia and also did some work here in Ireland to save money.
In terms of the challenge, David said you never know how the body will hold up. However, his sister is a sports physio so that has been really helpful. She gave him lots of information on the importance of not setting out too quickly, resting and so on.
If it gets too hot out there, he will walk at night. While he doesn’t necessarily have a goal of a particular number of kilometres per day, David expects to cover 30 plus each day.
The most he did in a day before was 58km from Dublin to Glendalough in 14 straight hours.
He’ll have a bivvy bag with him for sleeping outdoors and will stay in the occasional hostel along the way.
To make a donation to the Simon Community, find ‘Coast to Coast – 1000km walk across Spain in aid of Homelessness’ on Facebook.