Last night at dinner we had our first Pilgrim menu, three courses and wine for €10. The food was…about as good as you’d expect, and I think I’ll avoid it in the future. After dinner, the church held tours and a mass. I, along with my travelmates did neither. Instead, we want to a bar. It’s always good to find others who dislike doing the same things.
Category Archives: Europe
Day One: St. Jean to Roncesvalles, 25.1 km
Last night at communal dinner we started the evening with introductions. We stated our names, where we were from and why we were hiking the camnio, the people and their reasons varied greatly. Ages 20-80 from all parts of the world, most people were hiking for some version of bettering themselves. I almost felt ridiculous that my reason is simply for the adventure. Although on today’s hike I met Sarah, one of three Canadian women about my age, who is walking with her mother. She too is walking for the adventure of it, stating, “my life is good right now, I’m not trying to fix it, I’m just enjoying it.” Which, pretty much sums up how I feel.
Day 0: St. Jean
After a short flight, and easy shuttle connection I’ve arrived in St.Jean! The weather is remarkably warm and I’ve already managed to get a very mild sunburn. As luck would have it I have only one roommate, a girl from Brazil around my age. We have a private bath, so adapting to communal living is avoided for one more day.
And I’m Off: St. Jean!
This is probably the most clean I’ll be for a while. Tomorrow, I’m flying to France and taking a shuttle to St. Jean Pied de Port where I’ll start my trek on Wednesday. Plans have changed slightly, and I’m meeting Alex in Madrid after my first ten days for a long weekend, then rejoining the trail after. I’m really excited about this, aside from the obvious seeing Alex, and gorging myself on tapas, it mentally helps break up the long hike, I only have to think about the first ten days.
Colliding With The Earth 