I'm writing this on the morning of April 7th, where I just slept in the town of St Jean Pied-de-Port, France....which is the starting point for my hike. It's starting to feel real to me, as I'm literally feet from the start of the hiking trail! But first, a bit more about my journey getting here......
I last wrote about my morning in Biarritz where I had an awesome stroll and breakfast at the local market. After that I returned to my hotel to shower and check out of my room. I left my bags at the hotel and wandered along the coast. Biarritz is an absolutely stunning seaside town, with lots of incredible rock formations, mixed with beaches. The town itself is very hilly, with tons of swimmers and surfers. Pretty brave with the temperature in the high 50's! I took a taxi at 3:45pm to catch my train to St Jean Pied-de-Port. Reminder the national strikes? You guessed it, they struck again. All trains were cancelled, so I had to do an audible and take an Uber. I'm finding out that you need to be patient and flexible on the Camino, and also that "the Camino will provide".
It was a beautiful drive from Biarritz to St Jean Pied-de-Port, where we descended through and down the mountain valley, following a fast-flowing mountain stream along the way. We reached St Jean Pied-de-Port in about 1 hours time. I grabbed my bags and headed to my alburgue (hostel) called Gite de la Porte Saint Jacques . This is when it really hit me. This is an incredible 400-year old building that was converted from a barn, then a 3 bedroom apartment. It has 3 stories, all connected by a spiral staircase, with 2 different sleeping areas, a meditation room, kitchen, lounge and outside patio which sits in the foothills looking up into the mountainside. It was renovated into a hostel 7 years ago, by a man named Ax. He and his partner Karen serve as hosts to pilgrims like me who walk the Camino. They've both done several Caminos, and consider it their calling to do help others doing the same.
There were a total of 14 pilgrims in the hostel, from a variety of countries, including Australia, France, Korea, Mexico, the UK, and a few others from the US (Massachussets, Montana, Washington, and of course Minnesota). Overall, the mood was anxious, but excited, with everyone busy making sure their gear was in order, their sleeping area was organized. My bed was on the 3rd floor, along with 9 other pilgrims, male & female.
Ax and Karen then hosted a vegetarian pilgrim's dinner, including bread and various types of hummus, some type of quinoa, and ice cream desert. We all introduced ourselves, our names, where we were from, and our reason for doing the Camino. This is when the whole experience really started to hit home. The "why" stories were amazing. Two of them stuck out more than most. The first was of a woman from South Korea. Thirteen months ago, she was run over by a car in the parking lot of her apartment. Miraculously, she suffered no broken bones but suffered some serious nerve damage. This Camino is part of her recovery, and also a calling from God who she believed help her through the accident. The second story was a gentlemen (73 years old) from Washington. His sister had been asking him to do the Camino with her. She had previously done the Camino, but he never did do it with her. She recently passed away, so he decided to do the Camino in her honor. As many of you know, I'm a bit of a 'cryer'.....so needless to say, the tears were flowing.
10pm and lights out for bed. It wasn't a great night's sleep, being in a common room with 10 people, with lots of movement, noises, and some snoring.
In the morning, we ate a pilgrim's breakfast of crepes, bread, cheese. We then participated in a pilgrim's ceremony to prepare everyone for their journey. Once again, tears flowed. Of the 14 people, 12 of them left the hostel and started off on their journey. I was one of the 2 to stay, so that I can explore the town and rest up for my own journey tomorrow.
Now it's time to get out of the hostel so they can clean everything for the next set of pilgrims to arrive.
Some pictures from the above activities......
Crazy swimmers in the cold water.
Beautiful beach and city views.
Biarritz is a surfing town.
You gotta love a French Beatles reference.
Surf shops in a surfer's town.
I had to put my toes in the water. This is the front end of my own version of "from sea to shining sea". The back end will be when I hit the Atlantic Ocean in the town of Finisitierre in about 550 miles!
Anybody who knows me, knows that I can sleep anywhere. I think this guy has me beat. Head up against a concrete step. The last time I did something like this was in the Boundary Waters about 30 years ago. I wish I had Cheez Whiz for some payback. (a little inside joke)
The evening Pilgrim's meal. I'm the youngest one at the table. The oldest is 73.
The Pilgrim's breakfast.
The morning pilgrim ceremony.
Followed by playing John Denver's song "Sweet Surrender".
Lost and alone on some forgotten highway Traveled by many, remembered by few Lookin' for something that I can believe in Lookin' for something that I'd like to do with my life
There's nothin' behind me and nothin' that ties me to Something that might have been true yesterday Tomorrow is open, right now it seems to be more than enough To just be here today, and I don't know
What the future is holdin' in store I don't know where I'm goin' I'm not sure where I've been There's a spirit that guides me, a light that shines for me My life is worth the livin', I don't need to see the end
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Lost and alone on some forgotten highway Traveled by many, remembered by few Lookin' for something that I can believe in Lookin' for something that I'd like to do with my life
There's nothin' behind me and nothin' that ties me to Something that might have been true yesterday Tomorrow is open, right now it seems to be more than enough Just be here today, and I don't know
What the future is holdin' in store I don't know where I'm goin' I'm not sure where I've been There's a spirit that guides me, a light that shines for me My life is worth the livin', I don't need to see the end
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without care
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