Oh my God

The walk from Orrison to Roncesvalles was one for the books. First up, up, up. At the top you cross over the Pyranees. Beautiful landscape with many sheep, goats, and horses.

Then down, down, down.

 The trail, which is rockey and muddy, drops about 400m in 4km. Unlike anything I've done before. Treacherously beautiful.

When Lori and I finally arrived to Roncesvalles 8.5 hours had passed. 

The albergue here is great and it seems that a shower, hot meal, friends, and several bottles of red wine go a long way to bring one back. We will find out today as we head toward Zubiri.

 

Orrison

Today we made our walk to the refuge at Orrison, almost 8 km. Most pilgrims continue another 12 km or so on to Roncesvalles, thank God we didn't.

 Nobody could keep up with Nathan and he soon left us in the dust. He is, after all, an Ironman. I pretty much ate Lori's dust as well. Today I was the Slowest Man on the Camino. Fat man walking. I calculate that I gained about 760,000 joules of gravitational energy getting here, considering the 620m of elevation gain and the mass of me and my pack. Since it took me about 4 hours and 15 minutes to get here, that means my power output was about 50 watts. Sadly, all of that would be wiped out by a McDonald's cheese burger. 

This first day of walking has been amazing. We've seen beautiful sights and met so many people from all over the world. I wish I spoke some French, but fortunately many people speak English. I had a very interesting experience yesterday trying to buy a postage stamp from a woman who spoke only French. Fortunately a bilingual customer interceded and I got my stamp. Culturally this is starting out as a great experience. 

 

Tomorrow is another shorter day (I'm not going to say easier because today wasn't), we will walk about 19km to an albergue in an old monastery at Roncesvalles. First, a big climb at least equal to today's followed by an equally big descent. 

Saint Jean Pied de Port

After hours and hours of traveling we all finally made it and met in Saint Jean Pied de Port. It is a beautiful small town in Southern France, at the base of the Pyrenees and the start of our Camino

.  We start our walk tomorrow morning. The plan is for an "easy" day, walking to the refuge at Orrison, about 12 km but gaining about 1200m in altitude. It is an idyllic setting and we are very much looking forward to it. Hopefully, the rain and clouds dissipate so we can enjoy the view.  I'll post more from there.

Buen Camino!

 

This is really happening, folks!

 

Via Seattle, New York, Paris, And Biarritz! The journey to St. Jean Pied de Port has begun!

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go.

School's out for summer, Lori is home from work (earliest in a month).  Andie takes us to the airport in an hour and 45 minutes.  Wow.
Let the adventure begin!

T-minus 10 days and counting

Lori and I are just ten days from leaving for our Camino.  Of course, it really started over two years ago when we decided to go.

We are excited and nervous.  It doesn't quite seem real, but I'm sure it will on the 19th when we wake up in Saint Jean Pied de Port and start hiking up the Pyrenees!  If you are interested you can follow our pilgrimage on our Blog (http://thejourneyhasitsownrewards.blogspot.com/) and on Lori's facebook page.  Hopefully, entries made here on the blog will post to facebook as well (this entry is a test of that).

Buen Camino!

On the verge

Today we have 25 days until we leave for our Camino. Naturally, my preparations have not gone as I had planned. I haven't lost any weight, I haven't walked as much as I'd planned. Maybe I should be concerned, but I'm not. I still feel the call to make this pilgrimage despite the factors that interfered with "proper" preparations. Lori and I have walked, and continue to. We just haven't walked as frequently or as far as we "should" have. I think I'm just going to put to the test the saying that "the Camino provides". I'm sure it will provide pain and soreness as it provides training. It will provide opportunities to practice flexibility (in how far we walk each day), acceptance of where I am (physically) and how I got here, and patience. I anticipate that I will grow stronger each week that we walk.

As a pilgrim I look forward to changing as a person. I will try and undertake my pilgrimage without expectations but with hope and faith. Buen Camino.