Well, after my wife dropped me off at KCI, and after a long trip across the Atlantic Ocean, and after a 4-hour train ride and then another hour in a taxi, I arrived in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. What a quaint little village! First on my to-do list was to go to the Pilgrim’s Office to get my Pilgrim Passport, as it is required to stay at many of the hostels. They stamped the passport, which means I am now officially a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago! I also picked up my scallop shell, which is supposed to hang on the outside of your backpack so they know you are a pilgrim.
As brutal as the last 36 hours have been, tomorrow will make me question why I am even considering trying to do this. The trail takes me over the Pyrenees mountain range where 90% of the journey tomorrow is uphill. On top of that, all the hostels were already booked in town, so I have another 2 miles to get to my bed. So, it looks to be a leisurely 17+-mile day tomorrow. I actually tried to cut the day in half, but other pilgrims had that idea before I did and booked the few rooms that were available.
But I don’t want to think about tomorrow — right now I am loving walking around this French town that has every element you would expect in a setting like this — a river running through the town, church bells ringing on the hour, and architecture that you only see in pictures. I just sat down at an outside restaurant and am trying to slow my mind down and enjoy being still. Which by the way, wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to do! Try it — it might change your perspective!
“Credencial del Peregrino” — my Pilgrim’s Passport
My backpack with the pilgrim’s scallop shell
