Okay, I’m working this just minutes before the car arrives to take us to the airport, so if it seems incomplete … it is.

Gear:  This is what Bill is taking. Diane’s equipment is similar. Please note that this equipment list reflects too much time in planning!  It could be done in a much simpler fashion, but that doesn’t seem to be Bill’s (or Diane’s) nature!

Let’s start with shoes: The pair in the upper left are running shoes (yes, we still plan on running even though we’re walking 15 miles/day).  They are Nike Lunar Glides and combine light weight and moderate support. The pair on the upper right are Brooks Cascadia’s. They are a well recognized as a good pair of trail running shoes often used for extended hiking.  The flipflops in the front-middle are Target, $1.99 sandals. And very well used!  Perfect to be low weight and useable for the shower, etc.

Now we’re on to the extensive wardrobe. Upper right is a long sleeved dress shirt … sort of. Upper middle is hiking shorts, upper left is a pair of running shorts. Yes, we really do think we’re going to run.  Bottom row includes 1 long sleeved tee shirt, 3 performance tee shirts, and 3 wash and wear underwear. That’s it for standard clothes.

Warmth comes next. We’re hiking at the beginning of Fall so we expect to see cooler temperatures and a good bit of rain. Upper left is a pair of light weight rain pants, gaiters, down jacket, and rain proof wind breaker.  Lower row are smart wool socks (easy wash and dry), icebreaker 260 sweater, balaclava, and gloves. These should hold up through freezing conditions.

Now, the first aid. Band aids, mole skin and ibuprofen top the list here.

How about the frivolous? Hard to see, but we have a stove, a pot for boiling water, and enough Starbucks Via to fuel a nuclear power plant. We just don’t want to be”caught out” without our early morning caffeine fix!

Personal stuff: razors, toothbrush and paste, etc. Also, 2 spare reading glasses because, hey, we’ve already established that Bill can’t read so good without glasses.

Electronics:one led headlamp, an led lamp, 1 Power Monkey charger, cords, running watch, electrical adapters for Spain, etc.

Still to be shown are the sleeping bag (possibly useful), bivy (very useful), walking poles, and backpack.

We’re on our way!

We should probably note that almost all pilgrims we have met do not take a day of preparation. Just about everyone we met yesterday left this morning. That, even though it was raining a good deal. When you get here and sense the anticipation of the journey, you understand the desire to start now, not later.

We are not in a rush. We took a day of preparation … and the weather is supposed to be much better tomorrow.

One of the requirements of the pilgrimage is to check in at the Peregrino office and receive your first stamp. The office is always crowded! Many, many pilgrims. They are an equal mix of twenty-somethings and retired folks (like us).

Next, we searched for gas for our backpacking stove (remember out 80+ packets of Starbucks Via?  We don’t want to be caught out! )

From there we explored where the trail begins. If you saw “The Way”, you’ll remember the first thing Martin Sheen did on starting his journey was go the wrong way! We at least have that one covered!

Here is a photo of the river Nive as seen looking or our hotel room window. It is beautiful here.

Well, tomorrow we begin!

We are finally under way!  After all the coffee or generous host was willing to part with into our cups, we left St. Jean … 480 miles to go.

We left Maisson Dona Maria, or hotel in St. Jean about 10:45 in the morning for the 5 mile walk to Orisson.

Within 2 blocks we encounter the first of hundreds of trail markers along the Camino.

Five short miles later, we are at Orisson (it felt like 20 short miles …)

Orisson is really beautiful, the background of the picture hardly does it justice.

Orisson is also a hostel, not a hotel. We learn what that means … There were only 6 to a room here, but that was plenty. All very nice people. All with different snoring characteristics, different temperature requirements, different bed times, etc.  I’ve learned that sleeping alone with Diane is the better way to go.  Mark that under lessons learned.

In the hostel, we all get up at the same. We all pack at the same time, eat breakfast at the same time, and hit the road at the same time. Well, almost. Diane and Bill are a bit slow. So, about 10 minutes after the crowds leave we’re on our way.  In quick note: While Bill decided that he’s not a fan of hostels, it should be noted that we would stop at Orisson again in a heart beat. Beautiful local and the staff are excellent. Also, the 5 mile shorter start is a really good way to get your trail legs.

Back to the post: as we work or way up through the Pyrenees, we join up with many good pilgrims to share some time with. The photo below is of Diane with Janice, a genuinely nice New Zealander, who is also a committed Christian doing the walk as a true pilgrimage. She is the third Christian pilgrim we’ve met. This is not to say that there aren’t many others; we just haven’t met them or faith didn’t come up in the conversation.

The hike to the pass was both eerie and awesome. Often, the fog would shroud everything beyond 100 yards. At other times the view was breathtaking.

The next photo is the border of France and Spain. We made it! While we took a moment to shake off our fear of the Gendarmes catching us for our Metro mishap, we were quickly informed about Interpol … we’ll never be safe again I guess!

About 6 miles past the border we came to Roncesvalles, the typical stopping spot for Pilgrims. A German movie crew was there filming a movie about the Camino. We decided against a cameo role. Here’s a photo of the hostel in Roncesvalles.

We had lunch there then decided to push on a few more miles.

We finally came to a stop in Espinal, where we found a great Casa Rural with a room for just Diane and I! Yippee!  15 miles today, and life is good.

Once again, my time is limited for this post. The short story is: We walked about 22 miles today (fun but exhausting) and are now within about 4 miles of Pamplona.

The trail through the Spanish side of the Pyrenees is also beautiful, but in a different sort of way. Less rugged, but very lush.

At times, you follow a road, and others you are on your own trail.

The Vuelta a Espana starts tomorrow from downtown Pamplona at around noon so we had hoped to be within striking distance. We are!

We didn’t arrive until about 6:00, or about 9.5 hours of walking. A bit much.

The coolest thing was as we were walking back to the hotel after dinner (yes, we could still walk … though barely) we saw a car in the nearby gas station with signs on it indicating that it was a support vehicle for the race. Actually, it was Alberto Contador’s support car (if you are familiar with cycling, you’ll know that he is one of the favorites).

We talked to the man and asked when the race starts (1:20), and where, and how his team is doing (of course he said, quite well.  What else would he say? )

We’re not sure if we’ll stay tomorrow night in downtown Pamplona; maybe. Or maybe we walk another 10-15 miles. Such is the life of Pilgrims.