We’re on our way!
All posts by Bill-Di Pinbert
Day 1 in Paris
After two planes and two trains we have arrived outside of the office where we will pick up the keys to our rental apartment. It is raining, but still very nice in Paris. Our only challenge? There is no one in the office for us to get keys. We are fortunate in that there are several free WiFi signals available. On accessing one, we are able to send an email to the person we were to meet. after 15 minutes with no avail, we use the wifi signal to make a Skype phone call. That seems to work. We are taken to our flat, and it is a wonderful unit on the 5th floor above the bustling sixth arrondissement street, Rue de Buci. A quick unpack later, we are out for a long evening stroll along the Seine.
This morning began with a running tour of Paris. In 6 miles of running, and 3 miles of walking, we were able to see the cathedral at Notre Dame, the Tulleries, the Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel tower, Musee d’Orsay, and many beautiful Ponts, etc. Take that Hop on Hop off! Our tour didn’t cost 29 Euros AND was a great warm up for the Camino!
This afternoon will be filled with more exploring and tomorrow, we’ll actually go INSIDE some of these sights we ran by! No drive by tourists here!
Day 2 in Paris
Over the last 24 hours, we’ve actually gone inside the buildings! Yesterday afternoon was the Louvre, today was the Musee d’Orsay. While absolutely fascinating, both Diane and I have realized that we are each good for only about 3 hours in a museum at a time. Even with that constraint, we we’d still able to see a lifetime of amazing art.
This morning began with a run to, then through, the Luxembourg gardens. That was beautiful and a great place to run! We weren’t the only runners with that idea. There were 100’s of joggers there.
This afternoon was the Orsay, then another great walk on the Seine. On feature of all the bridges (ponts) is that there are locks plastered on all the railings. It is purportedly to lock in your love in Paris” … or something. Whatever it is, it is popular!
Metro Scoff Laws, Diane and Bill
Okay, okay, there is a back story. We left our rental unit at 6:00 am this morning to catch the metro, then the SNCF train to Bayonne, then the local train to St. Jean. That was early enough, but not cush with time. In arriving at the metro, we couldn’t find the ticket vending machine. We searched and searched. Bill asked the only other person around in french, where to buy a ticket (or so bill hoped). The guy looked confused (go figure) and motioned for us to follow him as he went through the turnstiles. Of course we couldn’t! We had no ticket!
Being inventive we decided to go in the exit and find the ticket booth INSIDE. Well, there was no ticket booth INSIDE, but we were! So, we might as well take the train … because after all, we can always buy an add fare on leaving, right? Nope! No add fare. So, we left the metro exit looking over our shoulders expecting a company of Gendarmes to swoop down on us at any time.
We have heard from some of our fellow pilgrims that they’d seen our photos inside the French post office, though. We’re only 5 more miles to the Spanish border. I think we’ll make it!
The Excitement Builds
After leaving the thrilling life of metro sneaks, the train to Bayonne was relaxing and nondescript. Once in Bayonne, things changed! All of a sudden, everyone around has a backpack. The conversations start with short questions, then quickly grow to life stories. A group of 2 becomes a circle of 20 telling stories in anticipation of the hike to come. By the time we arrive in St. Jean, you have 30 good friends you will see off and in for 35 days.
Here’s a picture of part of the group.
St. Jean: A Day of Preparation
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!
St. Jean to Orisson
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.
Orisson to Espinal
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.
Espinal to Villava (just outside Pamplona)
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.
Villava to Zizur Maior (with a stop in Pamplona)
This morning started casually as we knew that we only had about 3 or 4 miles to go to the center of Pamplona and the start of the race. The hotel we stayed at was about 1 km. off the Camino, but was far enough that we had no pilgrim crowds.
On reaching the Camino, there they were! The streets were alive with pilgrims working their way to the next rest stop. Many had likely started at Loarisoana, about 7 miles back. We lazy pilgrims just started about 1km. back. Well, a pilgrim must walk their own Camino.
We reached the gates to the old city about 11:00,
We then began both exploring the old city and looking for where the race started. Here is one of the buildings in the old city
We finally reached the square where the race was to begin and it was buzzing with excitement
After each of the riders signed in and we’re introduced, they lined up for their 100+ mile ride (they do this every day for 3 weeks … and we complain about walking a few miles!)
The picture below is what an amateur photographer takes and explains why real photographers still make money. It’s bad! But imagine if you will, 180 cyclists lined up at a starting line ready to ride. Well, that’s sort of what this picture was supposed to capture.
After the race, we enjoyed a late lunch, then back on the road. While warmer in the afternoon, we like the quieter nature of the Camino then. Most pilgrims have found their hostel by then, so it’s just us misfit pilgrims still on the road. But as I said, we do like it that way.
Again we chose a hotel for the night. At roughly 50 euro for a 3 star place, we’re becoming accustomed to this lifestyle.
We have already searched out the local “menu de Peregrino”, so we know what’s for dinner tonight!
More later …