The Hike Begins Tomorrow

Dad at the train station

Barcelona is absolutely beautiful and we hope to be able to visit again. The train ride to Pamplona was great – the train was incredibly nice and very smooth – the seats even reclined which made mom very happy – it was also only a 4-hour ride! 

Mom waving from the train.

We decided to drop off a few things at our Pension in Pamplona to lighten our load for the trek over the Pyrenees tomorrow (we’ll be reunited with our items when we check into the pension in a few days). We had to take a cab from Pamplona to St. Jean Pied de Porte in order to stay overnight in St. Jean before beginning our hike. Our cab driver, Victor, and translator/girlfriend, Mary Fay, were so enjoyable ... learned about Spain's economy (not good), what foods to eat, the language etc. Mary Fay was impressed with my (Steve’s) Spanish ... Yes!  The ride was absolutely beautiful, but it was really windy and made mom sick to her stomach. St. Jean Pied de Porte, France is the official starting point for the 500-mile Camino de Santiago. 

Mom holding her Camino shell. 

We were excited to go to the credentials office and officially register for The Camino. We were given our Camino shells to attach to our packs. The scallop shell has long been the symbol of El Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meaning (http://christianpilgrims.org/pdf/Camino.pdf). Pied de Porte is a beautiful village and we visited the church to pray for our friends and family back home, and for a safe journey. We walked around town and had a nice dinner – met two Americans who are doing the hike as well – a man from Ohio and a woman from Connecticut.

We also shopped for food for the 18-mile hike tomorrow, 4,000 feet in elevation, over the French Pyrenees to Spain's Roncevellas.  The weather is PERFECT for hiking – cool in the morning and beautiful afternoons – conditions couldn’t be more ideal. We will start the hike tomorrow (Sunday 9/2) morning at 6:30 – we expect to take 6 ½ - 7 hours – possibly even 8. We don’t know! I'm (Steve) thankful the tiempre is perfecto as Sue hates the heat!  All the practice hikes are over, it's time to let the flecha amarillos guide us along The Way.

Buen Camino mis amigos y familia.

Esteban y Susahna

Getting their credentials from the registration place in St. Jean. Mom is telling the woman that their bags are not heavy at all! :)