walkingthecaminotogether

These pictures are from the first day and a half – the 24th and 25th

At the bottom of the climb, early in the am

This is the kind of trail we had to climb, lots of loose rocks

Griffin Vultures – up to 9 foot wingspan. Eat sheep !!

Mutti looking pretty spry after 10 km and a coffee

Look at the skyline – we are at about the 4500 foot level

Near the top of the pass, sharing the trail with lots of sheep

More pilgrims and more sheep – and a rocky path

that’s a herd of sheep in part of the valley where we have come from

The distance to St Jean is so far and the trail not one that a shepherd wants to take all the time so this is where they live for the summer tending their sheep!

DAY 1 (AUG. 24)

ST. JEAN TO VIERGE D’ORISSON (11.8 km)

We are excited and a bit anxious. This is the first portion of the Pyrenees climb. As it is designated as “difficult” we are climbing ½ way this day. A van will return us to St. Jean and then take us back to Vierge d’Orisson the next day. (There is no accommodation at VO). It is warm and sunny. The skies are an incredible cerulean.We pass through the Spanish Arch and after taking a photo for mother and daughter pilgrims, we start walking. Our mood is joyful to actually be here and doing this. How blessed we are! Our steps are light a d our pace easily 5km/hr. The hills begin. The day gets warmer. The hills are “alive with the sound of cowbells”. There are sheep and cows everywhere, paying us no attention as we trudge by. This “bell choir” gives a strangely comforting accompaniment to our day. Other pilgrims pass us and later we pass them—always with a wave a smile and “Buen Camino”—“good Camino”. The beautiful verdant hills seem endless now—and higher. Dad keeps reassuring me that it will level out around the next curve. It does not. It is very hot and we are very tired. Everyone we see looks exhausted. Finally, we reach our destination…..and we wait…..and we wait….the van is not there and does not seem to be coming. We begin to walk back. Downhill is easier for a while. We walk almost 3 km when the van arrives—an hour and a half late. Some mix up….we are just glad to be going back to St. Jean.

This journey began almost 2 years ago when Gavin suggested our walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostele to celebrate reaching 70. We watched the movie, “The Way” with Gavin, did more reading about the pilgrimage and came to the decision that we would like to give the Camino a try. Thank you, Gavin.
All of you have encouraged and supported us with this endeavour—whether it was walking with us as we trained or just believing in us. Your gift from MEC to outfit us has us being the best decked out (not the best looking:>). We are grateful to have such a loving family to help us celebrate our aging and Mutti’s recovery. Thank you all. xo We hope our Blog will enable you to “walk” with us and share this special time.
We are travelling the traditional pilgrimage route (Camino Frances or Camino Napoleon) which begins on the French side o f the Pyrenees at St. Jean Pied de Port. Our choice to walk on our own and not with a tour company is because we want this journey to be “ours”, at our own pace, have non walking days and our choice of overnight stays and accommodation.

The Beginning—

AUGUST 20, 2014:

Ferry to mainland. Thank you to good neighbour, Connie for getting us there on time.
Drive from ferry to airport with Ryan. Thank you, Ryan for navigating Vancouver traffic and getting us to the airport in good time.
Depart Icelandair with a short stopover in Reykavik. A glorious sunrise welcomed us as we landed—Iceland looked like a green jewel in a topaz sea. Sorry, we did not get a picture.

AUGUST 21, 2014:

Arrived in Paris with a couple of hours to get our train to Bayonne.
Arrived Bayonne (after a train change) —we have been travelling for 30 hours now.
Our hotel “Cote du Basque” is right by the train station.

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