Camino a Santiago Day 0: Arriving in St. Jean Pied de Port

I’m not going to lie. I’ve been so focused on the fact that I’m sitting on a fully booked flight, that for a minute there I lost sight of the big picture. Until I didn’t. My Camino a Santiago had already begun.

As we took off from O’Hare, on a non-stop flight to Paris, I opened the window for a moment and then it dawned on me. I’m leaving the U.S for the longest consecutive period of time since I first moved here 22 years ago. Wow. 

Pre-Camino a Santiago jitters

No matter what happens, the next six weeks are going to be as much an exercise in managing that as in taking care of my feet. As obsessed as I’ve been the last week with every ache and pain that my over-anxious brain has been manifesting onto my body, that little fact didn’t figure in my thoughts until now. 

I mean, it’s not like I’m going to some totally foreign culture, where I can’t speak the language. I thrive on international travel, exploration, and on meeting people from all over the world. That is my thing, so to speak. There is also, not a single logistical aspect of this trip that has not been taken care of by me. Exactly tailored to meet my wants. I am not, to be clear, a traditional pilgrim on the Way of St. James, so I’m definitely not worried about that.

But as many of you know I am seriously considering an eventual move to Spain. This time away, is the beginning of a process that should clarify whether such a move is realistic, or just an idealization of a lifestyle that sounds great in theory. There is lots to ponder…500 miles worth….and maybe 500 more. 😉  

Arriving in France: From Biarritz to St. Jean Pied de Port

Arriving in Biarritz after my connection from Paris, something doesn’t feel quite right. A popular beach town, known for being the playground of the rich and famous, I thought I’d enjoy a day here. Ordinarily I think I would have loved it. As it turns out, I feel a bit lost. Like this is not the right time for me to be here.

The next day I’m on to St. Jean Pied de Port via a train ride from Bayonne. Riding in the cab to the station, I can tell right away, this is where I should have spent the night.

St. Jean itself is a lovely town. This is the place from which pilgrims embarking on the entire 500-mile Camino a Santiago take off. I took a brief walk around, had some lunch, and went to the Pilgrim Office to pick up my pilgrim passport. This is the document I will use to prove the distance I’ve completed on my pilgrimage to Santiago. I simply need to get it stamped at each place I stop for the night over the next five weeks.

It’s funny, but I’m already meeting people, fellow pilgrims. The first one, on the train here.*

Since I’m still quite jet-lagged, my goal is to take it easy, and spend some time playing with my new gimbal and the video editing software I’ll be using for my vlogs. Having never done this before it’s going to be a bit of a learning curve.

Anyway, it’s time to get to bed. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, going up and over the Pyrenees.

*I don’t know it at the time, but Linda, who I met on the train, and Bill & Eloise, who I met outside the Pilgrim office will become important parts of my journey nearly to the end.

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FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation: Gite Bidean. Kindness and helpfulness is what defines owners Pascal and Joe. They walk every arriving pilgrim through what to expect on day one, maps and all. My room was one of only two private rooms in what is primarily an auberge. It was spacious, comfortable and the perfect place for me to settle in for the night on the eve of my Camino

Lunch: Cafe Ttipia I picked out this restaurant before even arriving in France. The food wasn’t anything special, but their kitchen is open all day, which was my primary reason for going there. Also, they have a patio facing the river.