Category: Ruminations

Tom left first, at 6:05 AM. Herve and I were just a few minutes behind him. Of course, half the albergue had emptied out before then. It was cool in the dimly-lit streets of Estella, but the forecast called for the heat wave to continue at least through the end of the week. We soon passed through the gate out […]

Today is halfway day. Not in terms of distance – that probably happened several days ago. No, this is the halfway point in days walking on this pilgrimage. It is also an extremely short day – the book says 16.2 km. I’ve done several days with double that length, so this is practically a rest day. Tomorrow, of course, will […]

Today’s forecast called for cold rain all day. It was well after 8 AM when everyone sort of tumbled out of the gîte. Today was meant to be a short day, so nobody was in any hurry. I left during a break in the rain. The Camino took us through the commercial heart of the city. Since today is the […]

Breakfast at 7, out the door by 8. At this point, I’ve either reserved or sent reservation requests for every place but one left in France. How very different the Camino in France is from that in Spain! In Spain, the only places I reserve are Roncesvalles (because it’s required) and Santiago, because it’s crowded). In France, you are pretty […]

Today’s start was very slow. Fortunately, it’s meant to be another relatively short day in preparation for tomorrow’s long haul. The first stop was the Mairie (town hall) to pay for last night and get stamps in our pilgrim credentials. They didn’t open until 8:30, which in part explains our slow morning. And then we had to hunt up some […]

It was drizzling when I woke up, but soon stopped. The forecast called for more rain, possibly thunderstorms. Rain gear today, then. It was also a great deal warmer in the morning than it had been the past few weeks. So, rain gear tied around my waist to start. Not exactly an elegant look. My fleece started the day packed […]

Between yesterday afternoon and this morning, I basically ate through almost my entire food stash. I may need to rethink how I’m doing this. A cool, crisp, cloudless morning. I left the gîte sometime after 7:30 AM in no particular hurry. The little lake looked lovely in the morning light, and I passed several fisherman as I retraced last night’s […]

Scattered and unfocused this morning. It took me way too long to pack up. One year ago, sometime close to midnight, after the great Easter Vigil, we took Francine to the emergency room. I knew the day would come. That doesn’t make it any easier.  It’s hard to remember now, but at the time I was certain the doctors would […]

This morning as I prayed lauds, Maas read over a letter written by a friend of his to him before he left for Camino. It is a fairytale about a man who lost everything and so went for a long walk. He said he read it again every morning, like a prayer, because it was so moving for him. He […]