It was a storybook start to fulfill a dream of mine to walk the Camino de Santiago. I arrived as planned (albeit over packed) in the small picturesque French town of Saint Jean Pied de Port, the start of the Camino Frances route. Met some lovely pilgrims on the way, arranged for my post Camino items and miscellaneous stuff to be transported on to Santiago de Compostela for me, had some good wine, a delicious meal and great company. It was just about perfect.
I had an extra day in SJPDP to help acclimate and on September 21, 2016, I took my first steps on the Camino. It was a beautiful clear day and even the 4-legged locals were out to greet me. I was feeling great.
This was the beginning of my steep and relentless up hill hike to Refugio Orisson. With every turn I kept expecting to see the Hostal or at least some flat terrain. It was not to be. There were more hills, some of which were steeper than the one you just climbed.
In the mist of the pain and agony I couldn't help but to marvel at the beautiful landscape and my accomplishments. I'm hiking the Pyrenees.
View from Orisson
The people who run the Albergue and the pilgrims I met were wonderful and the view was just stunning. At night you can hear the cow bells outside our room (horses and sheep have them too), and it helps me to overlook the snoring. It's all in the Camino experience they say which I can appreciate, but I had probably 30 minutes of solid sleep the whole night.
I loved the communal dinner where we shared our names and where we are from. A young girl from Liverpool (who sounds like the Beatles, two girls from Ireland, a girl from Israel, a couple from Ireland, a girl from San Diego and a 72 year old woman from Sweden doing her 2nd Camino (my hero), a mother and son from Minnesota (originally from Hawaii)
The pilgrim's life is simple. You walk, you shower, you was your next day's clothes (in hopes that it dries), you share a very brief Post dinner chat and then you go to bed by 9:00 am. Breakfast is at 7:00 am to 7:30 am.
Tomorrow, I will embark on the Journey of a lifetime. What first started out as a "Dream" will soon become a reality. In the morning, I will leave my comfy bed, my car and my fast internet service here at home to walk an ancient pilgrimage called the "Camino de Santiago (Wikipedia), also known as the Way of St. James.
I will start in the small French town of St. Jean Pied de Port at the foot of the Pyrenees. From there I will walk 790 kilometers (close to 500 miles) through four of Spain's 15 Regions to the town of Santiago de Compostela which is where the remains of Saint James is buried.
There are several other routes for this spiritual pilgrimage, but I will be taking the most popular one called the Camino Frances (The French Way) as seen on the famous movie, The Way, with Martin Sheen and Emilio Esteves.
I've been planning and preparing for my Camino for the last two years and I still don't feel prepared. Recently, I told a perfect stranger about my Camino when they asked if I had any travel plans. When I told them I'm excited, but that I don't feel prepared. This person shrugged that off and said that I'll do just fine, it sounds exciting. It's walking. You'll have a lot of fun. Just then I realized that in the mist of stressing over my preparations, I had forgotten what an amazing experience my Camino will be. I realized that I have done all that I can do to prepare and that worrying about what I can or cannot control was beginning to take away from the excitement and joy of looking forward to my journey. The Camino lesson in all of this is "to let go, live in the present and enjoy each moment to the fullest".
Some people are born with natural athletic abilities to make such a trip easy, just like some people are born with the natural talents to write classical symphonies. And then there are some who are not. It is true that I'm not the fittest nor the fastest and I can't come close to writing a classical symphony, so I'm not sure how I'll do or even if I will be able to finish. But what I do know is that I have always tried to live my life and will go beyond my fears to do so. What I lack in natural physical abilities, I feel like I can make up in other attributes like having a strong desire to live my dreams, my faith in God to help guide the way for me and my determination to not give up. Before I leave tomorrow, I wanted to contemplate on all the things I have going on in my mind and heart and what I hope to experience:
my faith in God
my faith in myself
the support of my family and friends
my belief in the Camino pilgrimage and all the life lessons that it provides
spiritual/religious strengthening
the opportunity for self discovery
the opportunity to let go of some of the regret's in my life & to ask for forgiveness
the celebration of my new found freedom as a retired person after 41 years of being in the work force
my desire to full fill my dream of walking the 500 miles Camino de Santiago pilgrimage
Will I complete the 500 miles? I don't know. I will leave it in God's hands. All I know is that I would forever regret it if I didn't at least try. And with that perspective in mind I feel like I have already fulfilled my Camino de Santiago dreams by taking my first step on the Camino Frances Route in the small town of St. Jean-Pied-de-Port.
I plan on blogging and tweeting along the way and on some of my other social media sites. You can find the links to them by clicking on my Camino de Santiago Page located on the tab at the top of my blog or on the side bar. Follow along as I embark on writing my classical symphony entitled, "Trekcapri's Camino de Santiago, A Journey of Reflections & Gratitude."
I am definitely very thankful to have the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to walk the Camino de Santiago. And whether or not I complete it, I am very proud of myself for trying and for living my life. Before I go to bed, I'll say this little prayer and have faith that God will keep me safe, healthy (physically and spirituality) and inspired on this Camino journey.
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit descend on you.
~ Celtic Blessing
To keep myself motivated, I did this cool word art a while back. I love it. I will say these words to myself as I walk.
And you know I had to do it. Here is my traditional trip announcement video for my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage:
