End Day 1/Beginning Day 2

Yesterday’s walk ended with a wait for the shuttle bus back to Saint Jean. I was very cold as it was a bit windy and cold, plus I had sweated and then stopped moving. I was huddled up with my rain poncho on for warmth when another pilgrim joined me to wait. I commented on how cold it was, and she laughed at me. Turns out that Caroline is from Quebec, so she no doubt thought it was balmy! We had another good laugh on the shuttle; the drivers whip up and down the one-lane road, which is next to a sheer drop for much of the route we were on. Caroline muttered, “Please don’t kill me!” I said, “Man, wouldn’t it be something to die after all of that?!” And then we laughed and laughed. Maybe you had to be there! This morning’s commute was even scarier, with a passing situation that had me pretty worried! I guess I’m pretty thoroughly a flat-lander at this point.

Obviously we didn’t die, and I made it to my gite (hostel), which was really nice. The volunteer host was Oili, a very kind Finnish yoga teacher. I was just exhausted after 3 hours sleep the night before and then the long climb, so I was asleep by 7:00. I did awaken a few times, but I’m pretty sure I got in 10 hours before 6:00 this morning. I feel so much better!

I shared a dormitory with six other people. Only one of them snored, and he wasn’t too close to me, so it wasn’t too bad. Very cozy. Oili served breakfast and coffee and then led a “Pilgrim Ceremony.” (It was most people’s first day.) This was a mindfulness exercise mixed with a benediction of sorts and ended with a recording of John Denver singing “Sweet, Sweet Surrender.” It was nice. The best part of the morning was cake for breakfast! One of the offerings was a cake I saw in the bakeries, too. Not sure if it was a Basque thing or the tarte de Santiago, but it was delicious.

1. The view of Saint Jean from the gite’s patio.
2. My little bunk for the night. I was happy to get to choose a lower bunk.
3. A house in Saint Jean. No, I wasn’t drunk - the street really is that steep! I appreciated the commitment to flowers.
4. Even the weeds are pretty in this part of France! I also saw this flower in the mountains today.Read more