Irun to Pasaia, part 1

Our first day walking on the Camino Norte has begun! Last night we flew into San Sebastian airport, which is actually in Irún, and took a quick taxi to our hotel. We could have walked the two miles in about 40 minutes, but after 24 hours of travel, Bonnie and I weren't up for it with our backpacks. We checked into our hotel, grateful for a room with two single beds, showers, and towels. Then we found a local place for a shared pizza before crashing.

Neither of us slept as well as we had hoped. I woke up several times having to go to the bathroom. Apparently, my bladder felt I had hydrated through the long travel day, but my head sure didn’t, as I had a pounding headache.

About 3 AM, I decided to get out my Kindle to finish a book I was reading, An Atheist on Pilgrimage by Leonard Vance. It was fascinating how insightful and spiritual his 1200 KM Camino from Gibraltar to Santiago and finishing in Muxia was for him as (in his words) he "opened his mind." In reading it, it seemed that he opened his heart wide, wide open, but then I’m a chaplain and he is a research scientist, so we would describe things differently.

Again, his words, “The Camino has given me a gift. I can see the world through the eyes of spirituality, and with it, the ability to engage perfect strangers in this kind of serious conversation. My world is a richer place, but in a way that is, as ever, ultimately unquantifiable.” I like this guy. I hope we become friends. After finishing his book, I thankfully fell back asleep.

Bonnie and I woke up before our alarm, both from our internal clocks being messed up by the eight-hour time change, as well as our excitement to be on the Camino. Our backpacks had been prepped the night before, so we didn’t need much time before we were heading to our starting point. We were walking to a bridge that was half in Spanish territory and half in French. We had planned to find a bakery in France for our kickoff breakfast, but the bakery was closed. Our backup plan was a nearby cafe, but it was not open. A grumpy Frenchman was setting up the chairs on the patio, and he told us he'd be open in 10 minutes. We decided this ambiance added to the experience, so we decided to wait. Once opened, we ate Spanish tortilla, but in France, and the moody Frenchman turned out to be kind, giving us extra baguettes with our coffees. Bonnie and I both agreed, though, that our coffee back home at the neighborhood coffee shop (shout out to Common Grounds) serves better coffee and pastries than what we had today in France.

We stopped and took pictures on the bridge at the border and then continued back into Irún. We followed the yellow arrows, which we found on the ground, on posts, and on signs. It was easy to navigate the Camino path through this border town, and that can’t be said for all cities on the Camino.

The large Catholic church in Irún was closed as we passed by, as was the Santiago Hermitage, but I was able to take a couple of interesting photos through a window. The Guadalupe Hermitage was open after our first gradual climb, and it was full of interesting art and a crucifix suspended from the center of the ceiling. Later in the day, we entered the Basilica of Cristo de la Bonanza, which had a model ship with a green hull hanging from its ceiling and a couple of life preservers on the altar, which made more sense when we learned that the locals pray for the fishermen’s safe return, as well as boatloads of fish.

The walk today took us out of the city, through farmland, and over a mountain pass that was full of livestock. One donkey laughed and brayed at us for a good half a minute. We laughed at ourselves today, too. The sun hoodie I am wearing says, “Mauka to Makai,” which in Hawaiian means “from the mountains to the sea,” which is a great theme for these first two weeks. Weatherwise, there was not a cloud in the sky, and while it wasn’t as warm as it is in other parts of Spain, both of us had finished our three liters of water before we reached the town of Pasai Donibane, where we stopped for the day. Most pilgrims push on to San Sebastian, but we had agreed not to rush the beginning and let our bodies adjust to the walk, especially since this route starts out with a gnarly climb. We were glad we did. We were spent when we arrived and grateful for a private room, hot showers, and a nap.

So much planning goes into a Camino; I spent over six months on the logistics and preparing for this journey. Today, I’m actually here, grateful for the plan but acknowledging that I find so much joy being present for the things you can never schedule. We met our first couple of pilgrims. The first two were English lads from Manchester and Newcastle, both living in London. They've been walking from St. Jean Pied de Port and will be ending in San Sebastian, a mini-Camino before they join their family on holiday. As we reached the first monument past the Guadalupe Chapel, we met an American couple. I asked where they were from, and they said a small town on the Idaho/Washington border. We laughed and told them we were from Boise, and they said they were from Moscow. Their names are Tom and Carol, and today is their last day of a walking tour through the Basque region. We had a nice conversation about their journey and travels, as well as ours. If we had passed by them in Boise, even in the Basque block, maybe we would have politely nodded to each other. But when you meet at a Jaizkibel historical landmark on the other side of the world from home, within five minutes these strangers are inviting us to use their cabin in McCall.

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