24 April 2013 We begin the Camino

The Pilgrims were out in numbers early this morning in St Jean. Our first surprise of the day was that we did not have any bath towels in our room. I checked the front office to find that no one showed up to work until 0830. We did fine since we had our own towels in our pack. Loaded up our packs and walked downtown to get a bite to eat and start our walk to Orisson. Not a long walk in distance, 10KM, but it just happens to be the steepest part of the entire walk. Something like walking for three hours at the gym on a step machine.

We said our good byes to St Jean, asked St James to bless our journey and proceeded towards the Pyrenees Mountains. St James is with us, our day has been perfect, sun, views, time to think, and of course other Pilgrims to chat with.

The first pilgrims we walked with were from Germany. I asked their names, the young ladies name was Ella, it just happens my grandmothers name was Ella. I said my name was Nick and the young man said that is my fathers name. Interesting. We caught up with two Canadian Girls and one Irish lady from County Cork, Veronica. I asked her if she knew any O'conners or Aherns in Klamath County , Oregon where I grew up. She said she did. Interesting. We must of passed 25 people walking up the trail. One very large gentleman from Reston , Va, we now call him the Virginian, he was not only very over weight but carrying about 50 pounds on his back. He certainly needs to work on his physical health. Not good , but I can report he made it to Orisson.

Again, the views and country side were beautiful. I am glad I shed a few pounds myself or I would have been in the back of the pack with the Virginian. I tried to visualize how Napoleon and Charlemagne could have possibly fought wars in this area. How Pilgrims in the 10th century navigated the steep grades not knowing totally the direction. I thought about how my relatives followed the Oregon Trail, Pilgrims all. My few steps today was nothing compared to previous pilgrims.

We have our room here at Orisson Reguge for the night. Bill and I did some laundry. Tomorrow we will be out of the Pyrenees. My new friend Jean-Jacques the owner of Orisson welcomes all.

My thought for my 5th grade team is to think about how over all the centuries we have had Pilgrims ... can you discuss with each other what a Pilgrim will be in this century. Will they be the same as today? Will there be a new pilgrimage?

Spain tomorrow. France au revior