REFUGE ORISSON to RONCESVALLES May 3, 2016 Today — 8.7 miles Total — 14.9 miles I wish I could blame my sleepless night on noisy roommates, but truth be told, I just couldn’t shut my brain off. Somewhere around 2:00 a.m. my eyes flew open and I was wide awake. Excitement? Doubts? Anxiety? Probably a bit of each. Determined to provide my body with some rest (if not sleep) for the difficult day ahead, I lay quietly in my upper…
SAINT JEAN PIED DE PORT to REFUGE ORISSON May 2, 2016 Today — 6.2 miles, all up! This was it—the first day of my 500-mile journey! I awoke with a dry throat, tummy roiling. Much like the pre-game jitters I got years (and YEARS!) ago while playing college sports. I had heard the stories. The first day of the Camino was the absolute toughest. And with my lack of training I just wasn’t sure how my body would perform. Fortunately,…
The next morning I awoke to clear blue skies and a much sunnier attitude. I nestled in my comfy bed as long as possible, then showered, packed and got ready for breakfast in town. My real Airbnb host, Melanie, arrived promptly at 9:00 and we drove to the cafe where Maria, my “saved me from the rain” host, served me a breakfast of bread, butter, jam and hot cocoa. I was to discover that’s pretty standard morning fare here in…
Saint Jean Pied de Port, France—the traditional starting point for the Napoleon route of the Camino de Santiago—was my first destination. As I boarded the plane in Sacramento my main concern was making all my plane and train connections, especially since I don’t speak French. I knew once I arrived in Saint Jean I could breathe a sigh of relief. As previously agreed, my Airbnb host would be at the train station to pick me up, we’d go out for…