Day 3 - St Jean

Before we go on any further, can we just make a pact?

As hard as it will be for me, and for many of my literate and verbally proficient friends, can we just agree that we'll put our red editors pens down while reading this journal - and accept the misspelled words, the missplaced commas and the run on sentences!  I trust you all know I'm smart enough to know how to spell 'understood' and 'directed'... and that, while its almost painful to read them in the finalized version that gets posted, I have neither the time nor inclination to fiddle around with the format of Blogsy to figure out how to edit them after publication until they're word perfect!

I trust you'll also excuse all the errors that will inevitably follow as my fingers type on a small keyboard when exhausted, under the influence of pain pills or in a rush to get thoughts down before they leave my head completely! Are we agreed? Now that I have THAT off my chest, here goes ...

St Jean - 

how many words are there for gorgeous?!

So many people and new faces and names to remember - 

Jenny from CA, Franz from Germany, Katarina from Finland, Mary from WA - 

all eager to share life histories and previous Camino experiences or current Camino fears. 

Will be traveling tomorrow to Orission with Jenny and Mary - so nice to have their company!

Jenny and I were laughing at lunch when someone asked how long we'd been traveling together - 

and we realized we just met this morning! 

How much has been shared in a few hours!

If one of my motivations for walking the Camino was to remind myself there are good people in this world, God has certainly put me in the right place!

We're staying in a wonderful alberque, with great spirit and energy - 

all my Creation Spirituality friends would LOVE it here! 

A bed, dinner, breakfast and packed lunch for the hike tomorrow - all for 22E.

A GREAT deal

The alberque is complete with a chapel (Spirit House), 

Zen flags, 

a wonderful garden 

and a place outside to sit for reflection!

SO glad to have 'lucked' into finding this refuge - 

especially since Jenny and I were originally booked into a different Gite - 

at 3 times the price!

Along the Camino, apparently, 

there's no problem with looking at a room - 

and turning it down!

A communal meal and sharing tonight as we all prepare to start our Caminos in earnest tomorrow...

The weather has lifted and the Napolean route is now open.

Forecast for the next three days is sunny and in the 60's. 

So it's on to cross over the Pyrenees after all!

It's a temptation to stay where it's beautiful isn't it? 

where it's easy and people cater to you and cook you wonderful meals - 

but, that's rarely where 'real life' and growth happens.

All of that happens where its messier, 

where its hard and when you rely on God 

to provide what you need!

Can't begin to describe the feeling of this place - 

and the people I've met so far... 

except to say, it's been a wonderful gift - and I'm only 3 days in...

I know it gets harder, 

I know it gets more painful,

 but I also know, like the rest of life - it's all a gift!

I want to stay grateful for all that has come my way!

Crossing THIS tomorrow!

Ultreya!

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Day 2 - getting there

And, yes, just in case you're wondering, I did do a lot of thinking about what it says that, at this stage of my life, I'd rather hang out in quiet with dead people than be surrounded by raging hormonal teenagers... guess it's a good thing I'm taking a break from pediatrics, right?
Anyway, on to today...
Paris to Bayonne

What started out as a mild, overcast day in Paris quickly morphed into a rainy, cold day the further south I went.
I had a major meltdown before ever getting out of the hotel and to the train station... believing I'd lost all my Euros - which lead to a complete unpacking and reorganization of the entire contents - once said Euros were found. (Come on, who doesn't put all their money in with their socks?)
Tears and prayers worked wonders to get my head back on straight- as did an odd combination of telling myself to both buck up and stop being so hard on myself - hey, I'll use whatever modality works to get me through this.
Forget blisters and pain, I've suspected for awhile now that head games might be the biggest obstacle of my journey!
As I hoisted my pack to head out, the phrase "Pick up your cross and follow me" came to mind very clearly.
Immediately, I knew the crosses I picked up this morning were my judgmental attitude, loneliness and my possessions!
Not that any of these things are bad, in and of themselves.
My ability to judge quickly and accurately was instrumental in the ER, assessing the dangers to a child and the same trait has helped me make life choices that I can live with, without regret. My loneliness and feeling outside of the mainstream has helped me recognize those who are marginalized, in many ways, to cherish connections and to keep reaching out; possessions have helped me create a home that feels warm and expresses who I am. The dark side, however, of all these traits weighed heavily this morning - and will continue to be companions as I travel toward Santiago. Maybe they don't need to be laid down as much as moderated - but, for now, I've picked them up as durected and they'll be in my thoughts as I walk the Way.
Bayonne to St Jean Pied de Port
In the course of two days, I've regressed through the annals of transportation history - from planes to trains to

bus and, finally, to foot!
The legendary Camino camaraderie began on the train to Bayonne - where backpacks, hiking poles and looking both tired and excited are dead giveaways of those on pilgrimage.
My seat mate on the train was a young Korean artist (Sculptor) traveling to walk the Camino "because she works all the time and needed a break". Hunj Yu spoke of her family back home and how they didn't understand why she needed to do this pilgrimage - which was alright with her since she can't explain it either - sounds familiar!
The train from Bayonne to St. Jean was cancelled due to a mudslide last week taking out the track, so we continued our journey by bus.
The mood was initially jovial and felt like a bus headed to Adult Summer camp.
Animated conversations in German, Spanish, French, Korean, Dutch and English echoed through the seats. Images of the Tower of Babel going mobile came to mind.
As the weather worsened and we headed deeper into valleys, surrounded by towering mountains, things got quieter.
My seat mate on the bus was a charming- and classically handsome - Spaniard with grey hair.
He spoke not a word of English and I realized that my Spanish pronounciation is not recognizable to anyone but the Rosetta Stone lady - and she clearly was being nice cause I was paying her!
Through a combination of charm(his) and international charades (both of us), I learned Paulo was hungry, tired, that he was anxious about walking but he's done it before and feels called to do it again and that he farted and he was sorry about that... in other words, about the same number of things I understand from many of the dates/conversations I've had with other guys in the past several years.
As we left the bus, he took my hands in his, and said something while, very intently, looking in my eyes... fantasies of living in Spain with the love of my life were interrupted by a person behind us, asking me if I understod what he'd just said. "He just said you have the light of Jesus in your eyes and he knows you're going to see the Saint in Santiago and finish your journey.
OK, so it was better than the dates I've had lately! (And, yes, there's that cross of loneliness traveling in tandem with me!)

Signs for the Camino are all around St Jean, a town that, even in the rain and cold, looks like its out of a fairy tale.

I registered at the Pilgrims office, got my first 'stamp' in my pilgrims passport and a scallop shell for my backpack - it's official.

I'm a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago!

The pass through the Pyrenees (the Napolean route) is closed due to danger/snows.

I'm due to spend another day in St Jean adjusting to the time changes and altitude, so I'll see what the weather brings on the 5th when I'm due to start out.

It sounds as if the reservation I have in Orission will be honored and it is possible to get there without danger. After the night there, I would be driven to Arneguy, on the Valcarlos route, to continue the pilgrimage on the safer side the next day.

Tomorrow will be a day to explore - and check into my first albergue.

Heading out to try to find some dinner. The cold pizza and warm water for breakfast and a smoothie for lunch might not tide me over until morning!

I'm well, excited and truly outside my comfort level every minute.

So far, so good!

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The first stage (4/1/14)

St Louis-Chicago

Chicago-Paris

Do I need to say again how much I dislike flying? 

Although truth be told, it was fairly uneventful - except for being trapped back in economy class, for an overnight flight, with 50 high school French students headed to Paris at the same time as moi!  
It was like watching a pack of puppies playing - all unrestrained exuberance, short sharp yips and outbursts, all clumsily vying for position - and I swear they didn't stop talking through the entire flight.
When we hit some turbulence, you would have thought we were on a ride at Six Flags - hands in the air and screaming! Luckily, their chaperones were justifiably appalled with their behavior. I felt so sorry for the adults that it mitigated my pissed off-ness with the kids. It felt like I was trying to start a silent retreat in the middle of a frat house - during a pledge week toga party!

Paris is as lovely in spring as the movies would have you believe...

and, while walking around, waiting for my hotel room to be ready, I found a quiet oasis, right in the middle of the neighborhood, which helped restore my sanity - and readjust my attitude.

The cemetery de Montparnasse

Will work tonight to reconfigure my backpack and get ready for a full day of train rides tomorrow as I head south. Somehow the amount in my backpack morphed to more than 22 lbs, with electronics, sleeping bag etc... can't think of anything I can jettison - but God it's heavy!

Be patient as I get used to this 'Blogsy' app for posting (asking you as well as reminding myself!) and try to figure out how to access free wifi along the way - keeping in mnd that I'm technologically Amish.

Tired, stiff, lonesome for familiar faces to kvetch to - but getting by as a stranger in a strange land!

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April Fools

Spirit of Life and Love,

we gather on this day dedicated to fools and whimsy.

We do not know who created this day,

but surely it was a wise soul,

hardly a fool.

For there are indeed days that come to us all,

when we are one with the Trickster,

delighting in the world of surprise and laughter,

and it lightens our spirits.

Then there are days

when it feels that the joke must surely be on us,

when we wonder if there are other fools like us

in the world:

clowns whose smiles are not so different from their frowns

But the good news is that there are -

we are all fools of a kind

and not just once a year.

We have foolish hearts that dare to love,

foolish minds that dare to explore,

foolish spirits that dare to dream -

look around!

We do not live by reason alone.

We need more.

So let us pause for a moment

to be grateful for the fools

who live in each of us

let us not be afraid to let them out,

to laugh and fall and stand again,

for we can never know what wisdom

we might yet learn.

Lisa Friedman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It feels right that I leave for a great adventure on this day - 

I've been foolish 

for worse reasons!

Taking you all with me 

in my heart -
keep me in your prayers!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take.