Bayonne to St Jean Pied de Port

Bayonne to Cambo Les Baines to St Jean Pied de Port. 

Our day begins with a lazy morning. Finding the post office,we send items we no longer need back home. John purchased a phone, for emergencies. Then we had some cafe con leche and headed back to our room. 

Many of our travel clothes are left in the hotel room. Our backpacks are as light as we can get them. We are both overweight. I suspect mine is 17#. It should be no more than 14#. I will be lightening the load tonight. My soap and lotion bottles are required...but I can empty some out. Muscle and joint herbal cures and oils stay, if at all possible. 

On our walk to the station, we stop at the Bayonne Cathedral for a prayer together. We have asked Our Heavenly Father to watch over us, guide us and help us on our way. We have asked that He hold those we pray for close and help them in their life struggles. We ask for strength to be pilgrims.

Now we begin our our last leg of train and bus rides. The train is filled with backpacks and pilgrims. We have met some Aussies who are doing only bits and pieces of the way. A great many of these folks have done this before. Our Aussie friends have. For a few days, we can follow the group, to insure we get ourselves into the right places.  

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St Jean Pied de Port. The bus from train and bus from Bayonne was filled with backpacks. Our first stop is to register at the Pilgrim headquarters. Everyone on the bus trudged up the hill, over the ancient cobblestone, to register. A fine mist is falling, but the chatter and sharing of stories cannot be dampened. 

After we are registered, we wander around this incredible little village, seeking our first albergue. Our first choice is already full at 1:30. We next wander past a scallop shell on the side of a bar, (we would call it a cafe) and a young woman runs out to ask if we need a place to stay. She has plenty of space, dinner, breakfast and internet. Bonus-we can have a room alone. So we stay. Cite d' EtApe is a beautiful little villa and there are pilgrims starting and finishing here. A couple of Irish women are finished and flying home tomorrow, a man from Idaho is starting tomorrow with companions, and many more pilgrims we met during dinner are, getting going tomorrow or Monday.

Once we know we have a place to sleep, we do some sightseeing. Again, we visit the church here. Mighty small compared to the cathedral in Bayonne, but I can feel God's presence and feel blessed to be taking this first step. Outside of the church is the first fountain of our trip. John filled the first of many water bottles there. All along The Way, water flows from founts, making it easy to stay hydrated. 

The park is filled with Corvettes. Yes, those US muscle cars. And a few vintage Chevys and Fords. I sure wasn't expecting that. I guess men and their cars are the same all over the world. Fast, strong, loud cars!

We must leave our albergue by 8 on Sunday morning. First off, we need to post a warranty for the Euro phone John purchased today. After that, we head to Orrison, where the albergue is full, but they have platform tents with bunk beds we can sleep in. Most people head to Roncesvalle, but this seems to be a crowd of pilgrims who are over 55 and recognize that the journey is not a race. Our walk tomorrow will be about 3-4 hours, with an elevation gain of about 3500 feet. I think we will be very happy that we have our down sleeping bags tomorrow.

Later in the evening, we became amazed that there are so many pilgrims starting tomorrow that the albergue a in town are full. This surprises us, as we thought most of the walkers would be back at work and school. Retirees are making the season shift and keeping the albergues full. We are also watching the weather closely. The fog never lifted in the Pyrenees today. We hope to hike over them, but if necessary, we will walk around them. I've no desire to get lost in those foggy mountains. The decision will be made tomorrow. 

For tonight, a glass of vino blanc with a wonderful meal, engaging conversation and a warm feeling of concern for people I've never met and may, or may not, ever see again. The spirit of The Way is alive and thriving in St Jean Pied d Port. 

Buen Camino