9/18/24; Getting Here.

Planes, Trains and Automobile (specifically: car, car, plane, plane, plane, plane, train, train, walk…)

Our Camino walk started today (9/18) but to get to the starting line we left Milbank after the funeral Sunday of our dear friend, Max Gonzenbach (a REALLY good man), and drove to our daughter’s home in Worthington, MN. Monday (9/16) we caught a ride from her back to Sioux Falls airport. After a 2 hour mechanical delay (that caused us to miss our connection flight in Minneapolis) we arrived in MSP and we were put on a different plane to fly to Paris where we arrived Tuesday morning at about 7:30. At 10 we took a plane from Paris to Geneva and that evening flew from Geneva to Bordeaux.

Tuesday evening we stayed in a hotel by the train station (did I mention the half hour taxi ride from the train station to hotel?) and this morning we caught the 6 AM train from Bordeaux to Bayonne, then a connecting train from Bayonne to St Jean-Pied-De-Port to “officially” start our walk but like any production, there is a lot that happens before the curtain can rise… So, here we are.

Today we walked from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-port to a town called Auritz/Burguete in Spain. On paper it isn’t very far, on the legs it feels a little longer. 17.25 miles, 4700 feet of climbing and lots of sheep, cows, cattle, some horses and other pilgrims. Camille’s watch counted 43508 steps and while her resting HR is 52, walking today ranged from 92-176.

Surprises on the day

1. The walk was a bit more difficult than we anticipated
2. Going UP a mountain is preferable to down
3. Food in Spain is better than France (thus far)

Reminders

1. Camille does not need a stress test, she’s good.
2. bring more calories
3. I usually look at sheep and think they are dumb… today the sheep were looking at me
4. Things that are difficult can still be quite beautiful
5. We are very privileged to be able to take the time to hurt ourselves like this

I thought about how not too many hours ago we were flying along (literally) at 39000 feet and 580 mph but now we were trudging along a little over 2 mph dodging road apples and LOTS of sharp and slippery rocks. With the rocks I didn’t have too much time to gaze about at the scenery… just focus on the immediate path. I think that is a good lesson for me, a little more enjoyment of the immediate path. I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about the destination but the Camino is about the journey. Slower is also about the journey. We’ll see if tomorrow Camille and I are ready to call the airline, but for now I am pleased to be where I am and the privilege of it all.