A week in the life of a pilgrim.

A pilgrim's life brings forth a rollercoaster of emotions.  The anticipation, exhilaration, the excitement of crossing the Pyreenes and the feeling of total liberation, knowing that all you are responsible for is putting one foot in front of another but also the frustration and fatigue, the aches and the pains brought on by the strenous treatment placed on your body.

A huge part of the Camino experince is the sense of community. The United Nations, 'buen camino' as like minded souls trek the well trodden way.
We have come across a rainbow of personalities; the lady at the pilgrim sign-in office at St Jean Pied de Port, with her orange platform shoes (that would put Minnie Mouse to shame) toting a gucci handbag.  Needless to say we have not seen her along the way.

Lea is having private Spanish lessons from the singing pilgrim 'Francesco'. He gives her two new words to learn per day.  He is her part-time yoga instructor as well!

Irish Seamus, a trusting soul followed obediently along the old track before turning back losing faith in Brad's navigational abilities. (Brad turned back 10 minutes later dazed and confused to finally find the correct path to the camino.)

Our Japanese Hiro with his many plastic bags in his knapsack can be spotted at various rest stops adjusting his wares.  A pleasant fellow, always offering up Japanese treats, such as miso soup or pokki. Hiro, unfortunately is not a good room mate though as he snores like a trooper.

It is interesting to note that is acceptable to describe the Japanese fella, or the Danish girl when relating tales of the day.

Our first week has seen us travel 135.5 kms and it has provided us with an unique experience; looking back as we share a bottle of Bodegas vino tinto, we are blessed to have already generated so many memories and stories.

The Nuptial of Mr & Mrs Lachlan & Bethany Greene

There are few days in one's life time that punctuate  a memory more than a wedding, especially one that involves your own child.  Here you are witnessing a life journey embedded in love and understanding  and in the middle of this is your child who has grown from infancy, through adolescence, to adulthood, to the man lost in the eyes of his wife to be as they exchange their vowels of love.

The memory is re-enforced further when the wedding is an intimate affair of only immediate family (10) in total, who have come together to celebrate the love and life-long union of their sibling/child.

It was our absolute pleasure, nay honour to  witness Lachlan take beautiful Bethany to be his wife.  The stunning back drop of Port Douglas, framed by the chapel, Saint Mary's by the sea was the secret setting for the nuptials of Lachlan and Bethany.

As the tropical humidity simmered and the cicadas applauded, the Knights and the Greenes joined in unision in welcoming each others child into their fold.

Bethany wore Lea's mum's wedding ring as something borrowed, which is starting to become a tradition. Elly played "falling in love" on the guitar as Bethany walked down the aisle. Brad and Bethany's mum, Sue did readings whilst Elly and Rob (Beth's brother) were witnesses. A two layered chocolate mud cake was made by Bethany's sister, Glenys. Very delicious indeed.

Drinks and nibbles were served at Barbados on the marina. Followed by dinner at Salsas. 

Such a gorgeous, intimate celebration; full of love.

Albergue Life.

Sleeping in a restored monastery sounded like a good idea, sharing the same idea with 200 other pilgrims - where the United Nations of flatulence join in unison and nationalities snore in their own dialect - not a great idea. Welcome to the world of a peregrino (pilgrim).

Within the albergue your eye patch and ear plugs become your new lover, where your pillow case and sleeping bag become a form of barrier nursing and your head torch allows you to Houdini like scamper from the top bunk without injury or persecution from other pilgrims you may have woken.

Each Albergue  has its own unique qualities, from its unisex showers, all you can drink vino, cupboard size rooms that people smugglers would be proud of and drunken patrons who lay prostrate in corridors.

The camino is more than physical exertion; it is about building resilence, to define a strength of character. In fact, the Camino has tested us physically and emotionally, it has been everything we expected and so much more.

' lf it doesn't challenge you it won't change you.'

Over the Pyrenees.

It felt like the first tentative kiss of new lovers, the anticipation,  the brush of lips and the electricity that flows through one’s body; our first steps on the Camino de Santiago was exactly like this.

It began on the cobble stoned streets of St Jean Pied de Port, where the souls of pilgrims long pass hung, mist like whispering 'buen camino' as we trekked through villages and farmlets. Postcard like images greeted us as we made our ascent up the brutal beast of the Pyrenees. Muscle memory kicked into over drive, courtesy of the hours spent memorising the road up to Copelode Dam and we were rewarded by the sight of Albergue Orisson as it materialised, mirage like over the crest.

This would be our first experience of dorm sleeping since our travels way back in 1999, and with the knowledge that we had 35 more nights of it, we embraced it as necessary.  Our night at Orisson became one of pilgrim pass and as the wine flowed tales were shared and camino bonds were formed.

Day break greeted us with a blood orange sun, that drenched us in warmth as we made the climb to the summit. The path reads like a tribute to the recently departed pilgrims, who lost their way and life on the Camino.  The trek is body numbing as the Peregrino God beats you with chilling winds and groaning peaks, but also instills inspiration and rejuvenation.

Our steps took us to the protector of the Shepherds, Mother Mary; who sits on an out crop of rocks and protects all, as they pass her way.  Onward, we ascended through the last remnants of melting snow, across goat tracks and past rescue huts until our footsteps took us over to the Spanish border and into the valley of Roncevalles.  A monastery dating back to the 1700's awaited, along with a pilgrim mass; where prayers for our safe journey were given and received with gratitude.

So far, it has been a liberating experience and we look forward to the next 790 km!

The beginning!

Eyes hang from stems, zombie feet shuffle and fuggy mouth causing a gagging reflux (Brad only as Lea brushed several times); all thanks to our three flights, two trains and 40 sleepless hours. Our final train rolled into Bayonne at 11pm where the Hotel Cote Basque greeted our water-boarded bodies.
Morning saw us exploring grand Bayonne with its medieval streets and lorax like trees criss-crossing through out the the township.  Our wandering took us up to Cathedral et Cloister where saints reigned down from stained glass windows and steeples raised to the heavens. We boarded our final bus and the realisation that the ‘Way of St James’ beckoned.
With our pilgrim passport embossed with its first stamp and our shell festooned to our backpacks, it was time to explore the walled town of St Jean Pied de Port.   ‘The foot of the pass’ is the offical starting point of our sojourn and what a little gem she is. Picturesque houses huddle along the river spanned by a photogenic medieval bridge, a citadel whose fortifications twisted and brutal, erupt from the ground, spreading its tentacles outward to protect the the town from the marauding Spanish and to act as a raiding base for the French.
Each street oozes its own history and door frames adorn years that pre date white settlement in Australia; infact, decaying tombs fallings from their foundations tell stories of yesteryear, which to our eyes is hard to fathom.  Each maze of streets supports artisans ranging from bread, chocolate, pastries to the famous La Fabrique De Macaroons, where delightful flavours such as lemon, chilli and coconut teased our tastebuds.  The delicate tastes of ghe macaroons was soon stripped bare by our first pilgrim dinner that consisted of a salt water broth, chicken that was rejected by the Colonel Sanders himself and fries so over cooked that they looked like the toes of a 100 a day smoker.


Bon appetit!

A pilgrim's life!

Bonjour,

A pilgrim's life is not an easy one! Even before reaching the starting line at Saint Jean Pied de Port, the tests begin.

Unlike Dr Who in his tardis, it has taken us 30 hours to teleport from Cairns to Paris including a pitstop in Hong Kong on the way. Battle fatigue is not an adequate description of how we are feeling at present.

We arrived in Heathrow, London in time for a beautiful sunrise. Feeling sleepy, we anticipated a relaxing couple of hours waiting for our flight to Paris.  The Pilgrim God , however had other ideas. After a trip to the bathroom, Lea realised that she came out without the document wallet containing passports, tickets and money. She retraced her steps within a minute, only to find the wallet gone. 

With sinking hearts, we began to think that maybe our journey would be over before it really began....... Hallelujah, faith restored in mankind. Patron Saint of travellers came good. Documents were handed into security!

After a runway journey longer than the flight, we have arrived in Paris. Only 4 hour transit until we board the train to Bayonne! All going well we should arrive about 11pm making the trip over a grand total of 46 hours!

                 Good morning Heathrow!
       

Lights of London!

Charles De Gaulle Railway!

Our way

Well, It is time for us to be on our way! A new adventure calls! Brad and I have 3 months long service leave and depart our sunny FNQ shores for the land of tapas, sangria and oranges on April 2.

It will be a pilgrim life for 6 weeks. The plan is to hike  'The way of St James'. 835.2 km, starting in St Jean Pied de Port in France, across the Pyrenees and finishing at the coast of Cape Finesterre, Spain. With just our backpacks and hiking poles, we hope to cover 20 to 30 kms a day. A true pilgrim will not seek the creature comforts; instead keeping life simple by staying in monasteries and albergues  along the route. Some of the highlights, we are looking forward to include; the Monuments of Estella; famous for its red wine dispensing tap,the legendary stained glass of Leon's cathedral, wine tasting around Logrono and of course our arrival at Santiago de Compostela. (the official end of the pilgrimage)

Our hope is to have a sojourn to Krakow and Prague before we board our ship for an expedition around the arctic on June 5. 

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/norway/spitsbergen-explorer-2016-2017-92195, For itinerary.

What is an adventure without a road trip? From June 16, we are hiring a camper (10 days) and making our way around the Ring rd in Iceland. A little side trip to Greenland before we leave Scandinavia for sunnier places.

 In true gypsy spirit, we will go where ever the mood takes.  Adios!

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