Crossing the Pyrenees

Like Charlemagne and Napoleon and hundred of thousands (millions?) before me, I have walked up and over the Pyrenees into Spain via the Roncesvalles Pass. Only I´m not here to conquer anything except myself. After two days of walking I can already say that this is happening for me, and that this is maybe the best thing I have ever done for myself. On Thursday, I took the train from Paris to Bayonne, then took another little train to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the south of France. Next day, up, up, up! It was only a 2.5 hour walk but it was quite steep in places and there were really no level areas for rest. An amazing meal ended the day at Refuge Orisson, part way up the mountain. I was very grateful I could stay there as they have only 18 beds and my previous reservation was null and void, thanks to flight delays and missed connections. But it all worked out as it should. Today, we went the rest of the distance, up over the top. On the way, there were lots of sheep, wild horses, bulls, cows and birds. The weather was awesome and it was a bright and clear day and not too hot. Perfect for walking. The views across the mountains were like a fairy tale.

Now I am on the other side of the hill, in Spain at a very small place called Roncesvalles (population, 30). Those of you who know Toronto will recognize the name from the street which was named after a famous battle in this village during the Naploleonic Wars. There is little here except a very large former monastery which is now a pilgrim hostal, and two places to eat and drink, vino tinto (red wine) of course! I did go to a special mass for pilgrims today and received the blessing. It was lovely and all very strange. Not only did I not know what they were saying, it was all a lot of smoke and mirrors for this non-Catholic. But I figured it couldn´t hurt and I could use all the help I can get and walking over the mountain today was like touching God´s basement. I have already met some wonderful people from all over the world. The community of people here on the camino are the friendliest, warmest strangers I have ever met. Today Patricia from Ireland said "Oh where´s the rest of our group?" which I thought was neat...we are already a group! We will probably pass each other and connect again for weeks to come. During the days many people walk on their own and then meet up wherever they are beddin gdown for the night. Meals are a riot of conversation in so many languages and the jokes are multi-lingual. In French I can follow a conversation and communicate back; in Spanish, not so much, but my first year university Spanish will come back to me I am sure as I travel down the road. This is my first day in Spain after all. I have not been to a town yet where I can top up my phone (which I thought I had lost but hadn´t after all) so I can blog using that. So now I am using a computer here which eats up the euros pretty fast. I will try to blog more and upload some more photos when I have the chance. Having the time of my life. I wish you all were here. This is something truly amazing and my only disappointment is that I can´t share with you all in real time, on the ground, on the camino. Ciao, amigos!