Monday, May 16, 2016

I am getting ready for my journey to Europe to start my trek on the Camino de Santiago. I will be leaving Los Angeles on May 18th, and flying to Amsterdam, Holland. I’ll be staying with my niece Jennifer, who was born in the U.S.A., but moved to Holland over twelve years ago. She lives outside of Rotterdam and will be picking us up. We will spend a few days there to make sure we have everything and to sort out all our equipment.

Jennifer has a friend that will take us to the airport in Brussels, Belgium, and from there we will fly to Bizarret, France, a small town on the coast. From Bizarret we hope to catch a short bus ride to the train station in Bayonne, France. From Bayonne we take the train to Saint Jean Pied de Port, France, which will be the starting point of our trek on the Camino. Saint Jean is a small village in the Pyrenees Mountains and just north of the Spanish border. It was the place, and the pass, where Napoleon crossed over the Pyrenees when the French conquered Spain.

We have reservations at a hostel, which will be a first for me. After my solo treks, and remote and sometimes desolate camp spots, it will be a little different experience sharing sleeping quarters, but I look forward to whatever it brings.

From Saint Jean Pied de Port it is 500 miles to Santiago, Spain. The first day out of Saint Jean is said to be the hardest single day trek of the Camino, with a 4,500 feet elevation gain in fifteen miles and before the next village.

There is no real starting point on the Camino as The Way can actual be as long as your starting point. Most pilgrims start at various points in Spain, and some in France. However, most people trek the last 100 kilometers (62 miles) to Santiago.

For hundreds of years the pilgrims, as they were and still are called, have been making the pilgrimage from all over the world, but mostly Europe. It became more popular during the crusades when the holy land was controlled by the Muslims, as the Camino de Santiago was originally a Christian religious pilgrimage because the cathedral at Santiago was built around the grave of Saint James. But over the years people of all religions, and many without any religious belief, walk the Camino for their own personal reasons, and many find it to be a spiritual experience.

I am walking the Camino de Santiago for the experience and whatever that brings me. I look forward to seeing new places, meeting new people, and of course, I hope I find it challenging too. I look forward to my trek and I will hopefully post updates as I go along.

Best wishes,

Ted