Arrived at Saint James Pied de Port, France, today and had an interesting day getting here. We drove from Amsterdam to the airport near Brussels for our flight to Biarritz, France. The drive was through the beautiful countryside which reminds me much of parts of Wisconsin, green and flat with dairy farms everywhere. There is no indications that you traverse into a different country as Belgum and the Nederlands are somewhat similar. Where the Dutch seem to speak Dutch and English, theBelgians speak Dutch, French, and Flemish.  

Security at the small airport was very strict after the recent terrorist attack in Belgum. There were actually military vehicles and solders maning the entrance to the airport and there was no direct drop off at the terminal. People had to park or stop in the parking areas to drop off the passengers. 

We flew on RyanAir, which is an Irish airline but the crew was obviously from all over Europe noticeable by the various accents of the attendants. 

Shortly after take off an older lady walked past us in the aisle and I smiled at her thinking how much she looked like my Aunt Grace. No sooner had that thought entered my mind than she collapsed in the aisle right next to me. I got up to help her up, as another man behind me had too, thinking she had stumbled. She could not stand up and appeared woozy and we let her back down to the floor. By then the flight attendants saw her and came over to help her. They laid her down in the aisle, and who I think was possibly a doctor came to help. 

It looked like something out of a movie as every passenger was turned around or standing up to see. You could hear the conversation and murmuring throughout the plane. I figured we would be turning around and flying back, but the attendants cleared a row of seats across from us and sat her down. I glanced over and she gave me a smile so I knew she was all right. Later I reached over and she gave my hand a squeeze and said thank you in French. She must have been fine because I saw her later with friends in a cafe’ in Saint Jean Pied de Port. 

When we arrived at the airport in France we had planned to take a local bus to the train station and then a train to Saint Jean. A cab driver yelled over to us and offered to take us directly to Saint Jean. We found a couple that was also going to Saint Jean and got them to split the cabfare. It turned out to be just as cheap and well worth the short scenic ride there. 

The countryside was a dramatic change from Holland as it was very hot and mountainous.  The scenery was picturesque like out of a movie with chalets on the hillsides and lining the river. The road follows a beautiful river that flows from the higher Pryness Mountains to the coast where we were coming from. The area is not heavily forested but looks like crazing land for sheep, which is a big Basque tradition. This part of France is very Basque dominated area, as is most of Northern Spain. The driver said he was Basque and that most of the Basque in the area are not rich. It was obvious that he was almost more proud of his Basque heritage than his French. 

Entering Saint Jean Pied de Port was a pleasant surprise as it was more picturesque and beautiful than I thought. It is obviously a busy tourist spot for both the pilgrims trekking the Camino and car tourists from all over Europe.

Saint Jean Pied de Port throughout history was always a military strategical area near the French and Spanish border. The town still has most of the old stone walls and towers built hundreds of years ago for the wars between the Spanish and French. Napoleon came through Saint Jean to occupied Spain, and actually moved his troops through this part of the Camino de Santiago.

The town is very beautiful with the river running through it and the buildings obviously being the original structures built hundreds of years ago. The streets are narrow and cobble as many are throughout Europe. The streets are busy with pedestrians, many with backpacks and the attached sea shell indicating that they are trekking the Camino. 

I am not one to love the crowds or tourists, but the atmosphere here seems filled with excitement and I find myself enjoying the crowds.

We are staying at the Le chemin vers l’étoile hostel in the middle of the town and next door to the cafes’, bakeries, and tourist shops. It’s obviously not a fancy place but it is in the heart of the Camino experience and I am glade we found it. There are many choices here as far as lodging since there are a combination of both Camino pilgrims and regular car and bus tourists, but I think the hostels gives us the truer experience of the Camino. Not to say that any other way is wrong or worse, but it is not how I want to experience it. For hundreds of years people made the pilgrimage from all over Europe, rich and poor, and they stayed wherever they could find a place to sleep, and that’s how many of the hostels and converted convents came about and are still open to pilgrims today. 

Today we walked the streets as sightseers and pilgrims. There is so much to see here that I can already see that we will have to pick and choose our stops down the road because there is so much history on the Camino. Just having a great dinner in the courtyard of a great and reasonably priced French restaurant puts one at awe because it backs to a twenty to thirty foot wall and walkway of the old city fort wall. 

We are back in our hostel, where I actual got a separate room with three beds, and we are deciding whether to start the Camino tomorrow. There is a twenty percent chance of rain, and this is suppose to be the hardest part of the Camino. It’s fifteen miles to Roncesvalles, the next village, and it’s a 4,500′ elevation climb. Weather will obviously be cool and great to trek in, but it is a dirt trail and steep, so rain would definitely be an issue. I think we may stay another night and leave early Monday as spending another day wouldn’t be bad.

Pardon any typos, spelling errors, etc, as I am writing this on my phone.

Best wishes to all,

Ted

Saint Jean 
Saint Jean

Monica, Jennifer, Ted 

Fort wall

View of Saint Jean from the fort 

Saint Jean Pued de Port

Saint Jean 

Bridge across River to our hostel

Catholic Church in Saint Jean. Service often for the blessing of the pilgrims 

 Our hostel on the right