Difficult Beyond Belief

A group of pilgrims (in their twenties) leave me in the dust.

First I want to thank so many people (especially from Incarnation) who gave me gifts before I left.  Because of their generosity I am able to write to you from my nice and toasty hotel instead of the Pilgrims’ Hostel.   When the forecast came for the bad weather I reserved a room.   Thank God.

Pilgrims climbing some of first hills in the rain.

I just had seven of the worst hours of my life.  Maybe not all seven but at least five of them were.

I woke up early and excited to go.  My hotel in Saint Jean Pied de Port was the best one so far this trip.   The woman where I rented my room was very diligent.  The sun was shinning on the mountains.  I knew that bad weather was forecast but hope springs eternal.

Not just pilgrims are on the camino.

As I set out at 7:25AM pilgrims were filling the cobble stone streets of the ancient city.  Maybe I should have taken the fact that the church doors were locked as a bad omen, but I knelt for a while entrusting myself to Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life and His Mother whose image will watch over me today and on so many of the routes of the Camino.  I knew the 13 plus miles would be tough but the 4,000 feet climb would be far worse.  I never knew how bad the weather would be.

The marker for entering Spain.

I was on my own.  I knew people would catch and pass me.   I’m kind of the tortoise when it comes to these things.  The climb began right away; the rain, a little later.  It wasn’t hard at first and to be honest I don’t think sun would be much better.   Once you’re wet, you’re wet.  But the weather also robbed the landscape of its beauty.  Before you knew it we were in the cloud cover.  That’s when the cold came.  First the winds, then the hale and snow.  I will be honest a few points I was really afraid.

The muddy trail as the snow began.

While I walked alone and it was wonderful at the beginning a pack kind of formed about two hours or so into the journey.  Senor Rojos (Red Poncho Spanish speaker), Messieur Chinoise (Chinese Man who spoke wonderful French), Mr. Green (Green coat and pack from England) and the Swiss Family Robinson (A Swiss Couple) joined me for a good four hours.  We were mostly in view of each other passing and overtaking on the roads and trails until the snows came.

Some of the climbs and pitches of the various mountains were just crazy.  Even worse than the rain and snow was the mud.  When the snow stopped of course the mud remained.  The whole thing was a mess.

Muddy Boots that began as swede brown. 

The hotel was indeed a welcomed refuge to shower and warm up when I arrived at 2:25PM.  Next door to the hotel was a nice little restaurant where I got the menu of the day (the Spanish eat so late).  Pilgrims’ Mass is at 8PM in the Abbey Church.   Too late today, I said Mass in my room.  The weather was so bad I couldn’t stop to eat the lunch I brought so it turned into an early dinner and I’m in bed by 6:30PM.  I’m going to take some medicine and call it a night.  Tomorrow comes quickly.  It’s longer but less climbing to the next stop.

Only two hours left!