Tomorrow I'm setting off for Pamplona. There I'm meeting my friend Cris to drop off one car, travel together in the other to Roncesvalles and start from there. I've had the ankle-boot trainers bought for doing the Camino de Santiago for years. And the day has finally arrived.
We don't pretend to be genuine pilgrims: on Monday we'll do less than 10km, on the second day 20km and on the third 14km. It's the time we've managed to find, without kids, to enjoy this plan together that we both fancy so much. It's a taster. And after this one, I'm sure more will follow.
The truth is I had a proper laugh yesterday when she told me that the village festival is on our first night. We haven't decided yet whether to bring earplugs or festival gear. Cheap-jack pilgrims, as I told you in the title.
I have long since been learning to dance with whatever life wants to bring, so...
Tomorrow I'll be a pilgrim, even if only a wannabe. And nobody can take away the fun I've had.
Post-trip: it was a success. We enjoyed ourselves so much among the trees, meeting people from all over the world each doing the trail in their own way, from a woman who ran about 50km every day, a couple from Colorado with her 81-year-old mother following the usual plan of around 25km a day, to other Israeli women who did about 7km each day… Delighted listening to the Espinal brass band at the local festival where I ran into I, a school friend who shared her past year with us: her middle son suffered an accident in which his girlfriend and the girlfriend's sister died. He was in a coma. The driver and him drifted apart with everything that happened. Everyone is healing. She told us with a smile that there was a lot of learning. There was light in her. Love and admiration for her son. And a most precious outlook on Life.
I do not consider that we were cheap pilgrims. We walked in our own way. And it was perfect just as it was.
For anyone it may concern, this was our itinerary:
- Roncesvalles – Espinal.
- Espinal – Larrasoaña.
- Larrasoaña – Pamplona.
Buen viaje!