Day 3 - August 24 - PART 2

Day 3 - part B

"Ju" is a Taiwanese- American woman my age, my size and who has my spirit! She also has this real deadpan sense of humour.  We met her in the middle of a forest path trying to shove thirty pounds of "stuff" back into her pack pack. We advised her to purge at the next hostal that night. We stop for a snack, climb a hill to cross a major hwy and who is on the other side dumping stuff into a big garbage bin? Ju! We cross

over and find out that her hubby paid for her trip and packed for her- 30 days supply of Starbucks coffee, blister packs, Mole skins, Metamucil, you name it. You name it, she had it. She threw clothes out- she was a walking department store. Jesting we said "We could have used some of that stuff!" She tips the bin and dives in to haul out stuff to give to us. Honest to God! I have the picture.

She took a liking to Nancy and me and we ended up shadowing each other all day. We arrived at the Municipal Hostel, a real dump run by Godzilla, but there was no place else to go, we thought. Ju walks in, throws her backpack on an upper bunk and declares "I have high blood pressure. I can't sleep in a top bunk. Watch my stuff. I will be back". She was back in 10 minutes and declared" I found us three bottom bunks in a private hostel close by, and I paid for breakfast too. Come on, we are out of here!" Nancy and I were speechless. She wouldn't let us pay, told Nancy in an aside after "not to worry , she was loaded"; that we had helped her, end of story! We accepted with graciousness and gratitude, so happy to not have to stay at that awful municipal hiatal. We told others we knew there that we were leaving behind three bunks already paid for, and to pass that message on to new arrivals. Such is The Camino! The Avellano hostel was wonderful. We paid for Ju's supper but it was not in repayment. It was just The Camino Way"!

I have two days blogging to catch up up. J'espère que Louise pourra afficher mes photos de Ju!

Day 3- August 24 - dédié à mon petit grand-neveu Antoine, fils de Michelle et Brad

 Left Roncesvalles at 8:00 to arrive at Zubiri almost 9 hours later. A long day, 21.8 km and a hike of another 850 mètres in altitude. I was tired and 

every muscle below my waist hurts!

 Si je ne parle pas du temps c'est qu'il fait beau. On ne crève pas, comme en arrivant à SJPP dans une canicule de 35 degrés Celsius. Et nous n'avons jamais eu de pluie battante! We are blessed!

Let me tell you about the real gems on the Camino! Not the scenery, not the food, not the ... whatever.

It is people like the Oscar and Felix of The Camino- two portly German gentleman in their mid seventies who didn't look like they would survive the first 7.5 km, let alone the entire 28 km up to Roncevalles. They sent their backpacks ahead the second day and walked - a site to behold with their straw hats and a shopping bag in hand. They are only doing one third of the Camino. As one said " Our friends zey zink vee are crazy". Now THEY are showing true courage and determination One was always singing, a retired opera singer apparently. They are in a pic that my wunderbar sister will post for me from my email. 

Then there are Claudio and Loris, two Italians whom Nancy and I met hiking down from that 1500 metres, which seemed to take forever. They were enjoying a break and offered us oranges. With their Italian and wee bit of French, plus my French and wee Italian, we ran out of conversation. I gave them a little souvenir of a bird and for lack of a better word, broke out into the song "Volare" which is the only song I know in Italian. Watch the video (if it works and I can post it in my email) to see the incredible, awesome moment that transpires. One I will never forget! (I never was able to post it, darn it!)

I want to tell you about our third gem, "Ju" from San Francisco, but that will have to wait until the next day.

Tout mon amour et reconnaissance et gros bisous au nouveau de la famille, cher petit Antoine.

Signing off with much appreciation from Zubiri, Spain.

JOUR 2 - 23 août: dedicated to my good friend Donna.

No one gave more generously of their time, energy, and generosity of spirit and pocketbook to help me get ready for this Camino Frances hike than Donna, so I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

We started out from Orisson and hiked almost eight hours to a max altitude of 1500 metres, through those incredible Pyrenees and their passes. We crossed the border into Spain and descended 300 metres to arrive in Roncesvalles at 3:30, for a total of 21 km. Our hostel was a converted Abbey- newly renovated. Lovely place. Time to wash some clothes (I just throw mine on the floor of my shower stall, squirt whatever soap I have - today it was shampoo, stomp on the pile, wring out after my shower) and put them on line outside. Supper, socialize with other peregrinos from Orisson and new ones we met today - try to blog while the Wifi works and before they turn the lights out! That is pretty much the daily routine.

What makes the Camino extraordinary is the people you meet. Like Mark (can't get away from that name) who was my upper bunk mate in Orisson. He tells me upon seeing me at the next hostel that night that I snored the least of the 5 ladies and since I was under his bunk , he would have no problem me being on top that night! He's an Ohian who sounds like a hillbilly from Kentucky who had to take a cab back to Orisson to pick up a shirt he left there-a very special one made by his son. Mark will reappear farther on The Camino with a different story, I am sure!

Supper was with a French couple who loved our accent and whom I kept amused with antics like hanging a spoon off my nose, or swatting flies with my guide book. All the other pilgrims ate at the Abbey. We had to be different (unintentionally) and eat at another restaurant.

If I had a Euro for every time someone said I had a cute French accent, by the end of the Camino I would have enough money to return.

Our bunk mates at the hostel? You guessed it!  more Canadians; a young couple, he from BC and his girlfriend a cute little Quebecoise who was three months pregnant.

Too many stories and not enough time. Hasta la proxima.

Buenas noches a mi amiga Donna.

With love and gratitude for Roncesvalles, Spain and my second day on The Camino.

JOUR 1- 22 août: Départ de Saint Jean Pied de Port, France

Cette journée est dédié à mon cher défunt Papa, Thaddée (Ted) Duguay.  Il aurait tant voulu faire ce pèlerinage, et je sais qu'il est très fier de moi, son aînée, d'autant plus que Papa était fier de tous ses enfants. I carry him in my heart, with me, on this important journey of self-reflection, discovery and renewal.

We left St. Jean Pied de Port at 8:10 am, cloudy with showers.  We climbed 900 metres and did 7.9 km in less than 3.5 hours to arrive at Orisson, our hostel for the night. This is my first time in the Pyrenees. Absolutely incredible! Indescribable beauty. I can't post pics for some reason, but I am having better success with pics in my email. This picture I put in my draft before leaving Canada.

A Liz from Seattle, Sari from Aruba and Katherine from Sweden are all in our room of six beds, and Mark from Ohio. Poor man. Stuck with six women. Weather was overcast and it rained
during the climb but nothing major. It had stopped by time we got to the Albergue. Ours bags we had sent on ahead for 8 €,  were here when we got here. It is so much easier to hike with a smaller backpack. The scenery is out of this world. We had a nap, and supper with 40 other "peregrinos" from 15 different countries!

It is interesting that although Canadians represent only 3% of "peregrinos", that 3% is all here now. A group of nine from Edmonton, (there is a Bishop in that bunch!), Normand from Montreal, and Cam and Marie from Calgary with whom we hiked.  There is an an awesome sense of "bonhomie", and camaraderie on The Camino. We sang Happy Birthday in Basque to the owner of the hostel, over our Basque cake for dessert.

I have had my adventures, but I will have to stick to facts for now and save the stories for when I have more time and better WiFi.

Signing off of Day 1 with love and gratitude for being where I am, in Orisson, France.

Bonne nuit mon Cher Papa au ciel.

Our first two nights in France. I love AIRBNB!

Our first night in Toulouse, in an apartment in this complex. 



 Where we are staying tonight in the Basque Region of France the night before we start El Camino.



About to board our flight to Toulouse via Munich

First of all, I want to wish a VERY HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY to a very special lady and world traveller - my good friend Rosie. It is fitting that I should be wishing her a very special day, as we spent many a time sitting in airports together. We even got stuck in Paris overnight, on one trip, thanks to Air Canada shutting the gate in our face. Hope today spent with your loved ones, was truly wonderful Rosie!

Nancy and I spent the day in a VIP LOUNGE at the airport in Montreal, going through all the stuff in our backpacks. Nancy is a gadget queen. You would NOT believe what that woman has in her backpack.

On a more serious and reflective note, I want to share the following thoughts ...

I must admit that it is with much trepidation that I will foot on French soil again after 11 years. You see, the first time I went to France, in 1989, Maman knew she had "something",  but chose not to tell me. She and Papa were minding Sean and Joëlle, who were 3 and 5 at the time. Isn't a mother's love so TOTALLY unselfish, no matter how old her child is?  She wanted me to have a wonderful first trip to Europe and not worry about her. Six weeks after I returned, Maman had almost half of a lung removed, because she had lung cancer. We are so fortunate to have her with us still. She is a survivor!

I returned to France in 2004 for a wonderful barge vacation on the Hivernais Canal in the "Bourgogne " region of France, followed by a week in Normandy, visiting WW2 Canadian battlefields, monuments and cemeteries. I knew Papa wasn't well, but it was in a tiny phone booth in a quaint little village in Bourgogne that I learned from my sister-in-law Pam, how really ill with cancer, my father had become. I will always remember that moment in time; it is frozen in my mind. My cher Papa died less than 10 months later.

Alors, je vais demander à St.Jacques de Compostelle de bien protéger et veiller sur les miens, ma famille et mes amis, surtout lors de mon petit séjour en pays Basque de la France, tout au point de départ pour mon pèlerinage.  Qu'il vous protège tous.  May God bless and keep you all, safe and well , especially as I am far away from you.

You CAN be too well prepared... so buy duct tape!

Two days before departure, I realize I have worn out the heels of my hiking boots! Can you imagine? I have hiked less than 40% of my upcoming 820 km trek, and I have just been told by my shoemaker that my boots will not last this hike. Furthermore, it is too late (timewise), for him to try to fix them. OMG, I press the panic button. I do that instinctively and then calm down later. It happens every time.

Many frantic messages, emails and calls back and forth to my wonderful daughter and son-in-law, have resulted in their obtaining a refund on my boots for me from a well-known outdoor store in Edmonton (MEC). That is wonderful!  It means that on my way to the airport tomorrow morning, I have to stop and buy a roll of the most expensive duct tape I can find.  When my boots really start to fall apart, I will duct tape them, find the nearest outdoor sporting goods store in whichever Spanish city I am closest to, and buy myself another pair of hiking boots. I am already overloaded in my backpack. Il n'en est pas question de charroyer une autre paire de bottines dans mon sac avant d'en avoir besoin.

ALL of which means that I will end up doing what I tried to avoid by breaking in my new boots and hiking  all over the North Shore IN THE FIRST PLACE; I WILL be breaking in a new pair of hiking boots somewhere on The Camino. Which is a no-no! So, I may be looking at blisters and aching feet after all, I guess.  Oh w-e-l-l, as we say in French; L'homme propose et Dieu dispose.  In other words, the best laid plans of mice and (wo)men... are all for naught. Hey, in the grand scheme of things... this is just the beginning of my adventures.

Un gros merci pour vos souhaits si nombreux, de "Buen Camino", "Bonne Route", "Safe Travels".