Technically only 8km. But I apparently walked 22,320 steps and 11 miles today.
Every journey of a million steps, starts with one and this was mine.
I had forgotten how steep and exhausting it was!
I'd left Mark in Saint Jean, following his orientation tour. There were tears. Acknowledging that you'll give up everything on Camino is very different from the feeling you get when you actually give up hugging your sweetie, seeing him daily and bring able to chat about your day together over a casual dinner.
I left my love in a car park, blew him a kiss and started my ascent of the Pyrenees. For the next hour I was either alone with my grief or passing people who didn't speak English. My late start @ 10:35 am meant most people were ahead of me.
Then I was joined by a young basque guy. Danny spoke English and had lived in Durango, CO! I enjoyed hearing his perspective as a Basque... the fact that his native language had been forbidden by Franco and now the government was playing a significant role in the preservation of the Basque language and culture, was fascinating to me.
In Orisson, I met Allen from Australia, Pierre from Montreal and Victor from Spain. Discovering that I was in a 6 bed dorm room with 5 retirement aged men, had me almost reach for the Ambien right there and then! What were the chances of no snoring? (Not great!)
I took a walk up the road for pictures and some quiet time and found my escape on a steep grassy area dotted with ferns. Grasshoppers frequented me and their chirping, and that of the cow bells, drowned out the multilingual conversations driving down the road.
The familiar feeling of the Camino routine, has returned. Arrive, check in, make bed, shower, laundry... relax and put feet up.
I climbed 800 meters today, but I feel good... relaxed, content, warm and clean. There's barely a cloud in the sky but the forecast is for thunderstorms tomorrow. Lucky I'm not made of sugar! Besides, I have "snackies". (The French have learned that word weirdly) and rain gear. Last year I traversed the Pyrenees in sunshine, the photos were amazing. This year I can only assume they will be amazing in a different way.
Every journey of a million steps, starts with one and this was mine.
I had forgotten how steep and exhausting it was!
I'd left Mark in Saint Jean, following his orientation tour. There were tears. Acknowledging that you'll give up everything on Camino is very different from the feeling you get when you actually give up hugging your sweetie, seeing him daily and bring able to chat about your day together over a casual dinner.
I left my love in a car park, blew him a kiss and started my ascent of the Pyrenees. For the next hour I was either alone with my grief or passing people who didn't speak English. My late start @ 10:35 am meant most people were ahead of me.
Then I was joined by a young basque guy. Danny spoke English and had lived in Durango, CO! I enjoyed hearing his perspective as a Basque... the fact that his native language had been forbidden by Franco and now the government was playing a significant role in the preservation of the Basque language and culture, was fascinating to me.
In Orisson, I met Allen from Australia, Pierre from Montreal and Victor from Spain. Discovering that I was in a 6 bed dorm room with 5 retirement aged men, had me almost reach for the Ambien right there and then! What were the chances of no snoring? (Not great!)
I took a walk up the road for pictures and some quiet time and found my escape on a steep grassy area dotted with ferns. Grasshoppers frequented me and their chirping, and that of the cow bells, drowned out the multilingual conversations driving down the road.
The familiar feeling of the Camino routine, has returned. Arrive, check in, make bed, shower, laundry... relax and put feet up.
I climbed 800 meters today, but I feel good... relaxed, content, warm and clean. There's barely a cloud in the sky but the forecast is for thunderstorms tomorrow. Lucky I'm not made of sugar! Besides, I have "snackies". (The French have learned that word weirdly) and rain gear. Last year I traversed the Pyrenees in sunshine, the photos were amazing. This year I can only assume they will be amazing in a different way.
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