A Pilgrim’s Progress: Pastor Joe’s Camino Chronicles

Spain and France

Blog for September 6, 2023

Well, after my wife dropped me off at Kansas City International Airport, and after a long trip across the Atlantic Ocean to Madrid, and after a 4-hour train ride and then another hour in a taxi, I arrived in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France. What a quaint little village!  First on my to-do list was to go to the Pilgrim’s Office to get my Pilgrim Passport, as it is required to stay at many of the hostels. They stamped the passport, which means I am now officially a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago! I also picked up my scallop shell, which is supposed to hang on the outside of your backpack so they know you are a pilgrim.

As brutal as the last 36 hours have been, tomorrow will make me question my sanity and everything about my reasons for going on this Pilgrimage.  The trail takes me over the Pyrenees mountain range where 90% of the journey tomorrow is uphill. On top of that, all the hostels were already booked in town, so I have another 2 miles to get to my bed. So, it looks to be a leisurely 17+ mile day tomorrow. I actually tried to cut the day in half, but other pilgrims had that idea before I did and booked the few rooms at the half-way point.

But I don’t want to think about tomorrow — right now I am loving walking around this French town that has every element you would expect in a setting like this — a river running through the town, church bells ringing on the hour, and architecture that you only see in pictures. I just sat down at an outside restaurant and am trying to slow my mind down and enjoy being still. Which by the way, wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to do! Try it — it might change your perspective!