Well its the final day of leg one - in Paris. I am packing up and heading to the train station for a 8 hour train ride to St Jean Pied-de-Port. It has been an awesome introduction to this wonderful city. More time is needed to get a full appreciation of this grand city. Two days is just not enough. I have had a great adjustment to the time change and feel well rested. The weqther has not been the best but considering that I will be walking 500 miles rain or shine this too was a great introduction to what might be ahead. Forecast for the first three days of the hike is for rain. Not looking forward to that but I trust it will warm up a bit - it was 42 degrees here in Paris when I arrived and raining :(

So the sites here were awesome. Got to see Notre Dame, the Latin district, Shackspere Bookstore, The Left Bank, Arc de Triomphe, walked the Champs-Elysèes and saw the Louvre. All very spectacular to say the least. I have attempted to master the Metro system and yes it is very easy. They have done a great job creating a very efficient underground system - safe, clean and easy. I recommend it to anyone traveling around Paris. Of course if the weather is good walking is better. I did as much walking as I could but with the rain it was easier to the Metro.

Off to St Jean Pied-de-Port.............more adventures to come!

Night Before

Finalizing my packing and getting ready to sleep for a few hours before my very early flight tomorrow morning (6:20 AM!). Sharon will have me out the door at 4:00 AM!

It's hard to believe that the time is finally here. It's been a year and a half in the planning and I am actually going - amazing!

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to wish me well in this adventure. I cherish all of the prayers, good wishes and personal messages you have shared with me. For those of you who have connected me with other Camino pilgrims I thank you for this. The people I have talked with have been a tremendous help in getting my packing done. Great knowledge and experience trumps guessing any day. 

Well, it’s almost here.  My 500 mile hike across Spain is only weeks away.  My hope in writing this is to share with each of you my upcoming adventure and to let you know what my hike is about and what it entails.

At the end of this month I will set out on the “Camino de Santiago,” or, in English, “The Way of St. James.”   The hike is actually a pilgrimage that has been going on for over a thousand years.  Wikipedia has this to say about the Camino:

“The Way of St. James or St. James' Way (Spanish: El Camino de Santiago…) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.

The Way of St. James was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned…. Legend holds that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.

The Way can take one of any number of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site

The pilgrimage to Santiago has never ceased from the time of the discovery of St. James' remains, though there have been years of fewer pilgrims, particularly during European wars.

 

Plenty more information is available online, just google “Camino de Santiago,” if you’re interested. 

On Monday, October 24^th, 2011 I watched a movie called The Way, starring Martin Sheen.  Sheen’s son, Emilio Estevez, co-wrote, directed, produced and played a role in the movie.  The movie follows Sheen’s character as he travels across Spain to honor his son, played by Estevez, who died just before making the journey himself.  I was inspired to make the journey immediately after seeing the movie and planned on going the very next year.  But, as often happens, “life” got in the way and I struggled to find a time that didn’t overlap with something on the calendar.  So, I set my heart on making the journey in 2013, which just happened to be the year Sharon and I would celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary.  So I thought what would be cooler than finishing this historic hike and then meeting my wonderful wife in Costa del Sol for an amazing anniversary celebration and a much needed rest.

Yes, a rest.  Much needed because the hike/walk/journey/adventure stretches 500 miles, beginning in the northeastern part of Spain and ending all the way in the northwestern part of the country.  I plan to cover the 500 miles in 33 to 36 days, averaging somewhere between 12 to 18 miles per day.  The trail is well-traveled and passes through many towns, cities and small villages along the way.

The most common question I get about the journey is, of course,”WHY?”  Why on earth would you want to do this?  500 miles?    The question is asked numerous times as pilgrims walk the Camino.  The original pilgrims walked for religious reasons – to honor St. James, or to find some inner religious peace, or even for penance.  And there are pilgrims who walk the Camino still today for the same reasons, however certainly fewer than in the past.  So why do people do this walk today?  Some do it for spiritual reasons; some as an attempt to find inner peace; others to quit smoking or lose weight.  And then there are those who walk the Camino just for an adventure.   And that is my reason – adventure.  I realize that the movie had a lot to do with inspiring the adventurism within me, but I have a feeling that I will find other reasons as I experience my own journey on the Camino de Santiago.

I will be keeping a blog along the way and hope that you will continue to follow me as I try to convey some of my experiences and post some pictures.  If you care to join please visit tomsadventurecamino.blogspot.com to see how I’m doing.  I can’t promise I’ll blog every day but I’m sure I’ll be inspired to post from time to time. I will also be posting to Instagram and Facebook for those of you who use those apps.

I leave the States on May 23^rd and fly into Paris, staying there for two nights before I board a train to Southern France to St. Jean-Pied-du-Port, where I will hopefully begin my walk on May 27^th.  Once I reach Santiago de Compostela at the end of the hike, I’ll take a train to Southern Spain and meet up with Sharon in Costa del Sol, Malaga.  We plan to meet up on the 5^th of July to spend our 20^th anniversary right there on the coast.  We’ll head home on July 14^th.

This will be the longest trip/adventure/vacation that I’ve ever taken, and solo at that.   People are shocked when I tell them I won’t be going with anyone, but, to be honest, I haven’t exactly had anyone knocking down my door to join me.  It’s an adventure, for sure, and I look forward to meeting lots of interesting and fun people.

My español is nowhere near where it should be for this trip, but I’ve been trying to learn.  I have never claimed to be much of a linguist, but I’ve managed to add some Spanish words to the vocabulary and only pray that they don’t laugh me out of the country.

If any of you know anyone who has done the Camino, I would love to talk to them before I leave, so please have them get in touch with me.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and I will think of ALL of you as I walk my Camino.

Tom