Day 2: St. Jean Pied de Port to Orisson.

I will probably go straight to Hell for some of the things I thought today. I began my pilgrimage in a small shop. It’s never too late to pick up a 30 Euro copy of the John Brierley Guide to the Camino de Santiago. (Here is the first of many asides. I hope his wife was involved with the rewrite due out in January 2014. Seriously…what is it with men and length?) I also picked up a fine collection of shells to weigh down my pack and a walking stick to help me forget the extra weight of the shells. THE MINUTE I stepped onto the cobblestone street, it poured rain. I couldn’t find my well-packed Journey Behind the Falls rain poncho, so I walked in cool rain up  the Pyrenees for the next 3 1/2 hours.

Following is a summary of the 7 kms I took 3 1/2 hours to accomplish:

Sheep, sheep shit,, cow bells (glorious even when not used in rock music!), tall mountains, rolling hills, mist, clouds above, around, and over me, more sheep shit.

Walking slowed to take ten steps, stop, breathe ten times. Repeat. Okay, take five steps, breathe for ten. Hope to repeat. Maybe just try to make it to the next tree.

I tried praying a Hail Mary. Isn’t there a football play called a Hail Mary for desperate situations? I think I might have said a few Hell Marys just to guarantee my place in Hell. But I’ve apologised at every statue of Mary along the roadside and in every church I’ve visited. I think Mary and I are okay. If not, all my sins are forgiven in Santiago anyway.

I practically crawled into Orisson. Thanks to my smile, bedraggled state, and Jocelyne’s French instruction, I managed to score a top bunk in a room with 11 others for 32 Euros including a Pilgrim Menu at supper and a breakfast. Pity the pilgrims who couldn’t wade through the rain and sheep shit by 2:00 p.m. to score the bunk. Frankly, I can’t imagine anyone walking slower than I walked. The green caterpillars and long-ass snails passed me on their way to Santiago. They carried messages from home: We told you to train! and No one said you had to do this! Screw them! Of course, I mean the snails. 🙂

Before I try to post this, I have to say I missed a lot by not having sleepovers as a kid. Can anything prepare you for farting, coughing, snoring, farting, get up to the bathroom or down … depending on your bunk… farting, snoring…..

The guy next to me in the top bunk saw I was still awake, and recommended  I go out and look at the night sky. I saw the Milky Way as I have never seen it. Hail Mary.

Ultreia!