St Jean.......day one.

Thank God are time is now when lost

Comes up to face us everywhere.

Never to leaves us until we take

The longest stride of soul folk ever took.

Affairs are now soul size

The  exploration is into God

Where are you making for?

It takes so many thousand years to wake

But will you wake for pity's sake.

A sleep of prisoners........Christopher Fry

I am awake but it's still dark outside.  I need to pack again making sure my rain gear is on top.  Need to find breakfast and get some day food for the pack. I was trying to ask the waitress last night if they served breakfast.  I finly drew her a picture of the sun coming up over the mountain and a plate fork and spoon.  She still never got it.....but yes at 8:00 A.M.  

Also need to find the pilgrims office...very critical to get my pilgrims passport.  You get this paper stamped as you pass through the towns and villages.  

There is three ways you can do the WAY.  Religiously, Sprituly, or Athletically.  I have chosen Sprituly, and need to attest to it when I regester.  From what I seen in the village last night I won't be alone on the "path" in that the town is a live with pilgrims.  I fact I sat with John and his wife on the last train.  They were from New Zeeland, about my age and nice, nice people.  It's snowing where they just came from and they are worried about the tempiture change and are staying in town a couple of days before heading out.  John presented me with a cockle shall.......truly a good gesture.  I will explain later as to its significance.

8.7 on the pucker scale.....

Øi

So I am thinking that I will get some traveling money when I get to the airport.  Yep all is well until I get to the hole in the wall.  Then thinking that it's a stand alone my attempt to get money was from a box that wanted to change my train ticket.  When I fin illy find what I am looking for I find that the numbers have no letters on them.  I have given my four dilget code a four letter word so I could remember it better, but now I have no Idea what's going on and I need money.  Sandy just got back from over seas and brought some start out euros but not enough.  I cheap ass big ball point pen cost me 5 euro a mc Donald's fish sandwich was 7 euros which is about  $10.00.... I am going to be out of money fast.

Steve told me their wasn't many cash dispensers along the way and to take advantage when I saw one.  Finally out of desperation I went into a shop an asked the stor clerk if I could look at her phone.  Now you need to know at the airport they have groups of uniformed military officers in full battle gear with AR16 strapped to their chest that do nothing but walk around looking for old men prying on young girls to shoot. Very nervously she handed me her phone and I copied down the number/ letter sequence I needed.  Going back to the cash box I got so excited ( and it didn't help knowing that the Brittish army had me in their sights) the code got put in wrong and my card was rejected.  But finially success.....The train meets up with the airport so I only had short walk and a three hour wait for my train.....one of three to get to St Jean Pead A Port but I'm here and tomorrow is put up or shut up.

To be continued..........

Refresher course....

So now I remember why I dont do well flying......it's all a pecking order and I understand that most things in a capitalist country are but I mean come on even to get on a plane.  So we will have first class start boarding.  Now we will have gold madilon, next we will have silver madilon, now bronze madilon, now madilon, madilion.  Next we will have the great unwashed and then after the great unwashed we will have the Richard Smiths.  And then for an extra $80.00 you can have  an extra four inches.  You want food you pay for it, you want an extra bag yoU pay for it.  But what really gets me is the toilets.  Now I understand that one height fits all and they need them short so little boys can hit the water, but come on the thing hits me mid calf barely.  I am over six feet tall, there is no way I can control a four foot stream with any accuracy. To sit on a plane for any distance is like being in the devils chair.  Every thing hurts and I mean every thing.  And then after a while your pubes start getting in a bunch, so you need to fish in your pocket like your looking for your chap stick to lay them stright again.  The caution here is not to look a young lady in the eye while your doing it.....staring at the celling is a good safety net. 

Weight it again San

So it was determined on the way to the airport this morning that I left my cell phone at home.  Oh well one less thing for me to keep track of.  But earlier I am thinking that my cacoon of a back pack needs a handle.  So I am out in the garage in the dark dark of night sawing up the g-kids t-ball tee for a handle.  I thought it looked pretty good all hooked on with strapping tape.  "I don't know", Samdy said, "it looks a lot like dynamite.  Well yeah it kind of does but there no fuze looking thing I should be OK.

Checked the bag with no problem, the desk said she had seen worst.  But oh, oh what's this, I have a rock in my pocket.  Not a large rock, but still a rock.  Maybe that is why I thought I had my phone, the rock is about the same size.  OK I can explain, I will be walking past a monument where the pilgrims ate invited to "cast off" their burdens by bringing a rock from their home town and then by leaving it at the monument it's symbolic as to the burdens of your life. I really don't have a lot of burdens so the size should be about right.  I came about the rock when our Suzanne was running a 100 mile ultra out on the desert.  Me being her support team ( Sandy got to have the boys for two days) I was waiting a couple of miles down the road when this rock called my name.  Pick me, pick me, so I picked it up and put in my pocket, then it landed on my dresser where it has sat for one month lacking two years. I was going to put it in my back pack with the four survival knives but forgot. I stuck it in my bum bag ( the Britts don't cotton to the word "fanny") wondering how I would answere security's question as to the reason  I needed a rock.  Well hell you never know when you might need to smash something.

To be continued............

D-DAY

Well.......I'm off then.

Now I'm nervous.  My pack is wrapped up in plastic wrap and looks like a million silk worms has called it home for the last 30 days and sitting here in the kitchen it just dawn on me that I forgot to pack socks.  I need the plastic thing to keep the loose straps from getting caught in machenry and snoopy airport workers out if it.  Oh well I can stick the socks in my pockets.  Yeah and now I am wondering where my international credit card is.  Yeah I got a few jitters, but for me that's all a good omen.  When ever I go on a big trip I usually dream in reverse the night before.  You know those dreams, you lost your bag, missed your flight, can't find the airport.  It's always been a good thing for me in that it's always been a sign that I will have a good trip.......but last night nothing......humm. 

The party is over

......all that is left is to see if every thing will fit in the back pack.  I also have an abundance of e- equipment that needs to be sorted for capatabiliity.  I have a real concern as to the way I have packed my cables that the airline may have an security issue in that I have packed the same in plastic tubes to keep them from entanglement and even to me it looks subspecies.

I have been advised by experienced pilgrims that to have a true camino experience I am to leave home without my watch, camera, I-pad, maps, and half the money I think I need.  "Let the Camino provide for you", "let the sprit of the Caminoen envelope you".  Not on a bet! Hell the best I am hoping for is a bottom bunk.  If I don't correspond with "she who must be obayed" at least every two days my credit cards would be canceled and then I truly would be a pilgrim in the fullest extent. 

Just weighted every thing....all is well, however, it does not feel normal to have the pack on my back.  It feels like I m trying to mutant-ize  into a turtle.  I can't even remember when the last time I had pack on my back for any reason.....bum bag maybe but not a full pack.   Hummm going to interesting.

D-Day mines1

To be continued..........

The party