Day 1

Today was pretty miserable; I won't lie.  We overslept and woke up 7:05. Not too bad since we were planning to leave at 7:30 anyway.  The 16 mile hike through the Pyrenees was expected to take 7.5 hours.  It's an elevation change of 4,000' and some inclines are 16%, blah.  We left about 8 and were all layered up thinking it would be cold.  There was 80% chance of snow at the top. After half an hour hiking that grade we stopped and took off our jacket and fleece, leaving just an undershirt and t-shirt with my hiking pants.  This lasted the first two hours.  Everything was what I expected. I had been comparing it to hiking the Grand Canyon trail in one day and it felt just like that.  

Then came the wind... And the cold... And the rain.  The higher we got the worse the wind, rain, and cold got.  "Miserable" doesn't describe it. It was the worst hiking I've ever done and close to the worst I could imagine.  Emily was saying it probably would have felt warmer if it were snowing.  When we arrived at the albergue I went to sign my name on the registration and my handwriting looked like a kindergartner's.  I couldn't use my hands correctly because my fingers were so cold.  Emily's were the same.  

But that's okay, because that's what I signed up for!   

Here's what I learned today: 

1. Irish people are nice.

2. Hiking is miserable rainy, windy, temps in the 30s.  

Here's what I'm thankful for: 

1. Hot shower

2. Having my laundry washed and dried for $2.70e (did I mention the rain got in my bag and almost every article of clothing was wet?) 

Here are the pics from day 1

Pictures from the first two hours hike from saint jean.  

Here's the beautiful views of the Pyrenes, haha

Santiago 765km, HERE WE GO!

My feet pre-Camino...

Uh-oh... This what they look like the day BEFORE the Camino 

Day 2 pre-Camino LOURDES!

After the 4 hours in Paris we set south for   Lourdes. I'm happy to say that the French people I spoke with actually understood what I was saying when I pronounced "Lourdes" which never happened before when I was here!  

We arrived at 11:30pm, not the best time to find a place to stay so we figured we would just crash in the train station for a few hours and then hit the grotto at the break of dawn.  Good plan, except the train station was already locked for the night when we arrived.  Luckily Lourdes is a very safe place so we headed out in search for a cheap hotel or good place to wait it out till morn.   Come to find out the grotto and basilica grounds (including bathrooms!) are open all night!  It was so peaceful and beautiful there I even forgot how cold it was... for the first hour.  

(Sorry the photos are poor quality!)

When we arrived there were about 15 people praying... By 3am it was just me and Emily, very cold, and looking quite homeless.  About 4am we started walking around to keep warm, at 5am went in search of something warm to drink, at 6am gave up and went back to the grotto for Mass.   

Here are some photos around the basilica and grotto at 5am:

Here is the statue of our Lady of Lourdes at the entrance of the grounds.  She's all lit up so you can't see her well, but I took the photo to show all the flowers placed on the fence below her.

Here are the candles people light for their petitions. 

The giant one I lit for all the people and their intentions I'm bringing with me on the Camino.

Tomorrow starts El Camino de Santiago! I'm excited but I also wonder what in the world I've gotten myself into!

Day 1 pre-Camino PARIS!

Paris! Oh Paris is beautiful, but don't be deceived, it's also big, dirty, smoky, and  confusing.  Although I had been to the Miraculous Medal shrine twice before it still took us at least an hour to find the place. The metro lines are quite an elaborate system and the people aren't so helpful. 

Nonetheless we got to see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Miraculous Medal shrine in the 4 hours we had in Paris!  Not bad at all!  Then we hopped a very expensive train to Lourdes.  I can't wait to see Lourdes again!  FYI some things have changed since I was here last... Everyone buys their train tickets online and in advance?! Living in Belize has given me a big set back in the area of planning ahead!  But at least my time in Belize will help me go with the flow when there are unexpected bumps in the road on this trip!