In Search of Santiago

25th of April – My Stone

One of the things that pilgrims traditionally take with them on Camino is a stone, and this stone is normally taken from home. The idea is that you leave the stone at an iron cross called the Cruz de Ferro along the route of the Camino Francés.

26th of April – Paris

So the hotel I managed to book online in Paris turned out to be really nice in a very handy location, near the station where I’ll catch the TGV tomorrow. I intended this stop in Paris to be a kind of transition between home and the Camino and also to get over the jet lag.

27th of April – Packing in Paris

Tonight I’ll be in Saint Jean Pied de Port, the start point of my Camino, finally, after 18 months of planning. I’m taking the opportunity to repack my backpack in the hotel in Paris because when I flew from Sydney, I had a number of fragile and liquid items packed into mailing tubes.

27th of April – Arrival in Saint Jean

One more day to go and I’m now on my way to my start point, Saint Jean Pied de Port. The first stage of the journey was by TGV bullet train from Paris, which I have to say was really comfortable.
Although for some reason, they only announce the platform that the train is leaving from 20 minutes before it departs so there tends to be a mad rush for seats, but luckily I had a seat booked.

27th of April – Looking Around Saint Jean

Camino minus 1 – Looking Around St Jean Pied de Port  

28th of April – It’s Raining: Saint Jean to Orrison

It’s 3 a.m. and I’m lying in bed in Saint Jean, not able to sleep. Outside, the rain is pouring down and I can hear it pattering on the roof. I wonder if the rain will still be this strong when I start to walk, but I’m not too worried because I have really good waterproof clothing.