The Camino is not a single route, but a vast network of routes that start in virtually every major European city.

 

When we neared Santiago we even encountered an Austrian pilgrim dressed as a 10^th Century Monk. He had begun his trek in Jerusalem, 3,500 miles (5,700km) to the east.

St. Jean Pied de Port (“St. John at the foot of the pass”) is a delightful 12^th Century medieval village (pop. 1,500) situated in the Nive River Valley at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains.

Lying 5 miles north of the border with Spain, it is a point where many European Camino routes converge for the ascent over the mountains. In modern times St. Jean Pied de Port (SJPdP) has come to be known by many as the “official” starting point of the 810km long French Route. It is second only to Sarria (located 100km from Santiago) as a starting point for Peregrinos seeking their Compostela. When one is asked if they walked the “entire Camino” it usually means did they start in St. Jean.

St. Jean is not easily reached from Barcelona. In 2013 there were no flights, trains, or buses connecting the 350 miles that separated them. We had to cover the distance creatively in two segments. First we caught a train from Barcelona to Pamplona. We were up at 5:30 (actually I lay in bed, eyes open, from 3 a.m.). We ate a quick breakfast, checked that our packs were in order, and were in a taxi to the train station at 6:30 a.m.. The Station was more like a modern airport, including security and luggage scan.

The transit to Pamplona took 4 hours, including stops, by a high speed (+120 mph) train.

Departure and arrival were on time to the minute. Seating was similar to business class on an airline, complete with headphones, a movie, and music channels.

We had reserved a taxi from Pamplona to St. Jean. The two hour cab ride took us on narrow winding roads across the Pyrenees mountains to the door of our B&B.

In 5 days we would return to Pamplona on foot via the Camino.

From the comfort of the train and cab we enjoyed vistas of rolling green hills, orchards, terraced vineyards, and villas that appeared hundreds of years old. Sights little changed over two millennia when Julius Caesar’s 10th Legion called this home.

We had 2 nights reserved in SJPdP at a small B&B. Maison Ziberoa was situated just outside of the town’s intact fortification walls.

Our hostess was Marie Josee Lagord. Her establishment began life as a small hospital built in 1778. Marie Josee was a joy and a gourmet cook. Breakfast was included in the 70 Euro daily tariff.

For an additional 40€ she prepared us a private Basque dinner on our second night.

After a late lunch we strolled through town in the rain, did laundry, and concluded with a warmup at the fire.

During our stay Marie Josee brought out maps and shared valuable local knowledge of the town plus information about the  route and terrain that we would soon experience.

For a town of barely one square mile there was quite a lot to see. We were grateful to have planned 2 days in St. Jean. We could have elected to spend the night in the local Albergue (hostel) for about 10€ each, however Peregrinos are limited to a single night and must vacate by 8 a.m. the next morning.

We visited the Camino Pilgrim Office where we learned that recent snows had temporary closed the Route Napoleon, but it would reopen the following day.

Historical points of interest included:

The 15^th Century Porte St. Jacques (a UNESCO World Heritage site), through which over the centuries Pilgrims have arrived from northern France and Europe.

A walk along the battlements that encircle the city.

The “Citadel”. Now a private school, this military fortification is reached by climbing 269 steps and provides a commanding view of St. Jean.

The 16^th Century Prison des Eveques (aka the Prison of the Bishops), now an excellent museum.

The 14^th Century church, Notre Dame du Bout du Pont.

A pleasant walk along the River Nive and across a Roman Empire era bridge.

We reconnoitered the start of the “Route de Napoleon” by which we would begin our Camino with a strenuous 19km, 4,000 foot ascent to the mountain pass above the town.

…and of course we wandered the cobblestoned streets, visiting various shops and restaurants.

It was here that I purchased a Basque beret which was to become my identifying trademark on the Camino.

We remained “Pampered Pilgrims”, but that would change in the morning.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Next: Part 6. Our Camino Begins and Nearly Ends.

 

We departed Kansas City on April 8^th, routing through Atlanta, Georgia and landing in Barcelona the morning of the 9^th.

Over the course of the prior few years Christine had accumulated a sizable frequent flyer mileage account. Enough miles to provide us with first class round trip tickets to Barcelona, Spain.

This was not a mode of transportation that is common to us but it beat the heck out of the “cattle car” experience others endured as we cross the Atlantic. Our flight was incredibly comfortable with seats that made into full reclining beds.

The drinks were a nice touch.

I still hold that the cost difference does not justify the extra expense for 8 hours of pampered first class comfort. However, I recall that once in our early days of international travel we flew to Rome aboard TWA. It was a time when smoking was permitted on flights and passengers were free to wander the isles to just “hang out”. That alone made things unpleasant. It became unbearable when all but one of the toilets in “coach” ceased to function. There was a 1950’s episode of “The Twilight Zone” starring William Shatner, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. Shatner’s “nightmare” was nothing compared to ours. I would have gladly paid double the premium for first class on that flight.

Upon arrival I found that neither of our regular Time Warner email services worked, so we opened Gmail accounts. Also, Verizon did not unlock my phone as they promised which left us to rely upon Skype. Minor annoyances.

While the Camino does not require reservations, prudence dictates otherwise in Barcelona. Thomas Lin’s Barcelona friend had put us in touch with the proprietress of a well regarded B&B conveniently located near Las Ramblas, the Sagrada Familia Basilica, and a number of notable Antoni Gaudi buildings. A nearby subway stop provided access to more distant tourist venues.

Ana’s Guesthouse was wonderfully quaint, and Ana quickly became like a sister to us. The accommodations were clean, comfortable, and best of all well priced at 90 Euros a night. A  sumptuous breakfast was provided by Ana and included at no additional cost.

One evening she brought out a special bottle of Cava (Champagne) to share with just us. We had arranged a 2 night stay at our arrival and further had reserved 3 nights for our departure in late May. We looked forward to that additional opportunity to take in the city and Ana’s hospitality.

In 2018 we returned to Barcelona with hopes of again staying with Ana. She remembered us but sadly reported that she had closed her guesthouse because of new tax and regulatory requirements which she did not have the patience or funds to meet. Instead she directed us to nearby friends who provided us with another exceptional experience. That is a story of another Camino.

Barcelona is a destination city of 1.6 million residents. Small by comparison to the other major tourist cities of London, Paris, and Rome, yet it is the 5^th most visited city in Europe and the 20^th most visited by tourists in the world. In 2017 it hosted over 32 million visitors.

If it can be said that there is one person and one thing responsible for Barcelona’s fame it is the genius of the architect Antoni Gaudi and his magnificent Sagrada Familia Basilica, reputed to be among the top 10 most visited sites in Europe.

Construction of the Basilica commenced in 1882 and continues to this day. Completion of this monumental structure is anticipated by 2030, more than 100 years after Gaudi died. When finished it will feature the tallest spire of any church in the world.

We were unable to visit the interior until our May departure as reservations were required to manage the throngs of tourists seeking admission.

I will provide greater detail and further images in a later post near our return home.

We had only one full day to visit highlights of the city. They included:

Las Ramblas (originally a sewage-filled stream), a wide tree-lined pedestrian corridor that extends nearly a mile to the sea.

It abounds with trendy shops, restaurants, and pleasant parklike green spaces.

At one end are a number of Gaudi designed buildings, including the Palau Guell Mansion constructed in  1888…

…and Casa Mila, the last private residence designed by Gaudi.

Constructed between 1906 and 1912 it was groundbreaking for its inclusion of an underground parking garage for automobiles. The “attic” is a marvel of unconventional arch work, exceeded only by the rooftop “stormtrooper” visages that serve upon that undulating terrace as ventilators and stairway access points.

This building along with the Sagrada Familia and the nearby mountain citadel monastery of Montserrat were prominently featured in Dan Brown’s suspense novel, “Origin”.

The other end of Las Ramblas features a tangle of narrow pedestrian ways that constituted the old medieval city and Cathedral district. At its end is the ocean.

Parc Guell, a public park, was designed by Gaudi and constructed from 1900 to 1914.

Many of the architect’s trademark details are evident in the extensive use of arches and parabolas.  

The park was originally conceived as an upscale housing development. The only residential structure built was one eventually purchased and occupied by the architect himself. Today it remains as an excellent but understated museum to his genius.

It was a lot to take in for two jetlagged visitors, but adrenaline and thoughts of what lay ahead kept us going. We would be “Pampered Pilgrims during the few days spent in Barcelona and St. Jean Pied de Port. After that austerity would begin.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Next: Part 5, On to St. Jean Pied de Port

PS. Our grandchildren knew that we were walking across Spain, however the concept was a bit fuzzy in their 4 and 5 year old minds. They did understand it to be a VERY long walk. Christine made video calls to the families our first night in Barcelona. It was night for us but still the  afternoon back home. She showed the kids our room and then to prove it was night where we were she turned her phone out the window. “Grandma, they have cars in Spain!!!”, exclaimed 4 year old Britton. “Well, sure they do Britton”. “Then why are you and Grandpa walking!?!”  From the mouths of  babes…   

 

Retirement lay 2 years in our future. In a sense we had already begun testing those waters. In 2005 we spent a month wandering through England, Scotland, and Wales. 2010 saw us spending the entire Summer on the road bicycling 5,000 miles from northwest Washington State to Key West Florida. What lay before us was 6 weeks crossing the Iberian Peninsula on foot. It was not a vacation, not yet retirement… for me it was a “bucket list” item. I was to learn that for Christine it was something deeper.

We each had the good fortune to have reliable people to entrust with our professional responsibilities. For me it was Susie Kelso, the finest administrative assistant that an attorney could ever ask for.

 

She would make sure that I had a law and mediation practice to return to. For Christine it was Bridget Long. Bridget had been Christine’s Assistant Director for nearly 20 years. Christine founded Northland Dependency Services in 1992. She had grown the firm into 6 offices with 30 full and part-time employees supervising nearly 4,000 offenders sentenced by the Courts to probation, community service, and/or various related programs. Christine was professionally tired. She sought peace from the Camino, answers to questions that she did not know how to ask. We shared the outward journey, but Christine also traveled an inner path.

Historically the Camino is a religious pilgrimage that dates to the 9^th Century, one of the three great destinations in the Christian tradition: Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago. The various routes started in virtually every major city in Europe.

 

The route that we would pursue, the French Route, followed ancient Roman trade roads from north of the Pyrenees Mountains in France to Santiago near Spain’s Atlantic coast. There were bridges and sections of road that we traversed dating to the time of Christ.

 

The Camino’s Medieval prominence had waned to near obscurity by the mid-Twentieth Century when only a few hundred pilgrims completed the journey each year.

The 1957 publication of Irishman Walter Starkie’s book “The Road to Santiago” has been cited as one trigger for the resurgence of interest in the Camino among Europeans. Yet pilgrim numbers remained small into the 1980’s. In 1987 the Camino received recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a year that fewer than 3,000 made the journey. Further interest was ignited by Paulo Coelho’s 1987 semi-autobiographical book, “The Pilgrimage”, which has been translated into 40 languages. By the year 2000 Pilgrim numbers exploded (55,000). In 2013 we would count ourselves among over 200,000 completing the journey into Santiago, 8,000 of which were Americans.

 

It is unlikely that religious zeal accounts for the ever growing popularity of this pilgrimage (350,000 in 2019), given that church attendance continues a long pattern of decline. Perhaps it is a longing for adventure. Perhaps a search for a deeply personal spiritual experience. We counted ourselves among those in both categories.

At the time we regularly attended Catholic Mass at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kansas City. The Jesuit led parish had been our Faith Community since 1977.

 

It had embraced us in our marriage, baptized our children, educated them, confirmed them,… and even cried with us at the passing of our granddaughter. On April 5, 2013 we were invited to stand before the congregation and receive a special blessing.

 

Father Bill was familiar with the requirements of the pilgrimage and asked that the official seal of the Parish be the first “sello” entered into the record of the “credencials” of our journey.

 

Here is the blessing that he and the congregation bestowed upon us:

“Pete and Christine, we stamp your credentials with the seal of St. Francis Xavier Church, your parish home. We pray that you come back home to us safely. And we bless your packs with holy water, the water we use to baptize babies and adults and to bless ourselves and remind us that we belong to God. And now we bless you. Congregation, please extend your hands in blessing:

Good and gracious God, you are the One who is always with us in all our travels. Be with Pete and Christine on this journey. May every mile they walk bring them closer to You, to one another, and to all God’s people. Give them open eyes and open hearts to receive everyone and everything they will encounter. Give them good health and good humor, and courage and strength to meet all and every difficulty. Bring them back to us safely and help them to share with us what they learn on The Way.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our brother and friend. ¡Buen Camino!”  (Under his breath Father added, “And I wish that I was going too.”)

And so it was that our Camino did not begin in France or in Spain, but in Kansas City, Missouri.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Next: Part 4, Departure

 

Planning and daydreaming of the Camino had become a  preoccupation for us in early 2012. It bordered on obsession. We shared our thoughts with friends and family. Word spread of our plans. We found that there were others in Kansas City who had walked the Camino. One such person was Thomas Lin who reached out with suggestions and a referral to his friend in Barcelona, Ana Dargallo Nieto, who would later welcome us with a tour of her city.

Thomas had walked in 2009, starting from St. Jean Pied de Port, France. With gear in hand Thomas took a moment for coffee at an outdoor café before taking to the trail. He was surprised to see the familiar face of actor Martin Sheen.

 

Minutes later Emilio Estevez approached him and asked if he wanted to be an “extra” on a movie that they were shooting, “The Way”. Thomas declined, not wanting to delay his departure.

Early planning lacked certainty for us and the Camino remained more daydream than reality. That changed on July 4^th when we secured our reservations on Delta flight 694 Kansas City to Atlanta and then on to Barcelona. April 8, 2013 was our “D-Day”. We would return 6 weeks later on May 31^st.

Making the flight reservations was an easy part. There was still the challenge of packing for a 6 week “backpacking” trip. It had been 20 years since our children and I had shared annual one week backpacking trips in the Rocky Mountains.

 

I still had my equipment. Typical of those trips were the 40 pounds of clothing, equipment, and supplies carried on my back. If that was what I had needed for one week, how much would I have to carry for 6 weeks?

The internet provided some insights through an online Camino Forum. Thousands of “Peregrinos” exchanged questions and answers about all things Camino. I learned that a full backpack averaged between 15 and 20 pounds. Some folks took pride on whittling that down to as little as 10. My first efforts at minimalizing resulted in this list:

SPAIN PACKING LIST

CLOTHES:

• 4 pair underwear.
• Hiking boots.
• Sandals
• 4 pair outer socks.
• 4 pair sock liners.
• 2 sets of “scrubs”.
• 2 “tech” tees, short sleeve.
• 2 “tech” tees, long sleeves.
• 2 long pants.
• 2 short pants.
• Windbreaker
• “Stuffable” down jacket
• Fleece vest.
• Tilley Hat.
• D-ring belt.
• Gloves, inner and outer.

GEAR:

• Pack. Osprey Atmos 50
• Fanny Pack.
• Trekking poles.
• Poncho.
• Flashlight.
• Blinker light.
• Pedometer, GPS?
• Whistle.
• Binoculars.
• Knife.
• Wine key.
• 2 water bottles.
• Cell phone and cable/charger.
• Camera and cables.
• I-Touch, headphones, cables/charger.
• Portable speaker, cables/charger.
• Pen and Notebook.
• Zip-lok bags.
• Sewing kit.
• Space blanket.
• Sunglasses.
• Parachute cord.

TOILETRIES/MEDICAL:

• Backpacking towel.
• Toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Razor.
• Soap.
• Shampoo.
• Laundry soap.
• Prescriptions.
• Small 1^st aid kit.
• Band-Aids, blister skin, duct tape.
• Ibuprofen.
• Nasal Spray.
• Safety pins and clothes pins.

DOCUMENTS:

• Passport.
• Camino documents.
• Guidebook.

MISC:

• Rosary.
• “Talismans”. Stone and Pilgrim’s Prayer for the Cruz de Farro.

As I assembled the items I found that I was over the suggested limits by a good 10 pounds. I was packing for all the “what if’s” I could imagine. I took a piece of advice to heart, “Spain is not a third world country”. The process of elimination got my pack down to 21 pounds. Christine was more successful, achieving 16.

 

 

We trained by carrying our packs on long walks through the neighborhoods.  We would later find on the Camino that the first Albergues (hostels) had tables, and even rooms full of “just in case” items discarded by pilgrims after their first arduous days afoot. A week into our journey I would mail 4 pounds of stuff back to our B&B in Barcelona.  

Friends queried us with concern for our safety. We were often asked if we would be taking self-defense measures with us. Mace was frequently suggested, once a firearm was even recommended. A bit of research revealed that in 2012 there was a total of 364 homicides in Spain, a country of over 47 million people. The likelihood of personal violence was over 7 times greater in the United States. No mace, and certainly no firearms.

Other frequent questions had to do with whether we would be part of a tour group. Would there be a guide? What about hotel reservations? Would we be camping, cooking? Do you speak Spanish? Is the water safe to drink?

The Camino Forum, and especially a guidebook written by John Brierley, “A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago” (frequently updated and available on Amazon) proved very helpful.

 

No tour group, we would be walking on our own but soon find company with countless other Peregrinos. The Camino was well marked. Villages with services could be found every few miles. There were many Albergues, Casa Rurals, and Guest Houses. Larger towns had hotels if one was so inclined. The Albergues were typically “first come first served”, rarely taking reservations. By choice there would be no camping or cooking. Restaurants and cafés along the way had discounted menus for the pilgrims. Christine began studying basic “Spanglish” while I could point fluently in most any language. My high school and college German might also prove helpful as English, French, and German speakers were common on the Camino. And yes, the water was safe to drink, “Spain is not a third world country”.

The final destination of the Camino is the Cathedral in Santiago, reputed to be the repository of the human remains of St. James the Apostle.

 

 

Peregrinos who walked the final 100km (about 60 miles) in a continuous journey could present themselves to the Cathedral office and receive a Compostela (certificate of completion).

 

It was also permitted to travel the Camino by bicycle and even by horse, in which cases one had to complete the final 200km as a continuous journey.

The Pilgrim Office at the Cathedral would not take your word that you had met the requirements for the Compostela. Proof in the form of a pilgrim “credencial” was required. This document, obtained free of cost, would be stamped each day by the Albergue as evidence of the passage. It could also be stamped by most churches, municipal offices, restaurants, and cafés.

 

 

The credencial often becomes as treasured a keepsake as the Compostela for the pilgrim who has made the pilgrimage. Credencials can be obtained at most starting points on the Camino. We obtained pilgrim’s credencials from a group in the United States, The American Pilgrims on the Camino, (“APOC”).

In the course of our journey we were frequently presented with what we came to call “Camino Moments”. These little “miracles” left us to marvel at how much lies beyond our capacity to under. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the APOC volunteer who issued us our credencials was Kris Ashton of Denver Colorado. We met Kris by chance as we walked the Camino and became fast friends sharing sections of the journey and occasionally accommodations.

 

Our friendship has continued to date with frequent visits to each other’s homes. Kris even joined us in 2018 for a week cruising the ancient canals of England and Wales.

As our departure approached I took upon myself the mission of including the grandchildren. We talked about Grandpa and Grandma “walking across Spain”. They had seen the guest bedroom of our home taken over by an accumulation of clothing, backpacks, trekking poles, sleeping bags and other necessities for our “adventure”. Pilgrims on the Camino mark themselves by displaying a scallop shell (“concha”), usually from a necklace or attached to one’s backpack. I purchased a number of large and small shells which I affixed to lanyards, small ones for the grandchildren and large ones for us.

 

Our shells remain as another treasured memento of our journey to Santiago.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Next: Part 3, The Journey Begins with a First Stamp

 

Our lives are a litter of seemingly insignificant moments. When viewed in the rear view mirror of time those moments loom large as having crafted the experiences that define us. An offhand comment offered by a university professor; “Mr. Schloss, have you ever considered being a lawyer? You should.”  The selection of one of two cities offered for a new job; I chose Kansas City over St. Louis solely because I had never been there before. An invitation by a stranger to pause from walking my dog for a beer; A few minutes later that beer led to meeting a young lady who would later become my wife of nearing 44 years. How different my life would have been if those events had happened differently or not at all.

One such moment occurred at lunch with my good friend, Hugh O’Donnell. Hugh occasionally offered movie recommendations. On that day in late 2011 he was particularly adamant that I see a little advertised movie, “The Way” which was written and directed by Emilio Estevez and starred his father, Martin Sheen.

Not wanting to spoil the movie, Hugh yet enticed me by explaining that the story was one particularly suited to me. He fell just short of making me promise that I would go. I was intrigued. Online reviews of the low budget independent film were effusive. I was hooked.

The weekend was upon us and with no special plans I suggested to Christine that we take in a movie. “Hugh has recommended that we see “The Way”. He was really strong with his endorsement.” Christine is usually reluctant to spend a “few hours sitting in a theater”. However she is pretty good at figuring out if I am just looking for something to do, or really invested in seeing a particular show. I prevailed and off to the movies we went.

One does not spend $20.00 dollars or so at a movie with the expectation of having a life-changing experience. A bottle of water, bucket of popcorn, and box or two of candy was all that we expected we would be buying. Looking back on that evening, It was the most expensive movie we will ever see. It has cost us thousands of dollars and it will likely cost us thousands more before our lives conclude… and worth every penny.

“The Way” is the story of Thomas Avery, played by Martin Sheen. Tom is a workaholic physician who is frustrated by his son’s failure to share the father’s work ethic and view of life. The son, Daniel Avery (played by Emilio Estevez), is leaving for Spain to “walk the Camino”. As Tom is driving Daniel to the airport the son reveals that he is leaving his post graduate studies in order to find his true life’s calling. Dad’s anger rises and Tom challenges Daniel to explain what he expects to make out of his life. The son responds to the argument with the arresting line, “You don’t  choose a life Dad, you live one”.

Tom’s life is turned upside down when a few days later he receives a call from a police inspector in southern France advising that Daniel has died. The Father travels to St. Jean Pied de Port in France to identify his son and return his remains to the United States. Tom learns that Daniel died when he was caught in a violent storm while crossing the Pyrenees mountains on his first day walking the Camino.

Later that evening, lost in his grief, Tom stares at his son’s backpack. The Father realizes that he never really knew Daniel. Perhaps Tom’s last opportunity to understand what was important to Daniel may found by taking up his son’s backpack and continuing the journey Daniel had started. The father’s own journey of self-discovery thus begins.

 

“The Camino” is a medieval pilgrimage walk with its final destination the Cathedral in Santiago Spain, reputed to house the remains of St. James the Apostle. For over a thousand years pilgrims (“Peregrinos”) from the world over have undertaken this 500+ mile physical, emotional, and spiritual journey. “The Way” has planted the seeds of pilgrimage in the minds of thousands of Americans. Many of the nearly 8,000 American’s who “walked the Camino” in 2013 point to the movie as the genesis of their journey. So it was with us.

 

As we left the theater, I became aware that Christine had been profoundly moved. She still showed signs of the tears that had come to her during the show. “So Chris, what did you think”, I asked. Her answer marked the moment that I found the course of my life changed. After a short pause, she replied, “I’m going to do that”.

“You mean walk the Camino?!” I was incredulous. My Wife is known for her determination, but not for athletic pursuits. 20 years earlier I thought our marriage might end because of the one and only backpacking trip I had convinced her to take with me. That 3 day hike in the mountains of New Mexico might have covered 20 miles. Here she was talking about hiking over 500 miles from Southern France, across the snowcapped Pyrenees mountains and then west to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

The only answer that I could muster was, “Well, can I go too?” I thought she was kidding, but I hoped she was not. I too was victim of “The Way” and found myself captivated by the idea of taking 6 weeks to pursue the Tom Avery experience.

Over the months the followed “The Camino” repeatedly came up in our conversations. It was clear that the idea was firmly planted in our minds. Furthermore, it was Christine’s idea. It presented her with the opportunity to choose our next adventure after having helped with an adventure that I had embarked upon in 2010, riding a bicycle across that United States.

We began planning in earnest. Christine ordered books about The Camino. I researched on the internet. We talked about the equipment we would need, and when we should plan to depart. Christine had enough frequent flyer miles to secure first class round trip tickets to Spain. Over the next 18 months we talked and dreamed longingly of “Our Camino”. Every journey begins with a first step. We had just taken ours.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Next: Part 2, Planning and Preparations