The Monastery at Roncesvalles

Posted on June 12, 2024June 11, 2024 by Pete Schloss

Dear Christine and Renee’.

We were up and out of the refuge at Orisson by 8:00 AM. 7 AM breakfast was disappointingly thin and consisted only of French bread, butter, and jelly. There was hot coffee and orange juice.

There were moments when the fog cleared.

I had purchased sandwiches for us to carry along the way, ham and cheese on baguette. They were a lifesaver and did a great job of staving off hunger when we ate them around noon.

Much of the time today was like walking in the middle of a ping-pong ball. White out conditions. We could barely see 100 feet in any direction. It was cold, wet, with alternating rain and drizzle… and it was also wonderful!

A French gentleman walked with us much of the day. He speaks very little English. Britton and he conversed in French and Britton provided translation for me. He really cast his shyness aside.

The elevation increase (2100 feet) was greater than what we experienced yesterday, but spread over a much longer distance. Britton felt today was the more difficult of the two days and I felt yesterday was more challenging.

Today was a day to make friends and spend the hike with new companions. I will identify some of the pilgrims in the photographs.

Britton and I with a Saya (sp) from Romania and Jell (sp) from France.

Our group here includes Pierre from Sweden, Lana, Abbey, and Erica, from the States. we are at the border between France and Spain.

One surprise was a food truck in the middle of “nowhere”. Sodas, sandwiches, candy bars, and best of all homemade cheese made for a delightful pause in the hike.

Our group enjoying snacks at the food truck.

Britton has frequently vocalized how much he is enjoying this experience. He is blown away by the beauty and the variety of people that we are meeting. He is already planning to walk another Camino and take his friends along, him as their guide!

There were places where the mud was ankle deep and given the area livestock, of questionable composition. One of our companions, Lana from Washington, was wearing Crocs!

We will eat dinner at the monastery tonight at 7 with mass following at 8 PM. I have also arranged to take breakfast here before we “hit the road“ early in the morning.

I looked down the hall on our side of the first floor dormitory.

I am sorry if this post seems a little “scattered“, but I am trying to get it uploaded before dinner, Mass, and lights out.

Love to you both. Peace, Dad.

Written at the Monastery at Roncesvalles, Spain, June 11, 2024.

More “friends”, but the bull did not look so friendly. We did our best to walk around him.

There were moments when the vistas were spectacular.

This is an emergency shelter, which has a fireplace, two beds, and emergency phone.

Day 1, Hike to the Refuge at Orisson

Posted on June 11, 2024June 10, 2024 by Pete Schloss

Dear Christine and Renee.

Day 1 is in the books. Cold, occasional drizzle, 3 hours and 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I’m so glad we made this a short day… I’m beat!

I will let my pictures and captions speak for themselves.

Angry clouds threatened throughout the day.

Two women pilgrims from Brazil. The struggled mightily but ultimately had to call for transport.

I took over 40 pictures today and it was hell trying to figure out which ones to post.

t this point I look much happier than I feel!

We heard bells, but knew there was no church. Look who walked around the corner!

Two of our roommates, Abbey from Texas and Erica from Ohio.

We are waiting for dinner and I am looking forward to introducing Britton to the other pilgrims. Our room has 6 beds and seems to have been assigned to English speakers. Lou and her partner Gary from New Zealand, Erica and Abbey are teachers from the States, and us.

The room is COLD. The shower (limited to 5 minutes) is tepid but welcome. Let’s hope the food is hot!

Tomorrow is another climb. My fingers are crossed that the weather favors us.

Love to you both, and thank you for sharing your “late night I can’t sleep thoughts, Renee. They brought me to tears and mean so much to me. Love. Dad

From my daughter Renee to Britton on our 1st Day:

“My late night I can’t sleep thoughts:

Ya know it’s funny how so much changes and yet stays so solidly the same. When dad was just my dad, long before he became anyone’s grandpa, I thought his turtle-like tendencies were insane (let’s be real, I still might). Who the heck wants to carry their house on their back for weeks at a time?!?! But he did, and he drug me kicking and screaming along with him as we descended into the woods. No cell phone, no AirPods, nothing but what we could carry for a couple weeks at a time. And as evidenced by my face in all the pictures – I was not amused. And here we are and life has come full circle. Except now it’s my youngest son lugging his worldly possessions along side his grandpa. And while the idea of carrying an emergency roll of toilet paper and wearing the same socks for three days in a row wasn’t my speed, it seems to be his. Perhaps if my destination had been as exotic, the oatmeal became chocolate croissants, and the tang was a nice glass of wine at the end of the day, I would have felt different. But somehow I doubt it. I guess those turtle like tendencies must skip a generation. Because it seems that if you’re patient enough to wait a few decades, you’ll find your perfect backpack buddy. I’m so dang happy for you both that you can be turtles together. Be safe and walk proudly. Love, Mom”

Saint Jean PdP, Just Pictures

Posted on June 10, 2024June 10, 2024 by Pete Schloss

Dear Christine and Renee.

I thought to take advantage of the strong wifi hear at Maison Simonenia to upload some pictures of the day. Just pictures… Enjoy!

This is the Citadel, a fortification that dates to the 1600s.

The fortifications provided an offensive and defensive military position against Spain.

These are some “friends“ that Britton found.

The town below us and the Pyrenees mountains above.

The Village and mountains, a different view.

Strange person crossing an ancient bridge

Britton does not like being in pictures unless I convince him that it is also for his mother.

The river Nive as it winds through town.

And of course food. French bread with ham, cheese, and pate.

The proprietor and our most excellent host, Kathrine.

Love to you both. Peace. Dad

At Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, June 9, 2024

Train-ing to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port

Posted on June 9, 2024June 8, 2024 by Pete Schloss

Dear Christine and Renee.

It was a good day to travel. The taxi from our hotel in Biarritz was on time to the minute and delivered us flawlessly to the railway station in nearby Bayonne. The train was in the station early as it was the origination point for our destination, Saint Jean Pied-de-Port. We had the luxury of 1st choice adjoining seats and relaxed as the small 2 car train filled to capacity, mostly with Camino bound passengers.

A young gentleman wearing sandals, shorts, and a loose-fit tee-shirt boarded shortly after us, definitely not a pilgrim. To our surprise he was the engineer!

We departed on time for our picturesque 1 hour transit up and into the Pyrenees Mountains. There were a few whistle stops and at least a score of tunnels which must have been cut over 100 years ago. We seemed to reach back in time as we drew closer to SJPdP.

Very little has changed in this medieval village since I was last here 11 years ago. That is really no surprise since most of the buildings on the narrow cobblestone street where we are staying date to the 1600’s and 1700’s.

In the distance the bridge to the Camino

One proudly displays a stone above the door declaring it was once St. Francis Xavier’s ancestral home.

The church just down the street, Notre Dame du Bout du Pont, sits just inside of the fortress wall that once encircled the village and dates to the 1300’s. We hope to attend Mass there tomorrow.

We stopped at the Pilgrim Office to register and were told that it is fortunate we are not starting our Camino tomorrow (Sunday) as a major storm is predicted. Monday is our departure day and the weather forecast is excellent. More good luck.

In 2013 I bought a beret, wearing it in the evenings on the Camino. Today I was again tempted at the sight of an upscale shop featuring this traditional French and Basque headwear. The shopkeeper did the fitting for both of us. He explained that his excellent English derived from his time living in Miami where in his youth he was a professional Jai Alai player.

One language “disconnect”: We stopped at a small bar for tapas and mineral water. Somehow the proprietor misunderstood my request. Britton turned to me and said, “Grandpa, that doesn’t look like water.” I awoke from my daydreaming stupor unable to stop the gentleman. I stared at two large beers he had poured for us. I drank one and left the other to the unknown.

In the States distillers call what disappears from the whiskey barrels over time the “Angel’s Share”. Maybe some “Camino Angel” (not named Britton) drank the second beer.

Love to both of you. Peace, Dad

Written at Saint Jean PdP, June 8, 2024.

PS. Yes, there was food…

The Rogue Backpack

Posted on June 8, 2024July 2, 2024 by Pete Schloss

Dear Christine and Renee.

I expected to enjoy my time on this journey with Britton but I can’t say that I expected him to be such a delightful traveling companion. Kind, thoughtful, and patient. He is beyond his years. I know that we are barely into this trip but I think that I am seeing Britton at his core, the person he is and will be.

The flight from Kansas City to Atlanta was nondescript but pleasant. The trip from Atlanta to Paris was excellent as we were treated to high class accommodations.

There was plenty of room to stretch out, real food, real silverware, and real wine for me, Sprite for Britton. I fear that I may have spoiled him to the point that he will no longer be satisfied flying economy coach.

The “fly in the ointment” was discovered when I looked on my Delta App and saw that my bag was happily onboard, traveling with us across the Atlantic. Britton‘s bag took an unscheduled detour. I felt my anxiety rise and expressed my concern to Britton. He merely shrugged his shoulders and said that since there was nothing we could do about it at the moment, why worry. Amazing at only 15!

Ultimately, I was able to secure enough information and contact the necessary authorities to arrange for a departure of the errant bag on the next flight to Paris, and then to Biarritz. With luck it will arrive before noon today. We will have to travel to the airport to retrieve it, €50 round-trip by taxi. I understand that Delta will pay compensation.

Last night neither Britton nor I felt particularly hungry after the stress of 20 hours of nonstop travel, but we forced ourselves to find a bite and a drink. What we found was a delightful nightlife at street-side restaurants where tapas were the order of the night.