We got up at 6:00 AM this morning at the alburgue in Zariquiegui, packed up, ate breakfast at the local cafe and started walking at 7:00 AM. I had a tortilla, which is a quiche, with potatoes and cheese, and a banana. I also took an apple for a mid morning snack. This is the map of the walk today from Zariquiegui to Puente La Reina.

The first 2.5 kilometers out of Zariquiegui are uphill, and at the top of the ridge is Alto del Perdon, the Hill of Forgiveness.

This is a donativo snack stand about halfway up to Alto del Perdon. You take what you need and pay what you can.

This is a fountain along the path to Alto del Pardon. Notice the bird taking a bath in the fountain.

This is the view from the path looking down on Zariquiegui.

This is Alto del Perdon, a notable landmark on the Camino. We arrived there at a little after sunrise, about 8:00 AM.

Everyone celebrates arriving at Alto del Perdon by taking one of these pictures.

It is a cheesy picture. But, if you don’t have one of these pictures they won’t give you a Compostela in Santiago.

Alto del Perdon sits on the top of a ridge. This is the view on the other side of the ridge and shows the countryside we will be walking through the rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon.

This is a memorial to the freedom fighters from this region in Spain who were tortured and killed for resisting Franco.

St. Christopher insisted that we say a prayer for their souls. Abe, who knows a little bit about freedom and freedom fighters, insisted that we all sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic to honor these fallen freedom fighters. I told Abe that Franco’s tomb is a shrine in Spain. Abe was outraged that such a murderous tyrant would have a tomb like his in Springfield. Abe wanted to visit Franco’s tomb and spit on his grave. Well, not exactly spit on Franco’s grave, but you get the picture. I told Abe that we need to focus on the Camino and not worry about Franco or his grave. Abe finally calmed down and we proceeded down the steep trail to Uterga, the next little village along the Way.

This is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary just outside Uterga.

This is the Bible passage inscribed on the base of the statute.

Not a dry eye between the three of us after reading that bible passage. We said a prayer for Anna and continued on our journey.

This is the trail from Uterga to Muruzabal, the next little village along the Way. It was a beautiful walk and these bushes lined the trail.

These bushes gave off a strong fragrance of chorizo. If you don’t know what chorizo smells like I suggest you get a pound of chorizo from the grocery store, put it in a skillet and brown it. Inhale the steam that is coming off the cooking chorizo and you will get the picture. What a heavenly smell. It was also lunchtime while I was walking this section of the trail and I was very hungry.

This is the 13th century church at Eunate.

This church is described as a jewel of the Camino. Based on that description I walked 4 kilometers out of my way to see it in the hot sun with a twenty five pound backpack on my back. Instead of a jewel it was more like a cubic zirconium. I will admit that I was hot, tired and hungry when I got there but this church really didn’t do much for me. In spite of that I did light a candle and the three of us said a prayer for Anna.

After Eunate I walked up the hill to Obanos for a long overdue lunch. Just outside Obamos I passed a garden.

Check out those melons. 🍉 🍈

After lunch at Obanos I walked into Puenta La Reina, checked into the alburgue, showered, washed my clothes and walked down the street for a massage. It was just what the doctor ordered. I had knots in the muscles of my calves and shoulders that the massage therapist worked on for an hour. As I was leaving, the masseuse asked me to say a prayer for her when I get to Santiago. There really is something magic about the Camino.

I had dinner with Laslow, who I met at the alburgue in Zariquiegui. He is a 78 year old retired architect and civil engineer from Hungary. We had paella negro and it was delicious.

I hope everyone had a relaxing Saturday.

Goodnight from Puente La Reina, Spain.

We all got up at around 6:00 AM at the alburgue in Zabaldika and had coffee, orange juice and toast for breakfast. Remember, this a parochial donativo alburgue, not the Hilton.

I was hungry when I left the alburgue at 6:45 AM and it was 11 kilometers to Pamplona. That is a long slog on an empty stomach. Shortly after leaving Zabaldika, I was passing a mammoth ancient stone barn when I saw that a guy had set up a food stall in the barn. I bought a couple of bananas and a couple of granola bars and wolfed them down while I sat in the barn talking to this guy as he was feeding a peacock. That was such a surprise treat and a perfect breakfast.

This is the trail map that covers the trail from Zalbadika to Pamplona.

As you get close to Pamplona the Camino branches off onto a 6 kilometer trail that runs through the city between two rivers, the Arga River and the Ultzama River.

Riverside trail.

At the end of this riverside trail there is an old stone bridge that you cross to get to old town Pamplona.

I walked over this bridge and up a long flight of stairs to get to the gate in the old city wall of the medieval city of Pamplona.

I walked through Pamplona and saw some of the sights but did not do an in depth tour of the City. I did see the old city hall as I was strolling through the city. Isn’t this an amazingly ornamental building?

Close to the Old City Hall I visited the Church of St. Fermin and lit a candle and said a prayer for Anna.

I was going to get a haircut at this shop but figured I could wait a couple more days. This is a display of the barber’s special haircuts.

After I walked through the old city I decided I was hungry and of course that meant pinchos, or tapas, for lunch. A guy on the street recommended a cafe and bar that he said had the best pinchos in Pamplona. He was absolutely correct. What a delicious lunch!

Scrambled eggs with cheese and mushrooms

Little chorizo sausages. Like those cocktail weenies in a can, only better.

After lunch I walked out of Pamplona and into the countryside to Zariquiegui. This is the map covering the trail from Pamplona to Zariquiegui.

This is the trail climbing up to the top of the ridge and my final destination, Zariquiegui, where I checked into the San Andres Alburgue.

This is the alburgue.

For 10 Euros I got the lower bed of a bunk bed in a room with four bunk beds. And the room is at best 20 feet by 20 feet. So far in this bedroom we have two people from France, a couple from Poland that stayed last night at the alburgue in Zabaldika, and Laslow, a guy from Hungary. It is a United Nations sleepover. I hope nobody snores, unless it is me, and then I don’t care.

I am heading out to the cafe and bar in town for a beer 🍻 or two and dinner.

The bar and cafe are owned by the same guy that owns the alburgue. I sat outside, in spite of the fact that the wind kicked up and it got a little chilly. I had meatballs and French fries and flan for desert for 8 Euros. I also had a few glasses of beer 🍻 to stay hydrated.

I hope everyone had a good day.

Goodnight from Zariquiegui, Spain 🇪🇸.

We got up at 7:00 AM, packed and had breakfast at 7:30. The proprietor laid out a nice spread for breakfast. We had yogurt, Tang, coffee, croissants 🥐, fruit and ham and cheese sandwiches. They are absolutely crackers about ham and cheese sandwiches in Spain. The proprietor gave me a ration of crap, in Spanish, about not drinking coffee. Something about only being half a man because I don’t drink coffee. I think the French are sending messages ahead instructing the Spaniards not to let up on me.

We were out on the trail at 8:00 AM. It was a cool morning but the forecast predicted a hot day. We did a little road walking to get out of Zubiri and walked through the Magna asbestos mine and processing plant. I always thought that stuff was bad for you and they quit mining it years ago. Who knows?

Magna Plant

Road Walking

After we got out of town and into the countryside things got a little better and then took a turn for the worse. The Camino did a few up and downs and then followed along the bank of the Arga river. The path along the Arga was very narrow and ran through a dense dark forrest of hardwoods. As I was walking along the path I saw this beautiful waterfall.

That made me think of Deliverance, the movie. That made me think of all the ham and cheese sandwiches I have been eating. Then I started hearing the banjo music from Deliverance in my head and I couldn’t make it stop. 🐷 Nothing like a good marching song to encourage you to pick up the pace. I don’t know if they have hillbillies in this part of Spain, and I did not want to do any research on that question. So I got out of the dark spooky forrest as fast as my feet could carry me.

I stopped for an early lunch at this trailside cafe.

Beautiful flowers on the river bank opposite the cafe.

I ran into the group from last night and also Rick and Lucinda from North Carolina. I had lunch with Rick and Lucinda yesterday and I joined them for lunch again today.

After lunch I followed a group out on the trail and started walking with them. Unfortunately, they missed a yellow arrow and we started walking away from the Camino onto a country road. A farmer came running out of his field and told us, in Spanish, that we had missed a turn and we needed to backtrack a half mile and take a right instead of a left.

I walked until I got to Zabaldika. I decided to stay at the parochial alburgue that is associated with an order of nuns who live in an adjacent convent.

Alburgue Zabaldika

That is where the trouble began. Sister Mary Claire was the nun assigned to check me into the alburgue. I didn’t notice the yardstick she had in her left hand until I got a whack on the head for failing to take off my hiking boots before entering the alburgue.

This is strictly a donation alburgue. You give what you want to give for a night’s stay, dinner and breakfast. I pulled out my wallet and was in the process of giving her a $10 bill when she whacked me on the head again. She said: “Hey big spender, $10 doesn’t even come close to covering this and I know you have the money so give me $20. She gave me a whack on the hand and I dropped my wallet. She picked it up and fished out a $20 bill. She told me that for another $10 she would promise not to whack me with the yardstick again, unless I really deserved it. I forked over the extra $10 and was glad to do it.

This whole experience reminds me of my days at St. Joseph’s grade school. Sister Jean was my fourth grade teacher and she had a yardstick the size of a fungo bat. Step out of line even a little bit and you were going to get whacked by Sister Jean. We used to call her the Sultan of Swat, or Babe Ruth, because, like the Bambino, she was a lefty, and she put a great deal of power and grace into her yard stick swing. I think I have a moderate hearing loss in my right ear from getting my head whacked one too many times by Sister Jean and I know I have arthritis in both hands from getting whacked by her on the knuckles. Maybe there’s a class action in this. Who knows?

I got to the alburgue at 1:30 PM and found out that it did not open until 2:30. This nice older nun, Sister Mary Celeste, gave me a tour of the 13th century Church of Saint Stephen.

Church of St. Stephen

The altar piece or retablo in this church is magnificent.

At the end of the tour of the church, Sister Mary Celeste, who was acting as my tour guide, asked me to bow my head and join her in the Pilgrim prayer. I prayed with her and at the end of this prayer I was sobbing uncontrollably. She then touched her heart and then touched my heart and then pointed to the altar. She also pointed to my head like she thought I was crazy.

In order to cheer me up, Sister Mary Celeste let me climb into the belfry and at 2:00 PM I rang the bell twice. It did cheer me up and gave me a mild case of tinnitus for the rest of the afternoon.

This evening the two alburgue volunteers cooked and served a communal dinner for the 20 people staying at the alburgue.

This is one of the volunteers. His name is Chuck Ripely. He is from South Bend, Indiana and of course he is a Notre Dame alum.

His family founded the town of South Bend and donated the foundation stones for the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the Notre Dame campus. In return for the foundation stones, four generations of the Ripely kids got a tuition waiver to go to Notre Dame. Rick is generation five so he had to pay full price to be a Golden Domer.

For dinner we had three different salads, potato soup, a chicken casserole, wine and melon for dessert. It was sooo good and I had two helpings of everything. The following nationalities were represented at the dinner. Poland, Russia, France, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Spain. At the end of dinner a French couple sang a song of thanks for the two volunteers. As much trouble as I have had with the French, I will have to admit, they sure can sing. These two Frenchies could have been professional singers.

After dinner we went to the church and the nuns conducted a prayer service in the choir loft. We read a bible verse and then shared our reasons for being on the Camino. One of the young women from Denmark told the group that she has been severely bipolar all her life and is now better and wanted to do the Camino to thank God for her recovery. Not a dry eye in the house after that. At the end of the prayer service the French couple sang a couple of Camino songs and got a standing ovation.

The alburgue has two coed sleeping rooms and three bathrooms. One bedroom has two bunk beds and the third floor bedroom has eight single beds and two bunk beds.

My alburgue bedroom

I got a single bed in the corner and slept OK, other than the nightmares about being attacked by giant bed bugs.

All in all a memorable day on the Camino.

I hope everyone had a great day.

Good night from Zabaldika.

PS – There was no internet at the alburgue last night so I am posting this a day late. That is going to happen every once in a while during this journey. Please be patient with me if the daily post does not appear at its normal time.

This is the map covering the walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri.

Today’s walk is only about 20 kilometers and the guidebook says it rolls gently downhill. That is a flat out lie. For goodness sake, we are still in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Everything is up and down. It was a beautiful walk but there was plenty of uphill, although not as long or steep as yesterday, and there was plenty of downhill, especially the last four kilometers.

I got up at 6:00 AM and packed. I had breakfast, a ham and cheese sandwich and a banana and orange juice. I then went back up to the room and waited until 7:30 when dawn broke and there was enough light to walk. For the first 5 kilometers the trail passes through a thick beech forest that was the home of a coven of witches in the 1600s. It was very foggy and just a little bit spooky to walk this stretch of the Camino. The sun gradually burned away the fog that was hovering in the valleys like puffs of white cotton candy.

Our first stop was in Viskarret where we had lunch. Abe and St. Christopher were not hungry. I had another ham and cheese sandwich. They had chorizo on the menu and I tried to get them to substitute the chorizo for the ham. I was emphatically told it was a ham and cheese sandwich, not a chorizo and cheese sandwich. The Spaniards love their ham. By the time this pilgrimage is over I will have grown a snout and a curly tail. Oink 🐷

Lunch

Once the fog burned off we walked along a ridge line with a beautiful view of the meadows and the towns in the valley.

What a great view.

The last four kilometers to Zubiri were difficult. It was the end of the day, the shadows made it hard to see the surface of the trail, and it was all steeply downhill.

Tough trail.

The surface of the trail was a mess. The sheets or layers of rock had been pushed up and rotated 90 degrees by some ancient tectonic force so that they were standing up like solders at attention. One of the hikers said the rocks looked like the dorsal plates on the back and tail of a stegosaurus. I think that is a colorful and accurate description of this section of the trail.

I finally got to Zubiri at 3:30 and had to find the Pension Amets, track down the owner to let me in and complete the check in paperwork. I took a shower, did laundry and started working on this blog post. The internet was so slow at the hotel last night that it took me three hours to upload all the pictures and type the text. Today the Pension Aments has great internet and I breezed through this blog post in an hour.

Dinner

After I finished and published this blog post I went out to look for a place to have dinner. I found a bar on a plaza down by the Arga river that runs through Zubiri. Outside the bar there was a collection of tables and chairs for pilgrims to relax and enjoy a cold glass of beer 🍺 or a glass of the local wine🍷. I invited myself to join a party in progress and before long we had seven people at the table from the United States, Canada, France, the UK and Germany. We had a few refreshments and talked about our Camino adventure so far while we feasted on delicious plates of tapas provided by the delicatessen adjacent to the bar. Before long Jack from Canada was playing his ukulele and singing cowboy songs.

On the left side of this picture is a woman who is from Lancaster PA. Her family and her husband’s family have Springfield roots going all the way back to Abe’s time in Springfield. Abe was beyond thrilled to meet her and they spent the evening chit chatting about Springfield and the Gettysburg Address.

Tomorrow I either walk to Pamplona or take a detour and stay at the convent at Zalbadika, which is about 8 kilometers short of Pamplona. We will see how it goes tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a great day today.

Good night from Zubiri, Spain.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Today was the big day. The first, hardest and longest day on the Camino. I didn’t sleep well last night. I was anxious to get started and Abe snores like a lumberjack. Ear plugs diminished but did not completely protect me from the racket he was making all night long. He is going to be a big hit in the alburges. We, meaning Abe, St. Christopher and I, woke up at 6:00 AM and we were out the door at 7:00. The first stop was the Church of Notre Dame. St. Christopher recited his prayer from the prayer card my sister, California Karen, sent me. We then lit a candle and prayed for Anna and prayed that we would have a successful Camino.

After that we walked out the Western Gate of the Medieval City of St. Jean and took out first step on the Camino.

Mark at the Gate.

As we walked through the western outskirts of St. Jean I was struck by how many chickens were in people’s backyards. The crowing from the roosters was deafening. Now I know where they get all that chicken for the Pilgrim dinners.

We walked almost straight uphill for about 5 kilometers to the first little town of Hunto. I found a roadside vending machine and had a good American breakfast. A Coke and a couple of Twinkies.

The next stop, about three kilometers straight uphill from Hunto, was Orisson.

This is the last place to get food or use a restroom until Roncesvalles, at the end of the day. They don’t want you going on the side of the trail, but they expect you to walk for hours and hold it until you get to Roncesvalles at the end of a very long day. This makes no sense and it should come as no surprise that people on the section of the Way from Orisson to Roncesvalles use the side of the trail to take care of their business. For goodness sake, put a couple of Port – A – Potties on this section of the Camino.

Mark on the Camino in the Pyrenees.

Beautiful sunrise in the Pyrenees.

For most of the day we walked through pastures where cows, horses and sheep were grazing. As you can see, the cows and the horses had collars and big bells around their necks. These bells rang a deep bass note as the cows and horses moved their heads from side to side to nibble on the succulent green grass. The sheep had collars and small bells that made a high tinkling sound as they grazed. What a magical soundtrack for our first day on the Camino.

This purple flower is a Fall crocus. The hills were blanketed with these purple flowers and yellow and white miniature daisies. It was a stunning visual. The only thing missing was Julie Andrews dancing through the high mountain meadows singing: “The hills are alive with the sound of music!”

A wayside shrine to Mary. We stopped and said a prayer for Anna.

Mark at a wayside cross at a location on the trail called Cruciero. We stopped and said a prayer for Anna.

I had a few unfortunate incidents on the trail. First I sat on a cactus. It was a French stealth cactus. I looked before I sat but it was virtually invisible. It was a case of the French taking one more shot at me as I was walking out of their country. Good thing I have armor plated callouses on my backside from all those years of working for the Railroad.

It is also a good thing I didn’t sit on this French cow pie. Nothing stealth about this cow pie.

The second incident I will refer to as the Coke and cake incident. A roach coach was parked at a rest area mid way along the trail. The guy in charge of the roach coach was selling chocolate cake and cold cans of Coke. As you can imagine he was doing a brisk business. By the time I got to the rest area there were 20 pilgrims sitting at picnic tables feasting on cake and quenching their thirsts with ice cold Coke. The roach coach was leaving as I arrived. I evaluated the situation and ran after the roach coach in an attempt to get my cake and Coke. The driver of the roach coach waved me off, sped up and left me in his dust. I fell to my knees sobbing and screaming that life is not fair and that I just got screwed. Nobody offered to share their cake and Coke with me and I left the rest area hungry and thirsty. Abe said I made a fool of myself and embarrassed him. He wanted to walk ahead of me but he is tied to the backpack so he is going nowhere without me. I will eventually get over the Coke and cake incident but I still have a bitter taste in my mouth where the taste of chocolate cake should be.

It was a very hard day and I struggled into the hotel in Roncesvalles at about 6:00 PM. I took a quick shower, washed my clothes in the sink and went down to the 7:00 PM pilgrim dinner. Pilgrim dinners are available every night on the Camino. It was a group dinner where, in this case, about 75 people got together at big tables to talk and eat dinner. For seven bucks we had soup, pasta, bread, chicken, French fries, and a Drumstick ice cream bar for dessert, and water and wine. The food was only OK, but the price was right and I got to meet some people who had walked from St. Jean that day.

Tomorrow we walk 20 kilometers from Roncesvalles to Zubiri.

I hope everyone had a good Tuesday.

Goodnight from Roncesvalles, which is Spanish and means the valley of thorns. I don’t think this is a good name for the town if they want to attract tourists, but what do I know.

Grocery Store

As I mentioned yesterday I needed to find a grocery store to buy food for breakfast tomorrow morning, Tuesday morning, and lunch along the way to Roncesvalles. I got up this morning and as I was walking around St. Jean I found a grocery store.

Grocery store in St. Jean.

This store was definitely a grocery store not a supermarket. There was nothing super about this grocery store. The store had a great selection of wine, not surprising because it’s a French grocery store, but the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables left something to be desired.

This grocery store also had a great selection of baked goods including numerous types of croissants. Again, not a surprise because this is a French grocery store.

Bakery case.

As you can see the baked goods are displayed behind a glass door, or what appears to be a glass door. I spent five minutes trying to figure out how to open this glass door and get a croissant. I finally decided to step back and watch another shopper open the door. It turns out that the door does not open. In order to get a croissant you need to play a game much like the game where you manipulate a claw down into a pile of prizes in order to get the prize you want, then manipulate the claw over to the opening and drop the prize into the opening. In this case the prize was a croissant. You had to take a spatula and thread it through a narrow slit in the glass front of the display case. You then lift your chosen croissant out of the pile of croissants and move it to the left where you see the metal grates. After you place the croissant on the metal grate you then take a pair of tongs, pick up the croissant 🥐, and put it in your bag. It seems like a lot of work for a croissant. But then again the croissants here in France are very good and well worth the effort. I now have yogurt, croissants, nuts, granola bars and bananas for this morning’s breakfast, tomorrow morning’s breakfast and food for the hike on Tuesday.

Marijuana Shop in France

As I was walking back to the apartment from the grocery store I spied a pot shop. This made me a little homesick for Denver.

It is a green cross so it must be a pot shop.

I have been trying to immerse myself in French culture so I decided that a field trip to this pot shop was in order. After an exchange of Bon Joures with the proprietor I asked to see his selection of marijuana. He seemed confused and clearly indicated that he would not help me. After a great deal of palavering back and forth, the proprietor in French and me in English, it became apparent to me that I could not convince the proprietor to help me explore this part of French culture. As I was leaving I told the proprietor that I did not appreciate his incivility and that he would be extended a much warmer welcome if he ever visited a pot shop in my beloved home city of Denver.

Packing

I spent a good part of this morning and early afternoon packing and repacking. I did this at least five times. I am trying to make sure that I take only the essentials and leave behind any excess items. It is hard to determine what is an essential item and what is an excess item. I am trying to carry a fully loaded backpack that weighs no more than 22 pounds.

I think these items have made the final cut and are going are going along on the hike.

Toiletry bag with just the bare essentials to stay reasonably clean, and reasonably clean is a relative term.

Roll of toilet paper. I hope you don’t need me to explain why I decided to include this item.

Sleeping bag liner – This is a very thin micro fiber sleeping bag that provides a little bit of warmth and provides a layer between you and the sheets. I don’t imagine that they have freshly laundered 500 thread count Egyptian Cotton sheets at all the alburgues.

A micro fiber towel. Alburgues generally don’t provide towels.

Cords and charger for the IPhone and Fitbit.

Four pairs of socks. In order to finish the Camino you must take care of your feet.

Asolo Goretex walking shoes, Altra trail runners and a pair of flip flops for the nasty alburgue showers.

Three pairs of quick drying underwear that I will burn at the end of the walk.

Two quick drying short sleeve tee shirts.

One quick drying long sleeve tee shirt.

One pair of light weight hiking pants.

One pair of gym shorts.

One pair of ancient polypropylene long underwear bottoms. I know that I will probably wish I had purchased the SmartWool long underwear bottoms, but I didn’t and I will just have to make due with the old polypropylene ones. As they say in France: “C’est la vie.”

One long sleeve SmartWool long underwear top.

Two pairs of light weight hiking shorts.

A fleece jacket.

A rain jacket and rain pants.

A hat.

Walking poles and gloves.

I would love to eliminate five pounds of gear from my pack, but I believe I can handle my pack’s current weight.

The walk tomorrow.

This is a map of the walk tomorrow. I will be walking the Route Napoleon, through Orrison, that is delineated by the orange dots on the left side of the map. It is the most arduous stage of the Camino. The total distance is 25 kilometers, about 15 miles, with a steep climb in the first half and a steep descent in the last third.

Tonight

I hope I can get some sleep tonight. I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity and the means and the support to walk the Camino. I am reasonably certain that with God’s help I can do this. I am anxious to wake up to a beautiful French sunrise tomorrow, take the first step on this long journey, and enjoy a beautiful Spanish sunset in Roncesvalles at the end of what I anticipate will be a long and arduous day.

I hope everyone is having a good Monday.

Goodnight from St. Jean Pied de Port.

This is the view from the bridge that crosses the Neve River in St. Jean. This is where the Camino route begins in St. Jean. You can see a bridge in the background of this picture. About a block beyond that bridge is the wooden bridge where Martin Sheen started his Camino in The Way.

The wooden bridge is an alternate starting point that allows you to visit the pilgrim church before heading out of town.

This is the pilgrim church , the Church of Notre Dame in St. Jean.

This is the choir that was singing in the Church of Notre Dame, the pilgrim church, when I stopped by on Saturday night. I was planning to pay my respects and say a quick prayer before dinner, but I stayed for almost an hour. This choir could flat out sing! It was in French so I have no idea what they were singing but the amazing acoustics in this medieval church and their powerful melodic voices sent shivers up my spine. What an unexpected treat. Some would say Camino magic.

Wooden kneelers in the pews at the pilgrim church.

I attended the 8:30 AM pilgrim mass Sunday morning. The French Catholics take their religion seriously. They have wooden kneelers with no cushions. Kneel on those for a few minutes and you start to feel some real pain. I have a hard enough time concentrating on the Mass and what the priest is saying and doing. Occasionally, I do a grocery list in my head. I am sure I am not the only one who does this. Once you start kneeing on those torture chamber wooden kneelers your ability to focus on or pay attention to what the priest is saying and doing goes right out the stained glass window. You can’t think of anything other than the searing pain in your knees. Thank goodness we did not spend a great deal of time on our knees during this Mass.

The French Catholics sing the whole Mass. You are expected to sing if you attend Mass and these people can really belt out an ecclesiastical tune. Again, it was in French so I have no idea what they were singing, but the whole congregation really got into it and I gave them two thumbs up for effort and execution.

The woman next to me spent the entire Mass honking into a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth. I was praying that the French Catholics do not do the “Peace be with you” handshake. Unfortunately this prayer was not answered. They not only shake hands but they do that Gallic peck on each cheek. What’s up with that? So I wound up not only shaking Typhoid Mary’s hand but also getting kissed on the cheek, on both sides. I am already starting to feel like I am coming down with a cold.

Anna’s Candle

As most of you know, my sister Anna is fighting for her life against cancer. After Mass was over I lit this candle for her and said a prayer for her. If you have a spare prayer and you want to put it to good use, please send it Anna’s way.

After Mass the priest offered to stamp our credencials.

This is my credential. You can get it at the pilgrim office in St. Jean or you can join an organization like the American Pilgrims on the Camino and they will send you one. You need a credential to stay at the alburgues or hostels on the Camino. When you get to Santiago you present your credential full of stamps, or sellos, to the pilgrim office to get your Compostela, or certificate of completion. You need to get at least one stamp from every place you stay from St. Jean to Sarria, the first 700 kilometers of the Camino, and at least two stamps to document each day’s journey on the last 100 kilometers of the Camino from Sarria to Santiago.

I now have three stamps or cellos in my credencial.

The first stamp I got from the American Pilgrims on the Camino Front Range Chapter at their St. James Day picnic this July.

The second stamp I got this morning from the priest at the Church of Notre Dame.

The third stamp I got this afternoon from the pilgrim office in St. Jean

As I was walking around town this afternoon I spied a French bookstore. You all know how much I like books and my eye was inexorably drawn to this book. A French cookbook containing the best French recipes for cooking on a Weber kettle. Are you kidding me? The French, who pride themselves on their other worldly cuisine. The French, who successfully petitioned the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (“UNESCO”) to designate French cuisine a “world intangible heritage”, whatever that means. The French, who so contemptuously look down their Gallic noses at us Americans and our food, and often times for good reason. McDonalds, and that says it all.

These same Frenchmen and/or Frenchwomen are writing and publishing a cookbook to help introduce France to the joys of cooking on a Weber kettle. I thought it was a spoof cookbook until I thumbed through the pages and found recipes for foie gras, escargot 🐌 and a chocolate soufflé all cooked on a Weber kettle. Every day in France brings a new surprise. What will the French think of next?

It is wash day at Chez Hansen. I could not figure out how to operate the washing machines at the laundromat. The instructions were in French and I don’t speak French. So I washed all my clothes in the sink and hung them up to dry. While the clothes dried I was going to go out to get a bite to eat. As I was thumbing through my guide book looking for a restaurant recommendation I suddenly realized that I had washed ALL my clothes, and I mean ALL my clothes. It was either go out to lunch buck naked or work on this blog post while my clothes dry. I decided to let the clothes dry.

The dinner last night was so good I did the same thing tonight, And I treated myself to dessert.

Basque cake 🍰. This is two thin layers of white sponge cake with an almond cream filling. It was delicious.

Tomorrow I pack my backpack 🎒, put the extra clothes in the suitcase and take it to the young man who is going to transport it to Santiago and store it, and get food for the walk on Tuesday.

I hope everyone had a restful Sunday.

Goodnight from St. Jean Pied de Port.

Air France 🇫🇷

Friday evening I took Air France from Stockholm to Paris. I can’t remember the last time I was on a plane where they had a free inflight meal service. Air France served everyone a cup of yogurt, a cup of applesauce, a nice fresh croissant 🥐 and, get this, a small bottle of red wine🍷.

So far so good with my short stay in France. And then I got off the plane in Paris and the adventure began.

I wanted to take the train 🚊 from the airport to Paris because the train from the airport to Stockholm was such a pleasant experience. Not so in Paris.

First, I screwed up at the ticket machine and instead of buying one ticket, I bought three. If anyone needs two train tickets from the airport to Paris please let me know.

Second, I got off at the wrong station. We were all tightly packed into the train with our luggage and it was very difficult to get off the train. The conductor was announcing the station stops in French and I don’t speak French. Getting off at the Notre Dame stop sounded like a good idea. What Catholic doesn’t like Notre Dame. The Notre Dame Cathedral at night is truly awe inspiring. It makes the churches and cathedrals in Scandinavia look like peasant huts. Unfortunately, Notre Dame is two miles away from the hotel. I was not going to try to walk to the hotel at midnight, I am stupid but not that stupid, so I hailed a cab. Fifteen minutes later I was at the hotel. Calling this establishment a hotel is an insult to all other hotels worldwide.

I had to hit the call button at the front door for five minutes before the ancient and now very pissed off proprietress opened the door and, with much gabbling in French, allowed me to enter her establishment. We discussed the checkin procedure for five minutes, her speaking French and your humble correspondent speaking English. Finally she gave up and handed me a key and pointed to the room. As I opened the door to the room I realized it was not really a room, more like a monastic cell.

Now to be fair, I only paid $100 for this “hotel” room in Paris. And that is Paris France. I should have known that it was not going to be The Four Seasons or even a Holiday Inn.

The silver sequined throw pillows on the bed added a touch of luxury to the room and there was no additional charge for this added amenity.

I slept fitfully until about 7:00 AM when I got up to take a shower in the world’s smallest shower stall. Little did I know that the Lilliputian size of the shower stall would be the least of my complaints. I was in that shower stall for 15 minutes and could not figure out how to turn on the water. I even Googled “How to turn on a European shower”, to no avail. I finally gave up and took a shower using water from the sink, a cup at a time.

No checkout or “How was your stay?” at this place. After I finished packing, I left my key in the room and skeedadaled out of there as fast as my feet would carry me.

Now I had to walk to the train station that was only a couple of blocks away. Google Maps kept trying to tell me, in this irritating French accent, that I was going the wrong way. Like any other red blooded American man of a certain age, I ignored the proffered directions and took off on a meandering one hour tour of the neighborhood. After passing the same boulongeire three times the baker took pity on me, gave me a fresh warm croissant and gave me directions to the train station IN ENGLISH! It turns out I had been circling the train station for the whole one hour amble.

I finally got to the train station and had another croissant 🥐, after all it is Paris, and a yogurt and orange juice.

Did you know that in Paris train stations you need to pay to use the restrooms? I certainly didn’t know that in Paris I had to pay to do what I have doing for free my entire life. How was I supposed to know that. And you need the proper change to open the coin operated door lock. My advice to you is don’t wait until the last minute to find a bathroom in Paris.

After the bathroom adventure I went down to the boarding platform and got on the wrong train. There were two trains leaving at the same time for different destinations on adjoining tracks. That is almost purposefully confusing. The conductor, in a torrent of indecipherable French, threw me off the train to who knows where and pointed me to the train that is going to my intended destination.

The bullet train that took me from Paris to Bayonne was smooth, comfortable and fast. And I mean really fast. One hundred and eighty miles per hour fast!!

The local train from Bayonne to St. Jean was jouncy, slow and uncomfortable. I am not complaining, just reporting the facts.

Train car full of pilgrims leaving Bayonne heading to St. Jean Pied de Port. It is so exciting to be on this pilgrim train.

I can’t believe the size of some of the backpacks 🎒 these people are carrying. They are HUGE! They are twice the size of my backpack. They look like pack mules. I imagine that a lot of the crap in those backpacks will get shed along the way. This train is packed to the gills with people and backpacks. Not one cubic inch of empty space. I am glad it is only a one hour journey.

I finally got to St. Jean at about 4:00 in the afternoon and was comfortably ensconced in my little apartment by 4:30.

Villa Esponda Apartments.

View from my window.

The French bathroom adventure continues. As you can see, I have a bidet in my little apartment.

I unpacked, walked around this charming French hill town and then had a bite to eat.

A pint of Basque beer 🍺.

Pan fried cod and octopus with mushrooms, peas, lima beans and red peppers.

Sunday and Monday I will take care of some logistical issues and make sure I am in the right frame of mind to start the Camino. On Tuesday, early in the morning, I take the first step of what I hope will be a million step journey.

I hope everyone is having a restful Saturday.

Good night from St. Jean.

With a pipe organ fanfare Sara and I are departing Stockholm at the end of our two week European adventure. Sara is flying to Amsterdam in a couple of hours and then tomorrow morning she flies back to Houston. In a couple of hours I fly to Paris and then tomorrow morning I take the train 🚂 to St. Jean. I will take care of a few logistical issues on Sunday and Monday and early Tuesday morning I start to walk.

Today Sara and I packed, had breakfast and walked around Old Town. Sara did some shopping and I visited a couple of magnificent old churches where I said a few prayers for my sister Anna who is in the hospital continuing her struggle with cancer.

Sara and I then had a two and a half hour lunch at the Stockholm branch of Eataly. This is a great Italian food emporium that has a Chicago location. If you are ever in Chicago I highly recommend you check it out. We split a charcuterie plate and then had pasta. What a great last meal in Stockholm.

Stockholm – Random Impressions

The Swedish People

The Swedish people went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. Sara and I felt so relaxed and at home in Stockholm. The people make the place and the Swedish people make Stockholm a great place to visit.

Getting Around

Streetcars

Stockholm has an extensive streetcar system. The streetcars are new, the routes well laid out and the service is frequent.

Buses

Stockholm has a massive fleet of articulated busses 🚌 . These monsters can articulate around the tight narrow streets with ease while the passengers ride in plush comfortable seats.💺

Subway

Not that subway but the underground subway 🚇.

This is a very popular transportation option so you are often forced to stand up sandwiched into the car with your fellow passengers like sardines in a can.

Bikes 🚲

Bike rack in Stockholm.

Bicycles are not nearly as popular in Stockholm as compared to Copenhagen.

Bike rack in Copenhagen.

But bikes are much more popular in Stockholm as compared to Krakow.

Krakow bike rack.

Arlanda Express

This is the high speed train that connects the central train station to the airport. This is a true high speed train. The average speed is about 110 MPH and the ride is super smooth.

Speed indicator on the Arlanda Express.

This is a very popular way to get to and from the airport and the city center. The trains run so often that it is never a problem getting one of the comfortable seats. There is plenty of room to store your luggage and it is only a twenty minute train ride. What a great idea.

Well, the last two weeks have gone by so quickly. What a great trip. I urge and implore anyone who is even considering a trip to Europe to just do it. I was so worried about the currency, the language barrier, the strange food and a hundred and one other things. The currency is easy. You use your credit card for everything and the credit card machine tells you the cost of your purchase in dollars and the local currency. The language turned out to be the biggest non issue. Everyone, and I mean everyone, speaks English. And finally the food. Half of fun of traveling to a foreign country is exploring the local food scene. But it is OK if you don’t want to do that. Hamburger joints 🍔 are all the rage in Europe and you can get good Italian food 🥘 anywhere.

Most of you know me and you are thinking 🤔:” If Mark can do it anybody can do it.”

So just do it!

I hope everyone had a good day.

Good evening from the Stockholm airport.

Stockholm City Hall

This morning Sara and I toured the Stockholm City Hall. The City Hall was built 100 years ago and still houses the offices for Stockholm’s city government. They have a city government, a regional government and a national government.

The tower at the corner of the building is 106 meters tall. Why 106 meters you ask? The city hall tower in Copenhagen is 105 meters tall. The Swedes had to have a city hall tower that was taller than the Danish city hall tower. The Swedes and the Danes have had this pervasive rivalry that goes back almost forever.

In 1397 the Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Sweden and Norway were concerned that Germany was becoming a power to fear and decided that they would be better able to protect themselves against Germany’s growing power if they formed an alliance. They formed the Kalmar Union putting these three countries under one king. That king wound up being the Danish king and the Swedes quickly realized that they did not like being ruled by a Danish king. The Kalmar Union lasted about 125 years. In 1523 the Union dissolved but the rivalry between Sweden and Denmark has remained to this day.

St. Stephen slaying the dragon.

This story and this statue is another example of the Swedish/Danish rivalry. St. Stephan represents Sweden. The dragon represents nasty vile Denmark. St. Stephan slays the dragon and becomes a Swedish folk hero. I was not kidding when I said that this is a serious long standing rivalry!

The gold hall in the City Hall.

The City Hall is a beautifully designed building with clean lines and tasteful ornamentation. Until you get to the Gold Room. This room looks like something you would see in Aladdin’s Castle. All four walls are covered floor to ceiling with mosaics depicting the history of Stockholm and Sweden. To say it is busy would be an understatement. The mosaic tiles are a glass sandwich with gold leaf in the middle. There are 1.8 million tiles on the walls in this room. It is beautiful but so busy that you wonder what they were thinking when they designed this room.

Statue of a boy holding a carp at the City Hall. Carp seem to be a popular fish in Scandinavia.

Free Tour of Old Town Stockholm

Sara likes to use Free Tours when she goes to a new city. Students at one of the local universities usually lead these tours and I think it is a great way to get a cheap and quick overview and history of the city. The tours last about 2 hours and you tip the guide at the end of the tour. On Tuesday we did a tour of Stockholm from about 1800 to present day and today we did an Old City Tour.

The German Church.

German merchants have always had a large and economically important presence in Stockholm. The German merchants wanted a church where they could worship in their own language. The Swedish king gave them permission to build this church and to this day all services at this church are in German.

Fire insurance medallion. Fire was an ever present danger in every medieval city. Stockholm developed a public/private form of fire insurance. If you bought a fire insurance policy you git one of these medallions that you could put on your outside wall. If a fire broke out in your neighborhood, the firemen would save your house first. Brilliant!

For some reason there are a lot of Subway sandwich shops in Old Town Stockholm. Also, hamburger restaurants are a big thing.

Dinner

This is where we had our final tasting dinner and wine pairing of the trip.

Courses and wines in order of presentaion

Poached egg with Brussel sprouts in a celery broth paired with a dry crisp Riesling.

Creamed horseradish with black potato paper paired with a Hungarian white wine.

Cold smoked and slightly brined rainbow trout with a cheeky Pinot Noire.

Apple stuffed with duck live pate and a smoked duck breast in a mackerel broth covered with braised cabbage leaves accompanied by a very dry Spanish Grenache.

Veal in tar sauce with a truffle reduction. Yes it was a road tar sauce. I had to quiz the chef on this one. He said it is a traditional Finnish sauce and it was delicious. The chef warned me to tell everyone not to try a tar sauce at home. It should only be attempted by a professional. This course was paired with a Loire Valley Chenin Blanc

Raspberry sorbet with a white chocolate sauce.

And finally, lemon and sorrel ice cream with sugar crystals.

What a delicious and memorable meal. I will remember this meal fondly as I eat gruel on the Camino.

Goodnight from Stockholm.

Tomorrow evening Sara flies to Amsterdam and then on Saturday morning she flies back home to Houston.

Tomorrow evening I fly to Paris and then Saturday morning I take the train to St. Jean. I will take care of a number of logistical issues in St. Jean on Sunday and Monday and first thing Tuesday morning I start my Camino.

Good night from Stockholm.