Blog No. 192 - Camino Soul Songs Part 2: 3 March 2025

The first day of my Camino walk was devoted to climbing and then coming down from the Pyrenees, the chain of mountains which form a natural barrier between France and Spain.  

The website gives this information about the difficulty of this first day of walking the Camino

https://santiago-compostela.net/camino-frances/1-from-st-jean-pied-de-port-to-roncesvalles/ .  

The first part of the journey, getting from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles is probably the most difficult section of the Camino Frances as a pilgrim will have to cross the Pyrenees through the Roncesvalles Pass. The maximum height one reaches is 1,601 meters and it is recommended to be prepared for more extreme conditions and to not take this route during the winter months unless fully prepared.

This first day of my pilgrimage was indeed very hard work.  The dangers of his first day of pilgrimage should not be underestimated.  Just before arriving at the Albergue at Roncesvalles, I found a small, very recent memorial.

The English translation of the Portuguese epitaph says this – 

“Pilgrim 

Gilbert Janeri 

[died] 18 March 2013. 

With much love. 

Missing 

family and friends 

Brazil”

I was told that Gilbert had died in the snow while attempting to walk the stage of the Camino that I had walked that very day.  I had walked the same path as Gilbert only 28 days after Gilbert died while walking that path.

An Albergue is a pilgrim hostel.  The Albergues provide good quality, cheap food and a safe, warm bed to the weary pilgrims.

On that first night in the Albergue at Roncesvalles, I realised I had now become a ‘pellegrino’ – a pilgrim.

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This was me at the start of my climb up the Pyrenees after leaving Saint Jean on Monday the 15th of April 2013.

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Some of the wonderful scenery I saw while climbing the Pyrenees on the 15th of April 2013, the day I left Saint Jean.

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The snow was very extensive when I climbed the Pyrenees after leaving Saint Jean on the 15th of April 2013.

This is another  photo of the snow covering the Pyrenees when I left Saint Jean.  It is not surprising that pellegrino (pilgrim) Gilbert Janeri died on the first day of his pilgrimage. May they rest in peace. 

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Diary Entry Made on Monday 15 April 2013 at 5:07 pm

I am at Roncesvalles; I arrived at about 2:45 pm.  My fingers (mostly left hand) keep cramping up.  The day is now filled with glorious sunshine.  It has been a tough day.

I started about 6:50 am just as dawn was happening in Saint Jean.  It is a very steep climb out of Saint Jean.  A sharp, strong, very cold wind was constantly blowing as I climbed.  It was hard work.  The wind stayed until I reached the top of the Pyrenees.  There was snow lying on the ground and it was starting to melt, causing slush underfoot.  As we walked across the top of the mountain, the track was covered in snow.  It was difficult to trudge through; it was slippery and treacherous.

I walked most of the day with Gerlinde, a German lady with no English (and I have no German).  She is doing the Camino for her third or fourth time - I am not quite sure of the correct number.  She is a very nice lady.  She gave me the end of her trekking pole to hang on to as we slushed through the snow.  It helped.

The descent from the top was treacherous because of the snow and mud.  Roncesvalles was a welcome relief.  The albergue has clean beds and good pressure in the showers.

Distance Walked Today: 24.8 kilometres.

Total Distance Walked So Far: 24.8 kilometres.

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Soul Song Number 2 - Climbing the Mountain

(15 April 2013)

Wind lashes your face as you climb.

You clamp tight the string on your hat.

You could easily lose it in this wind.

As you ascend, the snow patches grow more frequent.

They grow larger.

After two hours you stop for orange juice at Orisson.

Soon enough, you rise from your seat.

You are anxious to return to the important matter of lifting yourself up the Mountain.

Trudge, trudge you go,

Trying to ignore the roar of the wind,

Trying to ignore the increasing cold.

By now, the snow has ceased to be a distant, casual acquaintance.

Now it is an intimate friend.

It must be an intimate friend.

Only friends would let you walk all over them.

Of course friends might let you walk all over them,

But they are unlikely to really like you doing it.

The snow doesn't like it either.

It objects quietly.

It tugs at your shoes,

Skidding your feet into places you don't want to go.

The snow is good natured at first,

But it soon becomes more serious in its objections.

It envelops the track and the nearby mountain sides.

The snow has fun while reminding you that winter might be departing,

It isn't truly out of the door as yet.

At last the climbing is complete.

You now must do the opposite of climbing.

It is time to declimb.

Is there really such a word as "declimb"?

Of course there is.

The mountain has invented the word just for you.

Now it is time to accept that there may even be an end to the day's travel.

You must go carefully now.

Sliding through snow on a downhill track isn't for the faint hearted.

It could be dangerous if you stopped to think about it.

But you don't think about it and you keep declimbing.

After all, there will be an end to this day's walking - if you persist.

Fallen trees dot the track now.

The snow has no preference about whom or what it brings to the ground.

People and objects living or not living,

The snow doesn't mind.

Trees are just as welcome as people.

The snow will offer them a bed too.

Soon you are in a forest of leafless trees that have resisted the call of the snow.

These trees are trying to change their status,

Willing their buds to grow and rectify their nakedness.

They urgently seek this season's display of leaves.

Within this forest, you could easily get lost.

The way markings are scattered.

They have to be sought out.

Of course it is right that you should have to seek them out.

You do seek The Saint don't you?

Don't seekers have to learn how to seek?

And then, quite unexpectedly, there is Roncesvalles.

Today's walk is over.

 

Blog No. 191 - Camino Soul Songs Part 1: 2 March 2025

Every day I was walking the Camino, I made a diary entry and I also wrote a poem to capture what had happened that day.  In these blogs, I reproduce what I wrote while walking the Camino, plus some comments to amplify my diary notes.

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This lady shared a taxi with me from Biarritz to Saint Jean on Sunday the 14th of April 2013.

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The village of Saint Jean Pied de Port, France on Monday 10th of August 2009.  Saint Jean is very pretty.

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Saint Jean Pied de Port as seen from above while climbing the Pyrenees on day one of the Camino; Monday 10th of August 2009.

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Diary Entry Sunday the 14th of April 2013, 7:52 pm

I am in a Pilgrim Refuge in Saint Jean Pied de Port run by Les Amis de Chemin de Ste Jacques de Compostelle.  I left Dublin about 12:20 pm today (1:20 pm France time) on Ryanair to Biarritz.  I met 3 others at Biarritz airport who were going to Saint Jean Pied de Port and we shared the cost of a taxi.  It cost €33.00 each.  I picked up a Pilgrim Passport from Les Amis and they also offered a bed.  It was all very easy and smooth.  I had dinner with two of the ladies with whom I shared a taxi - they are French Canadians; one originally from what is now the Czech Republic and one from England.

The day is full of beautiful sunshine - at least 20 Celsius.  It was about 6 Celsius in Dublin and it was also raining with snow on the Dublin hills.  If this sunshine continues, it will be perfect walking weather.

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Soul Song Number 1 - Weather Wizard 14 April 2013

Weather can really jerk you around.

You said goodbye to 30 degrees when you left Adelaide.

When you got to Dublin, you had to say hello to snow.

You also had to give warm greetings to constant rain.

Most of all, you had to tell yourself to enjoy rather than endure the Irish cold.

You only had to put up with the Irish weather for four days.

For the Irish, their weather was always present.

Then you were heading for Biarritz and the wind was snatching at you,

Pushing you over the tarmac and into the plane.

Despite the chill of its charms,

The wind did you a favour,

For it hurried you to Biarritz.

Unlike Ireland, Biarritz was bathed in sun,

Unlike Ireland, Spring was definitely alive in Biarritz.

Just a little way up the road from Biarritz was Saint Jean Pied de Port.

The weather was even better there.

Saint Jean had sunshine, long evenings and blessedly, it had warmth.

You felt smug.

You pretended that you were a Weather Wizard,

That you were weather wise.

Did you really make this happen?

You knew you didn't, 

But it did feel good to pretend that you had changed the weather.

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I flew from Adelaide to Dublin and stayed in Ireland for three days before catching the plane from Dublin to Biarritz in France.  It had been bitterly cold in Ireland.

I intended to start my Camino walk in the village of Saint Jean Pied de Port in France.  I had intended to get a train from Biarritz to Saint Jean.  When I had walked some of the Camino in 2009, I had got a taxi from the airport to the railway station and then got the train to Saint Jean.  I had assumed that I would be able to repeat my train journey to Saint Jean, find a bed for the night in a pilgrim refuge and then commence walking early the next day.

I did not do my homework though and discovered shortly after my arrival at the Biarritz airport that because it was a Sunday, there was no train service from Biarritz to Saint Jean.

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I got very lucky though.  Good things have a habit of happening when you are walking the Camino.

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After picking up my backpack after clearing Biarritz Customs Control, I was seen by a very friendly and efficient volunteer who spoke English.  She told me there was no train to Saint Jean because it was a Sunday.  It is 55 kilometres from Biarritz to Sain Jean – too far in normal circumstances for a taxi fare to be remotely affordable.  The volunteer lady told me that I could have booked a mini bus seat online with one of the companies which meet pilgrims at the airport and drive them to Saint Jean.  My volunteer told me that she had an alternative plan that would probably lessen that cost of a taxi ride to Saint jean.  She had already found one other pilgrim in the same situation as me and if she could locate another two pilgrims, that would mean the four of us could share the cost of a taxi to Saint Jean.  I waited and a few minutes later I was introduced to my three travelling companions for the taxi to Saint Jean.

In Saint Jean, we walked to a Pilgrim Refuge operated by Les Amis de Chemin de Ste Jacques de Compostelle.  There I picked up my Pilgrim Passport and was offered a bed for the night in the Refuge.  I had dinner with my new friends and slept that night in the Refuge.

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This is the first page of the Pilgrim Passport I obtained on Sunday the 14th April 2013.  

By ensuring that the Passport is stamped at designated places along the way, you become entitled - when you arrive at Santiago de Compostella - to be issued with a certificate certifying that you have completed your Camino pilgrim walk.  The Passport must show you have walked at least 200 kilometres before you become entitled to the completion certificate.

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This is the second page of the Pilgrim Passport I got on Sunday 14th of April 2013 in Saint Jean.  

Blog No. 190 - The Camino De Santiago De Compostella: 1 March 2025

Me in Saint Jean Pied de Port, France on Sunday 14th of April 2013.

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Climbing the Pyrenees from Saint Jean Pied de Port, Monday 15th of April 2013.

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This is the countryside that unfolded around me as I ascended the French side of the Pyrenees on Monday 15th of April 2013.

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Going on Pilgrimage

For all of recorded history and for uncountable years before any history was ever recorded, human beings have been going on pilgrimages.  Pilgrim routes stretch their way right across the world.

What is a pilgrimage?  A pilgrimage can be defined as a journey to a holy place by an individual human being.  A pilgrim is someone who undertakes a pilgrimage.

Sometimes, the focus of a pilgrimage is to go to the holy place and pray.  In this type of pilgrimage, the emphasis of the pilgrim is usually placed on the prayers offered at the holy place at the end of the pilgrimage.

Sometimes the focus of the pilgrimage is not so much on prayers offered at the holy place, but on the journey to the holy place.  In this type of pilgrimage, the experiences of the journey play a central role in helping the pilgrim to become a better person.  The prayers at the holy place at the end of the journey are usually seen as more effective than they would otherwise have been – because of the experiences during the pilgrimage. 

The world is crisscrossed with holy places and pilgrim routes and the Camino De Santiago de Compostella is one of the best known Christian pilgrim routes.  The Camino de Santiago de Compostella has been a pilgrim route since at least 813 AD when the tomb of the Apostle James was "discovered" in what is now the city of Santiago de Compostella.  The Camino de Santiago de Compostella is usually seen as finishing at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostella.  

The word "Camino" is a Spanish word meaning "the Way" or "the Route".  The Camino de Santiago de Compostella – meaning the Way of Saint James of the Field of Stars - gets its name because it finishes in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostella.  The tomb of Saint James was "discovered" by a shepherd in a field lit up by the light of stars.

The Camino de Santiago de Compostella finishes at Santiago de Compostella, but it has many starting points scattered across Europe.  The most common starting point for the Camino is Saint Jean Pied de Port in France.  I began my Camino journey in Saint Jean Pied de Port.

Most pilgrims make their Camino journey on foot.  When I walked the Camino in 2013, it was about 790 kilometres in length.  About 200,000 pilgrims start their Camino journey in Saint Jean Pied de Port.  Although it is hard to estimate how many pilgrims complete the Camino de Santiago de Compostella in one unbroken journey, my guess is that less than 50% do so.  Walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostella is very hard and it is exhausting.

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What made me become a Pilgrim?

I have loved walking for most of my life.  When I first walked part of the Camino de Santiago de Compostella in August 2009, I told myself that I was simply doing a very long walk.  I told myself that there was no particular spiritual element to the fact that I was walking part of an ancient pilgrim route.

On that earlier occasion, I had two weeks available for my walking in Spain and I knew from the start I could not possibly walk from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostella in the time I had available.  On that occasion, I walked from Saint Jean in France to Logrono in Spain and then got a bus to Santiago.  The walking was very hard even for such a short period as two weeks – but I still told myself afterwards that I hadn't really been a pilgrim but simply someone doing a long walk for the enjoyment of walking.

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After I returned to Australia, I was determined to walk the whole Camino but I could not return to Spain until April 2013.

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Late in the afternoon of Sunday 14 April 2013, I finally found myself once again walking the streets of Saint Jean Pied de Port.  I commenced my second attempt at walking the Camino on Monday 15 April 2013.  

Initially, I was still convinced that I was not "really" a pilgrim. 

It took a few days but eventually I accepted that of course I was a pilgrim.  A pilgrim is simply someone who hopes to unearth some previously hidden inner truths.

During my Camino, I met many pilgrims who - like me when I first started - had no idea they were genuine pilgrims.  That lack of conscious awareness didn't affect the validity of their experiences in any way.  They were pilgrims because like me they were seeking an inner truth - even if they never became consciously aware that they were seeking any inner truth.

I arrived in Santiago de Compostella on Monday the 13th of May 2013 after an uplifting experience.  Part of that uplifting experience was the joy of continually meeting wonderful, intelligent, kind people.  Some of these wonderful, intelligent people were fellow pilgrims.  Some of them were the Spanish people who live along the Camino route.  My overwhelming impression was that the people of Spain are amongst the kindest, gentlest and most wonderful people I have ever met.

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Saint Jean Pied De Port, France; photo taken on the 9th of August 2009.