Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Villatuerta

5 days, 132.67 kilometers, 82.25 miles

Theme Song: Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down

“Well, I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind.”

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Only half of the first line of the theme song is true, I didn’t walk around the world. I did travel 1/5 of the way around the world from my home, but not on foot. I was hurtled through time and space by planes, trains, and automobiles. And finally, by autobus across the soggy Pyrenees in southwestern France.

After four days of being at the mercy of some kind of engine or another, it was time to be at the mercy of my feet, my calf muscles, my hamstrings, quads, and glutes…starting with a Friday walk back in the direction of home, go west young man!

And though I didn’t take a walk around the world, the world joined me on the journey – just in these first five days I’ve walked with pilgrims from France, Spain, and Portugal (not surprising, this is near home base), some from Italy and Croatia, from England and Ireland, from Iran and South Korea and China and Australia, and from back on my side of the world – Alaska, Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago. After five days of traipsing around the Pyrenees and its foothills, we learned that we are all a lot alike. That’s a gift of the Camino de Santiago.

I’ve been in this part of the world a few times before. This time I vowed to see it differently – from a cathedral looking away, or on the opposite side from where the tourists were, or in a freshly encountered a self-reflection. The one scene I want to be the same as before is that stunning view walking into Cirauqui on Day 5 (the cover photo)!! I can never gaze at this enough.

If you clicked on the link for this post’s theme song (a great song, by the way!), you saw a strange video story of an old man on a quixotic (foolishly impractical, marked by rash, lofty, or romantic ideas) quest.

After walking for five days along the Camino Francés, you could describe it the same way. Relentless climb over a harsh mountain pass, followed by a knee-testing descent, and followed still by countless minor ascents and descents. Sleeping in bunkrooms shared with strangers of different language and culture. A very crowded Pamplona on Easter Sunday. Walking mile after mile with your belongings on your back.

Quixotic, maybe. Glorious, yes!

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