Free at Last! (almost)

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The scallop is the symbol for the camino and we are well equipped thanks to Brian and Amberlee and Jacob's "wittlin" skills.

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Alright folks.  Today's Tuesday and we head off for the infamous Houston on Friday, August 10th.  A short visit with H-town inhabitants and fly off into the great blue yonder.  We've purged most of our personal belongings (a.k.a. stuff that has been uselessly taking up precious space in our 200 sq/ft. palace).  Bought the essentials...digital camera, spare shoelaces, sunscreen, and most importantly, a needle.  For draining blisters, of course.  Jealous? 

Our trip at a glance:  Paris for a brief visit with my lucky, lucky amigo Andrew who will be our host.  Quickly heading South to walk 500 miles across Spain, while discovering the meaning of life (and embracing the searing sun).  South America for 6 months, farming in Argentina, drinking wine in Chile, and getting away from it all in Uruguay.  March we hit the Appalachian Trial; the thru-hike (yikes!). 

Our belongings in a bag.

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Okey doke, boys and girls.  More to come from the land of Brie, vino, and a million American tourists hitting the Eiffel Tower in August, jealous again?

El Camino de Santiago at a glance

El Camino de Santiago (known in English as The Way of St James) are old pilgrimage routes which cover all of Europe.. There are many of them which all have Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain as their final destination. For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along el Camino de Santiago.

The main route, which we're taking, is more commonly known as the Camino Frances.  This part of the route traditionally starts in St Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago 780km later after traveling the breadth of Northern Spain.  However many people start anywhere and continue past Santiago to the sea at Finisterre. Finisterre was thought to be the end of the world in medieval times.

In 1985 2,491 pilgrims completed the Camino. In 1995 there was 19,821, then in 2005 there was 93,921. These are only the pilgrims that asked for and received a Compostela, therefore many more completed the routes.

Saint Jean Pied de Port is the traditional point of departure for the Camino de Santiago.  Evidently, as you go along the Camino pilgrims are asked by others where they started. When pilgrims tell you they started in St Jean, there is often a slight note of pride in their voice. And quite rightly, the walk from St Jean to Roncesvalles is the hardest one day of the whole Camino, crossing the Pyranees. 

The town has traditionally been an important point on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route, as it stands at the base of the Roncevaux Pass across the Pyrenees. Pied de Port means 'foot of the pass' in Pyrenean French. The routes from Paris, Vézelay and Le Puy en Velay met at Saint Jean Pied de Port and it was the pilgrims' last stop before the arduous mountain crossing.

That's it for now.  Hasta la vista, Baby (for any Schwarzenegger fans out there...you know who you are).