The train ride from Madrid to Pamplona was gorgeous. I had planned to read, but why bury my nose in a book when I can watch the Spanish countryside go by. I took some time to reflect on what was to come, but I knew I really had no idea. Better just to wait and see, one step at a time.
When I arrived in Pamplona, I discovered that my Spanish was good enough to begin a conversation with the cab driver who was taking me to the bus station to catch a bus to Roncesvalles. He asked if I was walking the Camino and if I was starting in Roncesvalles. I told him no, that I planned to take a taxi from Roncesvalles. He told me that there were no taxis in Roncesvalles. If I wanted to go to St. Jean, I needed to take a taxi from Pamplona. He only spoke Spanish, so I was able to ask him the cost for him to take me to Roncesvalles (a lot!) and to coordinate directions to my alburgue using my map once we arrived in town. If I hadn't been able to speak the language, I'd have been stranded in Roncesvalles.
Riding in the taxi from Pamplona to St. Jean, I caught my first glimpse of peregrinos (pilgrims) and the waymarkers that I'd begin following the next day. Seeing it all live and in person added a touch of surrealism to it all, which seems backwards. Shouldn't it have become more real?
The pilgrims' dinner at the alburgue was inspirational. I found myself holding back tears as I listened to the stories of why everyone was making the walk. So similar and yet so different. Afterwards, I received my first stamp in my credential. Such a milestone! Tomorrow, it's on!
Funny fact, by the way, if you have seen the movie, 'The Way'. According to the Dutch people staying at the alburgue with me, they prefer our guidebook, not the Dutch guidebook, as Joost repeatedly tells Tom throughout the movie..
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