Patrick & Archana’s Camino Francés

Our pilgrimage on The Way - Camino Francés over 47 days from St Jean Pied de Port to Finnistere!

[srbachchan]

DAY 6295

Jalsa, Mumbai May 10, 2025/May 11 Sat/Sun 3:23 am

छुट्टियाँ मानते हुए, उस राक्षस ने, निर्दोष पति पत्नी को बाहर खींच कर, पति को नग्न कर, उसके धर्म की पूर्ति करने के बाद , उसे जब गोली मारने लगा, तो पत्नी ने, घुटने पे गिर कर, रो रो अनुरोध करने के बाद भी, की उसके पति को न मारो ; उसके पति को उस बुज़दिल राक्षस ने, बेहद बेरहमी से , गोली मार कर, पत्नी को विधवा बना दिया !!! जब पत्नी ने कहा "मुझे भी मार दो” !! तो राक्षस ने कहा “ नहीं ! तू जाके, " …. " को बता “ !

बेटी की, मनःस्थिति पर, पूज्य बाबूजी की एक कविता की पंक्ति याद आयी : मानो, वो बेटी " …. “ के पास गई, और कहा :

“ है चिता की राख कर में, माँगती सिंदूर दुनिया “

तो “ …. “ ने दे दिया सिंदूर !!!

जय हिन्द 🇮🇳 जय हिन्द की सेना 🇮🇳 तू ना थमें गा कभी ; तू न मुड़ेगा कभी ; तू न झुकेगा कभी कर शपथ , कर शपथ, कर शपथ ! अग्नि पाथ! अग्नि पाथ ! अग्नि पाथ !!!

Lost in Translation .. let me help you :

The innocent couple on a vacation holiday in Pahalgam , was attacked by terrorists, posing as Tourist guides .. they pulled them out in the open, asked the Husband to pull his pants down, and when he saw that he was not circumcised, a traditional religious procedure in Muslim men, he told him recite the Kalma .. when the man a Hindu did not know, he set up to shoot him .. his Wife fell at his feet and said do not kill him .. but he mercilessly shot him, and made the Wife a widow in front of her eyes .. the Wife then begged this monster, this demon, to kill her also .. this devil of a man said :

'I won't kill you .. you go and tell Modi .." !!

Feeling immensely for the unspeakable grief of the widow, her mental state and her absolute destruction .. I suddenly remembered a line from one of my Father's poem :

... and this I built ..

the wife went to Modi and said :

this is the line from that poem ..

"है चिता की राख कर में माँगती , सिंदूर दुनिया !!"

the ashes of the funeral pyre are in my hands and the World is asking for sindoor ..

In Hindu religion we burn our dead .. the ashes are recovered from the funeral pyre, as a ritual, collected in vessels, often brass or clay mud , taken to to a sacred river - traditionally the Ganga River - and in particular the portion in the Ganga River called Sangam .. Sangam means confluence .. that place is the confluence of three rivers and is considered the most pious water place .. the rivers are the Ganga, the Jamuna and the Saraswati , which is unseen because it flows below the depth of these two rivers , hidden from site, but religiously existing .. so pouring the ashes at Sangam is considered for the soul to have achieved 'moksh' मोक्ष , a religious deliverance .. a salvation for the soul ..

The Sangam is where the recent World Wide known MAHA KUBH was held ..

Is Mahakumbh is held every 144 years .. that is why this Maha Kumbh was very very special it was being celebrated after 144 years ..FEb 2025 at Prayagraj, the City of my birth ..

To bath at SANGAM, during the timing of the Kumbh Mela is considered the most pious act of salvation for the living .. What is the story behind Mahakumbh? According to legends, Vishnu the God the supreme saviour was carrying a Kumbh (pot) of amrit (nectar), when a scuffle broke out and four drops were spilled. They fell to earth at the four Tirthas, religious spots of Prayag, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain. A tirtha is a place where the devout can attain salvation.

so to continue with my story , which I have built ..

when the Widowed Wife went to Modi with open hands and spoke those words that I have quoted of Babuji , he replied

"go .. i have given Sindoor .." !!!

This is a symbolic word build ..

What happened with the Wife at the time of the killing and the words and incident writing earlier is real ..

SINDOOR in our religion is a ritual during the marriage ceremony when the to be Husband, puts the red vermillion on the parting of the to be Wife .. the parting in the hair which is made in the middle of her forehead .. in Hindi it is called 'maang' माँग .. it is an extremely pious moment .. and the Wife wears the 'sindoor ' throughout her life .. its a symbol of marriage and respect ..

If the husband dies before the wife's death , the Wife wipes off the red vermillion from her parting .. and it is a most sad and emotional moment ..

Sindoor being the symbol of dedication respect protection immortally .. prized and displayed with pride , assiduity , commitment , sedulousness

SO ..

What this monster did at the time of the attack, he killed the Husband, mercilessly, despite the pleading of the Wife .. in a sense he wiped away the 'sindoor' from the head of the Wife .. a symbol of religious respect , for a married Woman ..

the words of Babuji were apt when I thought of them ..

I have the ashes in my hand , and World asks for my sindoor ..

The Pahalgam attack where they killed 26 innocent tourists .. all with their families enjoying a holiday , mercilessly, at one spot - even on a couple just married three days ago, who had come for their Honeymoon .. will never be forgotten ..

SO ..

the Government , who have been telling the neighbouring authorities to stop terrorist camps and activities in our Country , has never been heeded ..

Hence Modi and the Government decided to respond to the terrorist base camps in the neighbours and launched a military procedure .. the results of which are well known .. 9 of their terrorist camps and outfits were destroyed .. militarily ..

AND ..

this is important to note .. the military Operation was titled :

OPERATION SINDOOR ..

Brilliant thought .. it signified that the demons wiped out the sindoor from the the married women, made them widows and India through the attack and naming it Operation Sindoor signified symbolically that we shall fight to restore it .. and they did ..

AND here is the best part ..

Two personnel from the Indian Army, were chosen to give a title to the Operation ..

You know who they were ..?

They were two Women Officers ..

A Colonel in the Armed forces and the other a Wing Commander in the Air Force ..

And after the Operation was completed .. the Authorities conducted a Press Conference ..

AND .. they were conducted by these two brave Military Women ..

AND .. finally I shall conclude .. one of the Officers is a Muslim and the other a Hindu ..

You can read about in any information facility ..

The end poem is well know by all .. it is the famous Poem AGNIPATH ..

And I chose to select words from it : as an inspiration and a demand to the Army and all Indians .. to continue the fight !! Against the injustice done to us and in particular the innocent .. !!!

" you shall never stop .. you shall never turn back .. you shall never bend ..

Path of Fire ! Path of Fire ! Path of Fire !!

Amitabh Bachchan

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day 8 walking from Estella to Los Arcos

Distance: 22.05 kilometres (official trail distance)

Elevation gain: 516m Loss: 491m

Cardio level: 3

Steps:

Patrick’s steps - 30,492 steps (27.7 km)

Archana’s steps - 34,827+ (24.54km 17 floors climbed)

Weather: Sunny day

Terrain: initial uphill climb for about 8-9km after that mostly flat terrain however there is no shade and no villages or cafes until you reach Los Arcos

Saturday 7th September 2024

Patrick’s back was still a bit tender and we felt tired with lack of food. Despite an email from our booking agents, verbal requests from us as well as showing them a sign in Spanish that Patrick was highly allergy to red meat, they turned up with an omelette with ham in it. Breakfast was really nothing so Archana ended up bringing some muesli we had carried for Patrick and we requested some cold milk and yoghurt. During the laundry Archana had noticed that they had palettes of fresh fruit from the farm, however when requested (and we would have willingly paid for it) they brought us two old nectarines. Not much for dinner, meagre breakfast, little sleep, aching backs we left slightly early in the morning hoping to see a bit of Estella or at least taking some photos for memories on the way.

We followed verbal directions provided by old man at Zaldu B&B but then ended up in a park missing the town anyway. Fortunately we met with the Indians - Dan, Divya & Ranjith! This brought some enthusiasm!

Today we were all excited with the anticipation of seeing the wine fountain!! We had heard about this and even seen it in two movies, the Irache Fuente del Vino! A fountain that dispenses red wine for the pilgrims.

So just about 2 kilometres after leaving Estella we started seeing signs for the wine fountain. After walking past a blacksmith shed, we reached this almost surreal fountain to realise that we were neither carrying bottles or cups to drink the wine in….. Also it was both a Saturday and Ekadashi fasting day, hence consuming wine was out of question for Archana!

We just emptied Patrick’s water bottle and filled it with wine. After a sip he realised that it was an average wine, good enough to rinse the mouth! We watered the near by plants with the wine and then used the right hand side tap to rinse the bottle with water and refill it.

We started walking only to stop a few meters ahead at a wine museum and a monastery.

By the time Archana was out of the monastery, Patrick had started walking, the Indians had stopped for breakfast and so Archana found herself walking all alone.

As Archana climbed a hilly road with gravel, she could hear voices but couldn’t see anyone. A bit concerned and constantly turning around to see sign of some pilgrims she continued.

And just when she was about to turn back thinking she had missed a turn, down came jogging a Spaniard on a hot day without a shirt. He stopped and started talking in Spanish indicating that Archana had indeed taken a wrong turn! Playing dumb charades he indicate that instead of the road Archana should be in the adjacent forest from where she could hear the voices. But just as she was about to turn back he said something that sounded like a warning but clearly understood by Archana, you do not walk back on a Camino! He indicated to continue walking u til she saw signs that would take her back into the forest and a path that would reunite her with other pilgrims. So the journey continued and true enough after a kilometre or so there were signs indicating a direction into the forest.

Soon Archana met a Taiwanese pilgrim and they walked together for a few kilometres. They were out of the forest and walking on a field with mountains in a distance.

The Taiwanese girl took a different turn and Archana continued walking the path to gradually start noticing an increasing number of pilgrims and signs for Los Arcos……

At town entrance were Patrick and the three Indians! We also realised that we would be staying at the same apartment hotel that night and decided to dine together.

We hadn’t expected it but the apartment was a good one with seperate lounge room and bedroom, it came with a washing machine and a sunny balcony but most of all a view of the church steeple!

Having washed clothes in Estella there wasn’t much to wash but wash we did!

Later we went for a walk around the town and visited the church.

After the disappointing meals from the previous 36 hours we were looking forward to the dinner tonight. The guy at the reception had even confirmed special dietary requirements and mentioned that he would be in the kitchen that evening.

Sadly dinner for Archana was disappointing yet again, mixed salad without tuna for a starter and stewed vegetables for the main…. The consolation was while not fasting for Ekadashi at least there would be a vegetarian meal and no alcohol. When the salad arrived there was a whiff of tuna (the Spanish consider tuna, chicken and eggs as vegetarian) so someone had probably added the tuna and then picked it up from the top of the salad, then came the stewed vegetables that had a strong smell of ham. The 3 Indians and Patrick convinced it was the smell in the restaurant and so she ate….. more than common sense hunger was the overriding factor. However at the end of the meal she asked the question she shouldn’t have, “were the vegetables stewed with ham?” The waiter with a cheeky smile responded, did you like the taste. 🥲

It was Ekadashi and Saturday….. Sleep didn’t come easily that night. There was hunger and there was anger.

The next day to Logrono was going to be a longer day with 28+km with steep uphill climb!

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Our day as a Pilgrim on Camino Frances

It’s now day 17 of our French Camino. As you know we started in the Southwest of France in a small village called St Jean Pied de Port. Same place that my favourite author Paulo Coelho also started his Camino.

In Spanish, Camino means The Way. There are many different Caminos but they all end in Santiago De Compostella.

By now, there is a sort of a routine that we have set.

On most days Archana is up at 5:30am and after a quick shower she does her exercises, stretches and a set of InnerEngineering Yoga (Shambhavi Mahamudra).

Patrick is up by 6:45am to do his stretches and exercises followed by a shower.

We have both realised that this early wake-up is an essential to have a good start. As we say, well begun is half done!

Usually by 7:30am we have our bags packed and brought down to the concierge so they can be picked up by the baggage transport service by 8am.

We then have a breakfast, an essential request to FTC (Follow The Camino - Irish booking agency) when we made the bookings through them. Most offered a fantastic buffet breakfast, one hotel even had champagne included!! However, some have only offered a limited choice and one in Logrono only offered a glass of Fresh Orange juice, a pastry and some tea or coffee. In Quintallina del Monte, we stayed in a Rural home & the breakfast was really limited to couple slices of cheese, Patrick had some scrambled eggs and Archana just a toast (stale baguette toasted) with butter and jam. Fortunately we were carrying our own muesli, so requested some milk and yoghurt. For the amount we walk daily, we do like the full breakfast as usually on the way there are limited options and we need to ensure sustenance. On that day Patrick walked 40 km.

Between 8:30am to 9:am we usually leave the accommodation and start walking the Camino. Depending on the size of the town it could be a few 100m to 2 km plus (at times) until we get out of the town and start waking on the trail.

The longer the trail the earlier we try to leave so we are in the next town before it gets too hot around 3-4pm.

Arriving into a town is always exciting, as you navigate to the hotel, you discover some of the sights.

In most places when we reach our bags are waiting for us.

The routine is to check-in, unpack, have a good shower to relax the body and then do some stretches and have a snooze (Spanish siesta time is between 2-4pm) until the outside cools down a bit. Surprisingly the showers (water pressure and hot temperatures) have been perfect, except one!

If we need to do the laundry (usually every 3/4days) we go to the nearest coin laundry as a priority. Some hotels do offer a cheap price for a bag wash however they also use a dryer, which we don’t prefer, as we are kind to our clothes and the environment. Once the laundry is sorted we then cover the town, usually the church or cathedral and other interesting monuments.

By 7:30-8pm it’s time for dinner. We have opted dinner inclusion in most places especially if we are staying only one night, to save us hunting for places that could offer us special menu, since I am a vegetarian by choice however Patrick does have a mammalian meat allergy that needs to be managed. The dinner includes a pilgrim’s menu - 3 course meals including water, wine and bread. They aren’t very inventive with their vegetarian meals though, so most nights Archana gets a mixed salad for starter and a pasta with tomato sauce (freshly made) for the mains….. usually there is a carafe of wine, sometimes a glass but some places have given us a whole bottle (750 mls) at times.

If our package doesn’t include dinner then on those nights, we usually settle on Tapas or Pintxos and sangria or wine.

It’s usually an early night, around 10pm as we have to repeat the cycle again the next day. The wine here is really cheap, €1.8 to €2 per glass (from AUD $3 or ₹150), the wine is always excellent, easy drinking and so far never given us a headache or hangover as no sulphites added (given the wines here have no sulphites added unlike many wines in Australia)!

The Camino is obviously one of Spain’s major revenue earner - Religious tourism!

We booked through an Irish Company called Follow the Camino #followthecamino. Along with the baggage tags we also received a guide and app from them to assist us during the Camino. So far we had a great selection of hotels, monasteries, B&B type accommodation ranging between no rating to 5 star rating. Similar to the breakfast it’s been a mixed bag experience. Some average experiences and others absolutely splendid surprises! Like in the Tom Hanks movie, life is a box of chocolates……🙏🏽

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day 4 walking from Pamplona to Puenta La Reina

Distance: 20.4 kilometres (official trail distance) 27.5 km (we walked)

Elevation gain: 496m Loss: 599m

Cardio level: 3

Steps:

Patrick’s steps - 30,238 steps

Archana’s steps - 29,632+

Weather: Drizzling, then hot, rain again towards the end

Terrain: City roads, then a steep uphill climb through many wind turbines, then the steep decent through big boulders was precarious.

Patrick’s rating 1/5, except a few sections of moderate hills, plus getting down the hill with rocks would be 3/5.

Thursday 5th September 2024

After a delightful breakfast at our hotel, finishing it off with a Cola Cao (Spanish version of Hot Chocolate), we left our little hotel.

Maribel, the Venezuelan girl who multitasked as a reception, manager on duty and breakfast manager, prepared the Cola Cao for Patrick, we have added the video here.

As we left the hotel it started raining. We walked through many little towns and villages, each with its own church but mainly we walked through fields of Sunflowers and the a slightly steep uphill climb to the Peregrino Monument.

When Archana reached up there Patrick was waiting, he had had his morning tea but waited so we could take photographs together with the monument.

There was also a double decker bus there that had been converted into a cafe with views. The path through out is dotted with food trucks or farmers selling their produce to the pilgrims. Some sell, others give it for free but do leave a donation box next to it.

From here started the precarious downhill walk on loose boulders. As expected Patrick had descended way faster. As Archana arrived into Puenta La Reina, there was no sign of Patrick the hotel was right at the end of the trail. After checking in, Archana walked towards the old town and saw Patrick walking back as he had scanned the entire little town in the hour or so he waited for her.

Hotel Jakue was abuzz with peregrinos, many languages could be heard in the lobby. Dinner was dry for 6:30pm so we had a quick snooze. The room had a typical rural view. Sadly it was too close to the river and opening it would mean inviting mosquitoes or other insects. The best was comfortable, the towels lush and the shower had amazing water pressure and just the right temperature…..perfect after a long day’s walk in the rain!

There was a long queue for dinner but we were quickly seated at our table to realise we had friends on the next table.

Most hotels, where we had dinner included would serve a Pilgrim’s meal, this included 3 course meal including wine, water and bread! Ours was included in the package but most people paid between €15 to €23 depending on the town.

Hotel Jakue was extra kind, the 1st course was a buffet of salads, soup, pasta and rice, the mains were an option of fish or meat served with potatoes followed by a dessert.

We slept well, especially after having polished off our carafe of wine. 🍷

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day 3 - Walking from Zubiri to Pamplona

Distance: 20.4 kilometres (official trail distance) 27.7 km (we walked)

Elevation gain:

Cardio level: 4

Steps:

Patrick’s steps - 30,387 steps

Archana’s steps - 34,087+ (Apple Watch battery resigned after 18 kilometres walking)

Weather: Overcast, pleasant temperature

Terrain: Muddy (after last night’s rain), slippery, undulating walk without strenuous section, we followed the river - across the highway from time to time, sometimes it got tricky as the path was narrow. Patrick’s rating 2/5, i.e. not too demanding.

Wednesday 4th September 2024

Another very pleasant day! We were picked up from our hotel in Pamplona Mercedes Vito (Van) at 9 am and dropped off at Zubiri around 9:25am. The previous day in a rush we had forgotten to get our Camino Passports stamped in Zubiri so stoped by a cafe to get them stamped and then marched off. At 9:30am we were probably the last pilgrims leaving Zubiri. Patrick even wore shorts and Archana opted for her Keen sandals instead of the trekking shoes, as we expected an easy day. It had rained the previous day, the sky was overcast and the temperature on a cooler side. A couple of kilometres into this walk we bumped into Rob & Barbara and also David, we had met all three of them plus David’s young son Martin, although we had been separated the previous day. The Camino teaches you about life in its own way. People joined you on parts of the trail, you exchange pleasantries but each one marched to their own tune and walked their own Camino. Some of them you saw again and some you never saw again, some became friends for life and some taught you an important lesson in that brief encounter. Even we (Patrick and Archana) were walking our own Caminos. Usually we started together and then due to his long stride and higher level of fitness Patrick would be miles ahead of Archana, sometimes he would wait for her in the next town, next church, end of the trail….

Like today as Archana walked into Trinidad de Arre, she saw beautiful church across the bridge as she entered the town. There was a notice welcoming people to their church and to stamp their own passport. So when Archana walked into the dark church, only the altar was visible. But then suddenly the motion sensor triggered the light and she noticed on her left sitting on a church pew was Patrick!! All he said was “I have been waiting here for you for over 45 minutes!”.

After saying a small prayer together and chanting the mahamantra, they walked side by side on small streets on the outskirts of Pamplona until they reached the walls of a fort, even a drawbridge above what would have been a moat in the bygone days.

Happy days! Laundry had been sorted the previous night, so tonight it would be a shower to freshen up, some rest and back for sone more Sangria at the same bar as the previous night.

It was a sultry night, the sangria was delicious and day 3 had been done and dusted.

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day 2 walking Roncesvalles to Zubiri

Distance: 22 kilometres (official trail distance) 29.1 km (we actually walked)

Elevation gain:

Cardio level: 4

Steps:

Patrick’s steps - 32,024

Archana’s steps - 38,400+ (Apple Watch battery resigned after 18 kilometres walking)

Weather: raining at the start then drizzled twice during the day.

Terrain: Wood, woodlands, Dragon feet

Tuesday 3rd September

After everything we had heard about how tough day one was, we anticipated Day 2 with mostly downhill walking would be an easy-peasy day!

And it did start as an easy-peasy day, walking with friends made along the way, eating the Basque berries (wild black berries, blue berries, cranberries etc…) of the bushes in the forest. In no time the sun had begun to shine and we had to stop and pack our rain gear away.

Little did we anticipate the terrain known as Dragon Feet! When we woke up it was raining. After a hearty breakfast, we donned our rain gear, dropped the suitcases at the reception for the baggage moving company and started walking. The walk actually started just across from the hotel. The initial part was pleasant despite the rain.

For a while Archana walked with a father and son from Catalonia near Barcelona, they were David and Martin. Martin inquisitive and friendly like our god son Kirav back in Sydney, only 7 years old with two missing front teeth. Archan asked David how far they were walking and he said we take each day at a time and walk until Martin gets tired, so far Martin had already walked 11.5km with us and there didn’t seem to be any signs of fatigue on that ball of energy. David was his father, tour guide and teacher….. also interpreter! Martin couldn’t speak or understand English and we don’t speak or understand Spanish! But conversation we did have…. Non-stop! We discussed everything including why Martin hated flying. Sometimes Archana would drop back and sometimes David and Martin, but every time we crossed paths, Martin would show his smart watch to discuss the distance, the speed etc…. Tina, Martin’s mother and David’s wife would travel in a van to the next village, book accommodation and walk from that village until she met with David and Martin and then walk back to their accommodation. Archana thought what a great way to educate the child

Only 22km or so we thought, until we realised we were walking downhill on wet earth and stone. By stone, we mean slabs of granite at 75-90 degrees angle in the earth. They were white and jutting out of reddish soil making them look like the top of a dragon’s feet. Extremely treacherous and slippery. If you missed them then you could end with a broken angle at the least! Nevertheless, time flies when you are focussed on something, and just like that we arrived into Zubiri.

As the company that organised our accommodation couldn’t find anything in Zubiri they booked us 2 nights in Pamplona and a taxi from Zubiri to Pamplona on that afternoon and from Pamplona back to Zubiri the next morning so we didn’t miss walking that sector. 😅

The taxi ride was pleasant more about the hotel in Pamplona. It was a local electric car.

Pamplona - Hotel Ciudadela

The hotel was well located and the room and amenities pretty good for a 3 star rated facility. Firstly we sorted the laundry, found a coin washer close by and while the laundry was getting washed we walked to around the old city. After the laundry we found a lovely bar and enjoyed some of the best made Sangrias and Pintxos (little nibbles)! It was a warm evening and we walked back to the hotel feeling relaxed!

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day One walking - SJPdP to Roncesvalles

Distance: 28 kilometres

Elevation: 1500m

Steps:

Patrick’s steps - 37,850

Archana’s steps - 30,000+ (Apple Watch battery resigned after 15 kilometres walking)

Weather: mixed, hot at the start of te day cooling in the middle and muggy at the end.

Terrain: Tar road to start, dirt road through farmlands, rocky during the steep downhill and finally dirt road again through woods.

Monday 2nd September -

The journey begins! We walked 28 km and climbed about 1500m in elevation. It was a big day!

It didn’t rain but it was threatening and in most of the high elevations we were either walking in the clouds or above them. This was better than the hot weather we had at the start.

Patrick started an hour after me as he had to go to a shoe shop to sort some manufacturing issue with his brand new Scarpa shoes. Nevertheless, we had agreed that the one who reaches first to Orrison (which was about 1/3rd of the distance of the day’s walk) would wait for the other. There was also supposed to be an Alburgue and a cafe there. About 5 minutes after I arrived and had got myself some vegetable soup and freshly squeezed orange juice, I turned around to see him waiting there!! As always Patrick had powered up the hill despite starting an hour and half after me from SJPDP! Mind you, this was a steep uphill and a very hot morning. We enjoyed the morning tea with fabulous views from the terrace of the Orisson Cafe together.

Then we walked together for a bit.

Patrick would walk ahead and then find a reason to wait for me. The landscape and the smells were very rural, mostly grazing sheep, goats cattle, some pigs and horses. It had begun to cool down and we started walking in patches of clouds. Just before arriving into Orrison I had noticed eagles flying overhead and it reminded me of Arinya and Eaglereach.

At a point as I turned around a corner I saw Patrick taking photos of a horse and a colt.

He then took off again, the next I saw him, he was waiting for me at the border crossing into Spain. There were no police, immigration or customs as we were still in Europe however there was a beautiful sound as if a music to welcome the tourists - it was the horses and their bells. At the border there was also a fountain of cold spring water to fill up our bottles and the water tasted delicious!

From here on it was supposed to be downhill walk, a part I was looking forward to however once we started walking downhill, I realised it wasn’t as easy as I had imagined it. Not only was it steep but the terrain was very rocky, if you lost focus you could lose your footing and injure yourself. A lady ahead of me just slipped, fortunately nothing major. I was super glad we had trekking poles with us and good trekking boots with strong foothold. It look us a lot longer to go downhill than it did climbing up in that heat earlier. This was made even more interesting with the cyclists doing the Camino speeding down. Most of the times without any bells!

After the steep rocky section, the walk became very pleasant through the woods heading into the town.

Patrick had arrived into Roncasvalles 45 minutes before me and just waited at the end of that trail into Roncesvalles.

The rain had set in by then however our hotel for the night was just there.

I am just proud I made it without any hiccups at my own pace. 🙏🏽

Hotel Roncesvalles -

The Monastery build by the monks in 1127 to serve the pilgrims crossing the Pyrenees was imposing. Whilst still adjoining a church, this beautiful monastery has been converted into a hotel and an alburgue (dormitory for pilgrims that don’t mind bunk beds and sharing toilets) however the hotel has been tastefully done and we were fortunate to experience it for one night! We had only requested 2-3 stars with Follow the Camino (our booking agents) as we are too old to sleep in bunk beds, Patrick probably wouldn’t fit in one of those but also we are too old to share toilets. So it was a surprise to see a massive room, beautifully refurbished to a five star standard with quality toiletries, towels and linen. And yet all the communal areas still had the heritage look beautifully reinstated. We were impressed!

Dinner and Breakfast were included with the accommodation and the food was scrumptious! Dinner was fine dining quality and breakfast buffet all you can eat to start your 25+ kilometre day ahead!

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day Zero - SJPdP

Over the last 8 days we had fun, some relaxing time with friends and family but also a lot of excitement in London, Paris and Bordeaux. A combination of the stress of traveling these multi sectors and excitement of catching up with f&f meant we never really got over the jet lag as planned and yet upon arriving here in St Jean Pied de Port last night for the first time in about a fortnight (including 7 days prior to departing Sydney) we both slept like babies. Perhaps to do with a thunderstorm that had cooled the atmosphere and the fresh mountain air as well as the special vibe of this place had relaxed us. And of course the bubbling stream just outside the hotel.

So today it was a magical day! Perfect weather to walk around after a hearty breakfast at our hotel - Hotel Des Remparts.

We walked to the church in the old town which has probably blessed hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that have started their pilgrimage from here or stopped en route. We stopped by and even said a little prayer for a successful completion of our pilgrimage. Outside the church was a water fountain, probably as old as the tradition.

We walked the cobbled stone streets of the old town that were lined with houses built in 16th and 17th century, some are now bakeries, souvenirs shops, wine cellars, Pensiones etc…. But still occupied and functional.

We continued until we reached the pilgrims office and had our Camino passports stamped. The staff mostly elderly volunteers, as expected multilingual and amazingly helpful told us what to expect on our first day.

There was also a little chart on the wall showing the numbers from various countries that started their journey from SJPDP and we were surprised to note that Australia was 7th ranking and even above Ireland!

We then walked up to the citadel and around the ancient gates of the fortress.

As the day started getting hot, we returned to our lovely hotel in the afternoon and had an extended siesta. Then got dressed up and went out for a delicious meal with some Sangria as we cheered to our next adventure to begin tomorrow! 🥂

[patrickarchana-caminofrances]

Day Minus One

After spending 3 days in London catching up with friends and family, then 5 days in Bordeaux - a Mecca for red wine lovers like Patrick and I, we finally arrived in St Jean Pied de Port on Saturday 31st August 2024.

We were extremely tired when we arrived, the stress and shock of knowing that our train TGV Inou from Bordeaux had stopped just meters away from Bayonne station as it had hit a person on a bicycle. There was a lot of unknown from whether this person had survived, did the crack we heard under the carriage just before the train stopped have something to do with this accident, when will the Gendermarie (Police) arrive, the ambulance, the replacement driver…. We already knew that we had lost our connecting train from Bayonne as the train was already delayed arriving into Bordeaux and now this additional delay. Hence upon arrival, as tired as we were, we just dropped our bags in the room and walked around this old town of St Jean Pied de Port to free up our legs and our minds. Being an Ekadashi day we were fasting, consuming only water.

As we crossed the little iconic bridge walking towards the hotel it felt surreal that we were finally here!

The heat and the precipitation was unbearable so this walk had settled our minds and body, a cold shower was all we needed for that much deserved sleep, with windows wide open and the sounds of the stream bubbling near by

Backdrop - Since I read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho for the first time about 2 decades ago, I had fallen in love with the book without realising that there was more to it than a story…. The pilgrimage stayed in my mind, until a few years later I realised that this was a real walk called the El Camino! Since then there has been a constant urge to walk this way. It was only after I met Patrick that I realised I had a companion to walk this journey that I felt like this dream could become a possibility! However we had other milestones to achieve, a business to operate and a livelihood to be made. So, the Camino was placed on a back burner. However once we started talking about selling the business, it popped back into our minds!

Just over two years of talking about it, planning it, changing the plans for various reasons but mainly health issues popping up with age….

So today when we arrived in Saint Jean Pied de Port it has become a reality!

Tomorrow we start with Day Zero just a day to soak in the spirit of St Jean pied de Port where begins the Camino Frances!