“Gotta wear my LOVE shades”

May, 18, 2014

“In every life we have some trouble, when you worry you make it double, don’t worry, be happy” (Bobby McFerrin)

And that is the state of mind I am in. Somewhere between anxiety and excitement. We leave in 9 days. 9 days! Ahhh…so much to do in so little time.

I am a little anxious due to hearing about a woman on her Camino, fell on the Napoleon route and broke her femur. She had to be airlifted off the trail. What a way to begin and end a pilgrimage. My thoughts and prayers go out to her. Which is why I have been reviewing the beginning of the route more in depth, as the first part is steep and the descent in certain areas quite treacherous.

But, I keep reminding myself that thousands have walked this way, both the very old, the very young and all the ages in between with no problems. I just want to make sure that I do not forget which way to turn when I come upon the fork in the road and mistakenly take the route that I will regret. Steep descents cause more harm on the knees as well as one could stumble or slip and fall. Not the way to begin.

The good news is that due to Couchsurfing, I have made contact with a couple in Bilbao, Spain who will be hosting us for our first two nights. They sound like a fantastic couple who are interesting and they seek out adventurous, open- minded people to host. I believe Abby and I fit that description.

I have yet to figure out how we are going to travel from there to our starting point of Saint Jean Pied de Port. We will take a bus either to France or we will take a bus to Pamplona and then take another bus to SJPP. Either way, we will get there. It will all work out.

And that is the exciting part. Not knowing. No set plans in stone, except our reservations up at Orisson on the Great Pyrenees. We will just meander happily along singing joyful tunes to keep the anxious level at bay. “Ooh oo-ooh ooh ooh oo-ooh…don’t worry, be happy. Ain’t got no cash, ain’t got no style…”

Speaking of which, please check out http://www.gofundme.com/8hte10