El Inicio

[laughingstone]

Got into Jaca today after a beautiful chartered busride through the foothills of the Pyrenees. Spent some time lightening up my backpack so it's of maneagable weight for my journey.

Thanks to Erin Rapacki for teaching me that cardinal rule of backpacking a while back!

I will spend some time tomorrow shipping the stuff I don't need and picking up my credencial, or Pilgrim's Passport, from the iglesia. It will be stamped along the way and gain me admittance to the special albergues that only host peregrinos. I paid €10 for a one night stay.

I know I should only stay one more day because I just discovered the bakery.

Also, all the pilgrims in my albergue are French. I taught myself to say ¨first day¨so I could say something to them. Oh, and ¨good¨. Bon!

When I start my journey day after tomorrow, I´ll just follow the scalloped shells. This is the centuries old emblem that has marked the way for the pilgrims.

Comments

[bluesyncopate.livejournal.com]

The rationale for doing a LOT of things might be summed thus: "But there was a bakery!"

..remembering that moment when carried things become more of a burden than a comfort. Learning to let go... as a lesson it's equally useful inside a (real) backpack or that metaphorical we-live-we-die sort of way. Heavy, man. Like, literally heavy.

I like the word "albergue".

[laughingstone.livejournal.com]

Yes, so true.

When I packed for this trip, I had to pack for two trips, the city experience and the backpacking experience. But I realized, you actually can't do that. Each are completely different experiences. Each has its own requirements.

I think there's something more forming around the idea of adapting to ones environment. For me, releasing the extra stuff and weight feels so good. Feeling unencumbered is very important to me in life. I´m not sure why...