camino 4 April 25th 2024

This is the non tourist site of St John pied deport a lovely little mountain town. We leave this morning for a short day up to our next destination and from there we will see how things go but it's a short walk today. Are hostess here at this house it's been a lady culture self Burnie her name is Bernadette.  She has provided the lovely breakfast in conversation this morning and some advice along the way.  Stuff will likely be a supermarket to buy a little bit of food stuffs for the journey. Then we will take the winter road up toward Roncesvaux and see what we find.

Camino 3 - Paris to Bordeaux

Elizabeth and I have made it on the TGV to Bordeaux.  Not much uncertainty along the way.  Customs was scanning the passport and a picture in a booth, that's it.

Then we found the train.  Struggled through ticketing.  

Had a near mishap with my passport.  All I can say now is that God smiled and blessed me.

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We made it to the next leg of the journey by moving quickly through the Bordeaux station.  We purchased the tickets and got to the platform with seconds to spare.

A young man was in one of our seats.  He left after we pointed to the seat numbers.  

Off to Bayonne and beyond.

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Camino 2 April 23rd 2024

Today we start two or three days of travel.  This is our transition from ordinary time to Camino time.  

Backpacks are sorted and  "optimized".  Elizabeth is done with her paper I hope.  So today we fly from Tennessee to France. Once at Charles to go airport we will take train down to our starting point at Saint Jean Pied de Port.  That sounds name means roughly St John at the foot of the pass. 

A major theme comes from ecclesiasticus chapter 4 verses 11 through 19. I like the Jerusalem bible translation on this:

Wisdom brings up her own sons and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her loves life, those who wait on her early will be filled with happiness. Those who serve her minister to the holy one, and the lord loves those who love her. Whoever obeys her judges are right, and whoever pays attention to her well secure. If he trusts himself to her he will inherit her, and his descendants will remain in possession of her; for those she takes him at first through winding ways, bringing fear and faintness on him, plaguing him with her discipline until she can trust him, and testing him with her ordeals, in the end she will lead him back to the straight road, and reveal her secrets to him. If he wanders away she will abandon him, and hand him over to his fate.