Today we walked into Saint Jean Pied-de-Port. We started walking forty-three days ago, April 24. We have had four rest days. On average we walked 20 kilometres per day, (official distance is 750.8 kilometres between Le Puy en Velay and Saint Jean), but our bodies and our fitbit would tell another story…
The day started promisingly enough after a very restful sleep in another almost regal suite. Breakfast included riz au lait, brioche, croissants, freshly baked bread, home made confiture, coffee, yoghurt, juice and fresh fruit. As we were some distance out of town, our host drove us to the GR65 and we were on our way… shortish last day which we planned to enjoy thoroughly.
The air was fresh, though the sun was already a little too hot for comfort at 8 am. Fortunately the paths alternated between shade and full sun at regular intervals, enough for us to reap the benefits of the cool breeze. At times, when we had to cross the unshaded parts, it seemed that we were shadow-hopping. Overall, the heat made the day more challenging than we had anticipated. However regular stops, seeing familiar faces along the way, re-uniting with Camino friends and encouraging each other onwards, saw us reach Saint Jean in the early afternoon.
We seemed to have walked into some sort of welcoming committee, but no, it was a bus group on tour listening to a history of the gates and fortifications. For them, we seemed to be a curiosity… old pilgrims coming in… We stopped, determined to have our own record of our arrival, we asked them take a photo for us with our cameras, then we took a selfie. Finally, we got someone else to take our photo, just in case the others weren’t good enough. Were we excited? I think so. We had grins on our faces from ear to ear! We had made it! We were in Saint Jean Pied-de-Port! Pilgrims everywhere, walking poles tap, tapping away along the cobblestones, making their way and lining up outside the Pilgrims Office. There were pilgrims arriving in both directions, coming and going. Pilgrims just starting and getting Credentials or those like us, arriving from the Le Puy direction needing their Credentials stamped. Backpacks on backs or leaning against walls, in doors and shopfronts, a must for anyone in the town! And the most curious thing of all, a tourist train in the main street, full of curious daytrippers… all waving at us!
Our first stop in fact was the Church. We were so thankful to have made it! Even with an hour to go, we were so hot, tired and I was feeling unwell that we wondered if we needed a car for the last 4 kilometres! Slowly, step by step we had made it and we would be able to rest for a few days before rounding off our Camino by walking the last 120 kilometres from Ourense, Spain to Santiago de Compostela, with our son Daniel. Another blessing, another gift to be savoured amongst the many we have received so far.
While St Jean PdP has changed (more tourists), nevertheless it still has a spiritual side. One of the most memorable gifts, or should I say blessings are the people with whom we have shared the journey. Both on foot and in spirit. The moment we walked into SJPDP, we asked each other: with whom do we share our news? A quick photo and off we sent it to our closest and dearest. In the next few minutes we were pinching ourselves, making sure that it was real, but also scanning faces for that moment of recognition… yes we had made it…over those hills, the muddy quagmires, the slippery, almost vertical, cliff-faces and embankments, the sharp descents, the long ascents under a blaring sun, the pauses for snacks, lunches and cooling our feet, the sharing of information and the wonder of all that surrounded us at every turn… flowers, birds, butterflies, frogs, forests, valleys and hilltops. We marveled in awe and saw each other struggle and overcome our own limitations. That moment of recognition between pilgrims says it all… we made it despite the hardship.
Six years ago, April 22, 2017 we arrived in Saint Jean Pied-de-Port full of excitement and trepidation. We explored the town, visited the Pilgrim Office, the Church and the tourism office. We were gathering as much information as possible in order to be prepared for that impossible climb to Orrisson and then up and over to Roncesvalles and eventually to Santiago de Compostela, 799 kilometres away. At the time, and even now, it seems like an unreachable target! June 1, 2017 we walked into Santiago! That makes it a total of 1550 kilometres (my, probably inaccurated calculations…1515 kilometres according to some other source). So one could say we completed the circle, or should I say, tied up the two loose ends at Saint Jean Pied-de-Port.
pindun on the road to Santiago de Compostella 
Pina, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. It has been an amazing experience. I am blown away by your strength, determination and humility in achieving this . Congratulations to you and Bill. xx Spackie
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