Reveizes’ Camino journey begins
Wednesday, May 20
They say the Camino de Santiago begins the moment you commit to the journey. For me, that commitment took root in 2004 after completing the London Marathon with my younger brother. Now, 22 years later, I am finally realizing this long-held dream.
Our journey began with an overnight flight from Boston to Paris. Despite the jet lag, we spent a memorable day exploring the city’s iconic landmarks, including the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and many more. It has been an exhausting but incredibly exhilarating 48 hours with very little sleep!
Tonight, we take an overnight train to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a village at the foothills of the French Pyrenees. We will spend two days there, resting and acclimating to the time zone, before setting out. Day one undoubtedly will be our most challenging stage: a 16-mile trek over the Pyrenees featuring a 5,600-foot elevation gain.
As we prepare for this undertaking, we are guided by two philosophies when taking on ambitious challenges/goals:
1) There will be days that I don’t know if I can finish the entire Camino … but … there will be a lifetime knowing that we have!
2) The miracle is not that I walked the entire Camino but … that I had the courage to start!
Burn Camino …
Friday, May 22
Today was a rest day at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We spent the day resting and exploring this magnificent town.
We start our Camino tomorrow at 5:14 am. This first stage is one of the most challenging and strenuous uphill walks of the entire Camino. There will be an elevation gain of 4,560 feet in the first 13 miles as we cross the Pyrenees mountains. Temperatures will be in the high 80s so that will add to the challenge.
