Trailhead...

Quote for the day:  

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety- seven now, and we don’t know where the heck she is. -Ellen DeGeneres

The train from Bayonne, France to St. Jean Pied de Port was a local.  Five stops in one hour.  It was FULL of folks about to start the Camino.  Luggage ranged from ours (a big duffel) to a medium sized backpack with a sleeping bag.  Of course, the backpackers are carrying theirs and ours is being transported.

The scenery was awesome. The Pyrenees.... Looks very much like the scenes along the Virginia Creeper.  Wildflowers are everywhere (purple, yellow, blue) and the foilage is so grown that it hits the side of the train.  The train track is cut into the mountains in some areas and the only thing you can see is the greenery and wildflowers.  The foothills are both rocky and covered with trees.  Combination of the Rockies and our Appalachian mountains.  Beautiful river with huge boulders....  Looks a bit like the New River....in places the rocks are too big for me to imagine kayaking through, but in others, it would be perfect and fun.  Lots of big, old trees for shade.  Countryside is clean. No billboards....It is just beautiful.  No pictures because we are on a moving train and all my attempts were blurred or had reflections.                         

                                                                                                                                               We are in Basque Country. I’ve noticed that the road signs are in two languages.  One building had graffiti on it saying “Independezia”.

So, now from the beautiful to the real world....A few pictures.  Our first pilgrim hotel and the amenity kit.  This adventure is underway!