Day 2: Massaging Showers and Polish People

At the 12 Tribes house Mikko and I picked up Jakub aka Cuba, a Polish kid who had HITCHHIKED from Poland to Spain to walk the Camino. He is a devout Catholic, studies with the Dominican order in Krakow, so the Camino is something more for him. Like me, he also ended a relationship recently. I offered him wise council. Mikko and I taught him some Spanish walking into San Seb and the first thing he did was walk up to a cute girl and tell her she was Bonita. We have not taught him any more.

We all speak english so its very easy to get along, talk about our lives, and joke. The kilometers pass easily. As we leave San Sebastian (the commune was 3 km outside it), there's a little roadside offering to pellegrinos: a table with cold water, some chairs, a book to sign and leave a message. A man appears from a nearby house and offers us homemade mango juice and peaches from his garden. He has done 20 Casinos, once walking through France and Spain in 20 days (I might take 40 in just Spain). The generosity continues.

Our goal is a town called Orio, but the Super Camino Guy tells us of a private albergue in a hamlet called St Marins that's the nicest on the northern Way. We make it there in late afternoon and stay the night. He was right. Its tres nice. There's a massaging shower.

There's also a kitchen where ppl congregate. We meet some Irish girls who are fun - real smartasses. Very Irish. I call them rogues. They seem to like this and show it by insulting me some more.

I'm starting to smell.

A Note on Albergues

Albergues are a bit like hostels, a bit like shelters on the AT, a bit like "huts" in the Whites, but deriving from a different purpose. They can be private homes, a school empty for the summer, a municipal building, a monastery, or a purpose-built hotel - they all exist solely to house and wash and sometimes feed pellegrinos (pilgrims) walking the Way. They range from luxurious (a massaging shower in St. Martins) to dogshit (Deba's decrepit cavern-like public school adjoining their brand-new, and empty, school). They all have showers, a sink to wash clothes, and mattresses, not always on bed frames.

More importantly, they are the social nodes of the Camino. Everyone walks at a different pace but at day's end you can see most of the same people, swap stories, and eat together. The people I've met at the albergues so far have been the richness of the walk.

They have another dimension: the people who staff and maintain them, or the towns who own them do so out of charity to pellegrinos. They're cheap (10 euro) or free. They come, at the core, out of tradition and respect for the Way and care for the people who walk. The owners of private albergues especially, because they take the overflow from the public ones. There is deep generosity in these people.

Day 1: Irun to San Sebastian (Not Quite)

El Camino del North starts with a day of serious walking. Leaving Irun, on the French border, the Way climbs large hills until dropping down in to the beach town of San Seb. The night before, I meet a Finnish guy, Mikko, and we agree to walk together. He kindly sticks with my slow pace as we walk out of town in pink and blue sunrise and begin climbing.

We pass a field of about 50 goats laying waste to dew covered grass. Its loud. Now I know what 50 masticating goats sounds like.

After about 6 hours of walking, talking with other pellegrinos in Spanish, English, and French we come to what looks like an albergue (a pilgrim hostel or shelter). They offer us juice, then a delicious turkey sandwich, then a place to stay for the night. I'm hesitant but Mikko and a French woman in our group gratefully accept.

It turns out to be a commune, a branch of a Christian group called the 12 Tribes. They live according to a harmonious vision of cooperative life in the early days of Christ. I don't know much about their beliefs because they never pitched us. Their generosity was spontaneous, without agenda, and complete. At some point I quit worrying about imposing. For them, giving was a way of life, not some fund they drew from until it needed to be replenished.

There's more to say about them and their head wiseman, Ohevi, but it was a hell of a first day. It was like a month of living in my normal life.

Beginnings, and Catching Up

Greetings from Pais Vasco! I've been on the Camino since Sunday morning. Wifi is less common than I thought, so look for short updates on the highlights of my first few days of walking. A few threads have already emerged: the generosity of the Basques, the friendliness and variety of the other pellegrinos, and the absolute beauty of the landscape. Posts may be out of order as I catch up!

In Irun

I took the train (medium high speed) with a girl from Texas. She had never been abroad and fell asleep for the entire 6 hour ride. I was amazed. I've been here before and still can't sleep for excitement.

Train music: Allies for Everyone.

I've officially become a pilgrim. At the albergues I received my credential and the first stamp, filled out by an old man with fine, meticulous handwriting. I've also made new friends (Mikko from Finland, 2 Frenchpersons) who all speak English, which is a blessing after 2 days of my incompetent Spanish. There's a rumor someone is making ratatouille. Lights out at 8:30, at which point I will pass out on my 5'5" bed.

I can smell the sea.