As we flew to Germany on Sunday I was reading a blog from a guy who had walked the Camino and he described going to the pilgrim office in St. Jean Pied de Port (SJPdP) to register for the start of the Camino and how it didn’t quite transpire as he imagined it would. Rather than being greeted by serene monks bestowing pilgrim blessings he came face to face with a hoard of over ambitious pilgrims spreading fear of homelessness. He went on to describe how the ensuing conversation gave him flashbacks to his student days when before an exam people fretted about their preparations. “What time do you plan to start walking each day?” “Have you booked your accommodation in advance?”….Hubby and I laughed at the hilarity of it all.

Fast forward 24 hours and during a night of sleeplessness, due to excitement, I am reading a Camino forum where it is rumored that the Camino is bursting at the seams with pilgrims and authorities are holding pilgrims in SJPdP due to the shortage of beds in the towns and villages along the way and suddenly I’m outside that exam hall and the blog isn’t so hilarious anymore. 

It is often said that the Camino provides for the needs of pilgrims and I have read stories of numerous occurrences where this has been the case. Having said all that it is a huge leap of faith for a control freak like me to trust that all will be well but we can probably call this Camino life lesson one.