Tomorrow I fly to Spain. So, of course, that means I spent all day packing and re-packing my gear to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I’m worried to death that I’ll get to Europe and suddenly realize I completely overlooked one of my needs.
This worry is counterbalanced with trying scale back my pack’s weight. Everything I need for this journey for the next 30 days is inside. But, I already know from experience that even a light pack starts to feel insanely heavy after a few miles.
The funny thing is, it doesn’t really matter, right? What more do I really need other than a pack, my shoes, my wallet and my passport? Everything else can be modified along the way.
Travel woes
The other thing I’m stressing over is getting to my starting point in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. I purchased my roundtrip ticket to Spain almost 10 months ago when a flash sale popped up. I just couldn’t say “no” to those insanely cheap tickets to Madrid.
Of course, I didn’t realize back then how difficult it would be to get between Madrid and St. Jean Pied de Port. I lived in Europe for a few years and I always reveled in how easy it was to get from place to place via train.
So, when I bought my tickets for this adventure, I just assumed an easy train ride would get me exactly where I needed to be. Nope! There is no train route between Madrid and St. Jean Pied de Port. Not even a close route. So – it was on to plan B.
After a lot of research and reading posts in various Camino forums, I decided to the best option was to book an additional one-way ticket on the the front end of my trip from Madrid to San Sebastian.
Ibirean Airlines had reasonable fares to San Sebastian that departed a few hours after I arrived in Madrid. That flight should get me to the northern part of Spain, just over the border from the French city of Hendaye.
It’s only two miles between San Sebastian’s airport and Hendaye’s train station. So I could grab a taxi or even walk there from the airport. Border crossings in most of Europe are like crossing state lines in the US. There’s no passport check or formalities. You just go about your merry way.
Once I finally make my way to the Hendeye station, I can purchase a train ticket for the route to St. Jean Pied de Port. It will require changing trains in Bayonne, but that’s fine.
Pressing my luck?
I know I’ve created a complicated plan here. Any one of these transitions could go haywire.
My flight into Madrid could be delayed causing me to miss my flight to San Sebastian. Or my luggage could get lost. Or the weather could be bad. Or there could be a train workers’ strike (a very real possibility in Europe).
Right now I’m picturing John Candy and Steve Martin in the 80’s movie “Planes, Train, and Automobiles.” I know even the simplest travel itineraries can go horribly wrong.
Nonetheless, I’m sitting here with my fingers crossed hoping to get to St. Jean in one piece. Walking the Camino has been a dream for a long time. I’d be foolish to think there won’t be obstacles to overcome along the way.
