2. First day on our Camino on Parker's Birthday!

Day 1: St. Jean Pied de Port to Orrison (5 miles)

Parker and I decided to start our Camino on his birthday. After all the planning and preparation, the only thing left to do was to just GO! What a relief it was to finally get started. His birthday added to the excitement. 

The route we choose is called the French Camino because it starts in France close to the border of southern France and Spain.  The first day or two of this route involves the biggest challenge, climbing over the Pyrenees via the Napoleon Route. We broke up the climb in two days for the kids. 

                                                       

Steep is an understatement. We started climbing late in the morning out of St. Jean Pied de Port and did not stop for two days. Imagine setting your stair master (or whatever they are called) at the gym, to steep climbing for six hours. That is what we did. We walked on narrow country roads through beautiful farmland. We could see the steep winding road up ahead through the mountains as well as birds soaring in the distance. 

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Instantly, Cruz started talking about Wolverine, his latest character of interest (although obsession might be the more accurate word), Kaia joined in on the conversation. I have absolutely no idea what they were talking about, but it was so nice to hear the three of them chatting as we climbed. It was a good distraction for everyone. I am grateful for Parker to be able to engage in their interests and happily discuss all the characters, their powers, etc.

It was a hot day (mid 90s), and the start of a two week heat wave. We took a lot of breaks and had two picnics by the side of the road in the shade. Parker carried a couple pounds of food for the next two days: baguettes, prosciutto, salami, cheeses, fruit, sweets (a filling charcuterie without the board). It was helpful and necessary. 

                                           

Our Texan kids know to enjoy every shade tree along the way and it was a good opportunity to admire the view. There were a couple of  tough moments, as expected, but we got through them after some water, snacks, and gentle but firm encouragement. About .6 mile/1km from our albergue, we stopped to have a small break pass a sign that said "snow chains required", we were up there! The birds we admired at the beginning of our climb were now in front of us at eye level. Amazing. Then we determined that they were actually vultures. Still beautiful as they circled in front of us. We joked that they were looking for the weaker pilgrims....yup, it was time to go.

               

We pushed on to Orrison, our stop for the night. When we saw it around the bend, we were all ecstatic. Kaia exclaimed: "I see people and umbrellas, my two favorite things!" A soon as we checked in the kids enjoyed an ice cold Orangina (French Fanta). Cruz took a sip and said: "Ah, the taste of victory". It was well deserved. 

Parker and I have hiked thousands of  miles and this was a hard day, y’all! We had to make sure to stay positive, encouraging while also pushing gently. We had to keep moving. We walked 5 miles/8 kms and climbed over 3,000ft/900meters. It was a big first day and we are proud of our kiddos!

           

We had our first pilgrim dinner for Parker's Birthday. At some albergues, a set priced communal dinner is offered. That evening, there were nine of us. Everyone was going to Santiago, we were all eager to meet each other. Eva and Pauline are from New Zealand, Reinhart and Andrea are from Germany, and Andres is from Portugal. Everyone was happy to see a family on the Camino and were thrilled to meet our kids. At the end of dinner we sang happy birthday to Parker. He thanked everyone for traveling so far to celebrate his birthday, which gave us all a good laugh. 

Parker and I have worked very hard to make this dream come true for our family. I am extremely proud of the hard work, commitment, and the contributions he had made in his career. As often happens, there were many years in the past decade that the demands of his career were not ideal for our young family. This day was truly the first step to regain our time together and to connect as a family. We are the luckiest to have the most rad dad and incredible husband. It was a great day and birthday for our favorite person!

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Day 2:

                                     

The next morning, we continued our climbed over the Pyrenees. Yes, more climbing! We were rewarded with the most unforgettable sunrise. It felt like we were walking with the sun. This was a big day for us, ten miles over the French Pyrenees with a steep descent to the Spanish side. There was not another option.  It was going to be another hot day but we were lucky to have a heavy wind to cool us. We unloaded the kid's packs so that they were only carrying water, Parker carried the bulk. We walked through high pastures, walking by horses, cows, and hundreds of sheep. We met many pilgrims along the way and everyone was excited to see the kids. 

                                                

We climbed over a couple of steep passes, then we crossed the border to Spain. It was steep down through the forest to Roncesvalles, our second destination. We came out of the forest and a Pilgrim from France saw Kaia and Cruz. Her eyes were huge in amazement. Everyone that day, who came down from the Pyrenees, knew the effort it took. Adults were arriving at the albergue looking like they had crossed through a battle field. And to see a 9 and 11 year old come down from the mountains was impressive. She looked at me, then at them and said: "Bravo!" Bravo indeed kiddos!

                                     

The Roncesvalles Monastery Albergue is ran by volunteers. One of them said to me how pleased they were to see the kids. He said: "Wow, they had a big day and your kids are smiling and skipping through the hallway". This comment made me so happy. Naturally, Parker and I were a little nervous starting this walk. They had never walked anywhere near 500 miles. We knew they could do it, but our first two days was a comforting confirmation that our kids are strong and they that had the right attitude for our journey ahead. 

                                                      

As you walk and see other Pilgrims, you start a casual conversation about nationality, home country, and your final destination. Only some go all the way to Santiago. Many just have a week or two and will walk a 100kms or so and then pick up where they left off the proceeding years. We saw one other family and they were walking for five days. Our kids were the youngest for sure. By the end of the day, Kaia and Cruz were excited to respond to the enquires, "Yes! we are going all the way to Santiago"! Parker and I looked at each other and grinned ear to ear. Yes, we are!