I am One Year Older and Quite Happy in France
It's the end of my third full day at the pilgrim's office in Saint Jean Pied de Port, and the end of my 44th birthday. I am the happiest person around.
A few months ago I was thinking of what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday this year. I knew I wanted it to involve Europe and the Camino, but I couldn't picture myself wandering around Spain or some European city alone for that day. Then I remembered the offer I received in April 2007 to come back to France to volunteer at the pilgrim's office.
So here I am. The pilgrim's office provides credentials and stamps for people who are on or beginning their pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, 800 kms away. My job is to issue credentials, stamp them, collect euros, sell beds in the pilgrim's hostel, and dispense information about the town and the hike over the hill into Spain. I am one of five people volunteering here this week. Three of us speak English, four speak French, one speaks Spanish (me!!!), and one speaks both German and Dutch.
The train arrives four times a day and each time it is madness. Twenty to 40 people arrive to become pilgrims and the queue stretches down the street. Usually the five of us are serving 2 - 3 people at a time and speaking four different languages as we do. The craziest time is when the 7:35p train arrives - the last one of the day and when there are very few beds left in the town. Most people have not reserved ahead - because they can't. At 9:30p we are still finding beds for the last few people. Correction: the French speakers are still finding beds...I am translating the updates into English and Spanish as needed. On Friday and Sunday there will be one additional train that arrives after 10pm. Can't wait to see what that will bring!
On Monday when I arrived (with a trainload of 30+ people), neither I nor the train were expected. I immediately plopped down next to Chantelle from Quebec, went through the see-it-two-times-and-then-do-it training, and voila!, I was turning people into pilgrims.
We have welcomed more than 200 people each day since I arrived - 256 today, our biggest day yet. That means the towns along the Camino will be bursting at the seams with pilgrims. This far exceeds that capacity of the accommodations I know about. I plan to start walking into Spain in just over a week...I hope things slow down a bit by then.
I am having a blast. Every time I point to the spot on the credential where the stamp in Santiago goes, and I tell the person in front of me to expect it, I almost start crying. Just to think about what is to come for these people, I am so happy. They are about to start the most amazing journey of their lives, and anything can happen from here.
Have your best day possible today.
A few months ago I was thinking of what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday this year. I knew I wanted it to involve Europe and the Camino, but I couldn't picture myself wandering around Spain or some European city alone for that day. Then I remembered the offer I received in April 2007 to come back to France to volunteer at the pilgrim's office.
So here I am. The pilgrim's office provides credentials and stamps for people who are on or beginning their pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, 800 kms away. My job is to issue credentials, stamp them, collect euros, sell beds in the pilgrim's hostel, and dispense information about the town and the hike over the hill into Spain. I am one of five people volunteering here this week. Three of us speak English, four speak French, one speaks Spanish (me!!!), and one speaks both German and Dutch.
The train arrives four times a day and each time it is madness. Twenty to 40 people arrive to become pilgrims and the queue stretches down the street. Usually the five of us are serving 2 - 3 people at a time and speaking four different languages as we do. The craziest time is when the 7:35p train arrives - the last one of the day and when there are very few beds left in the town. Most people have not reserved ahead - because they can't. At 9:30p we are still finding beds for the last few people. Correction: the French speakers are still finding beds...I am translating the updates into English and Spanish as needed. On Friday and Sunday there will be one additional train that arrives after 10pm. Can't wait to see what that will bring!
On Monday when I arrived (with a trainload of 30+ people), neither I nor the train were expected. I immediately plopped down next to Chantelle from Quebec, went through the see-it-two-times-and-then-do-it training, and voila!, I was turning people into pilgrims.
We have welcomed more than 200 people each day since I arrived - 256 today, our biggest day yet. That means the towns along the Camino will be bursting at the seams with pilgrims. This far exceeds that capacity of the accommodations I know about. I plan to start walking into Spain in just over a week...I hope things slow down a bit by then.
I am having a blast. Every time I point to the spot on the credential where the stamp in Santiago goes, and I tell the person in front of me to expect it, I almost start crying. Just to think about what is to come for these people, I am so happy. They are about to start the most amazing journey of their lives, and anything can happen from here.
Have your best day possible today.
posted by No Day But Today | 9:38 AM
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