The Way from Zubiri started next to an industrial park, a sickly plume of noxious yellow vapor wafting from a tall smokestack rising above the tree line. Heavy machinery and strip mines accompanied the first stage of our walk, a sad contrast to the natural, unblemished beauty of the mountains we’d left behind. The Rio Arga gurgled just below the plant. A lone fly fisher tossed his neon line into the murky water and I shuttered to think what he…
Thank god for food trucks. The oasis of bocadillos and fresh orange juice arose like a mirage after the first 10 miles to Zubiri, the mustachioed middle-aged proprietor blasting Hank Williams as he slung sandwiches and bebidas to hungry pilgrims. His truck was adorned with regalia that wouldn’t be out of place at a Midwest diner, with mid-century Coca-Cola signs and classic pinups on the wall behind him. I went all in and ordered two sandwiches (solo queso for my…
“I come bearing my mother’s ashes to the end of the world.” My breath caught, and the tears started instantly. I hurriedly wiped them away, but couldn’t take my eyes off the woman’s small black locket. I was humbled by the power and emotion of her words. I thought of my uncle, my godfather, I lost to cancer last year, and the tears ran unabated, my fingers unable to hide them faster than they appeared. I will never forget that…
“I’m so sick of climbing!” The pilgrim ahead of us leaned over his trekking poles, his frustration and exhaustion on full display. When he told us he was headed to Roncessvalles, a full 10 miles past our intended evening stop in Orisson, I couldn’t blame him. The trek through the Pyrenees is challenging. The climb starts as soon as you leave SJPP, but is deceptively easy until about halfway through the route to Orisson, when the switchbacks begin. If you’re…
I don’t consider myself a particularly graceful person. Do I have grace? I try. Am I graceful? Absolutely not. If you attend Catholic school, particularly a Jesuit Catholic school, you’ll hear a lot about ‘God’s Grace,’ which sounds like a good indica strain or a particularly heady IPA (note to future self). It’s one of those Catholic phrases where definition changes with context. It might mean the opportunity for forgiveness, an answered prayer, resilience, or a divine spirit. My preferred…
“We’re going to REI.” My fiancée looked at me with a mixture of incredulity and resignation. “It’s your call. But your mom will never forgive you if you miss this flight.” She wasn’t wrong. At 1:35pm, a British Airways jet was planning to shuttle my mom and me from Seattle to Paris to begin our 40-day, 500 mile adventure. At 1:36pm, I had two possible futures: I’d either be on that flight, or excommunicated from my own family by an…