 | Two days out and I've had an epiphany. It's this: I don't have to climb the mountain! |
The 4,757 foot -high mountain over which the Camino climbs on the first day has always been my biggest Frankenstein monster nightmare : Because this mountain happens on the first day, before I'll be all toughened up and strong; because it's the only day on the Camino when we'll be required to carry all our food and water for the 9 or 10 hours it takes to get from our starting point in St. Jean Pied -De-Port to the next nearest town of Roncesvalles; because 9 or 10 hours is a long time to be hauling the recommended 3 liters per person of water (which has got be even worse than carrying two extra pairs of undies); and because 4,757 feet is dang steep. All the other days (except for one other day, one of the last days, by which time we'll have arms & legs & backs like Arnold Schwartznegger) the elevations will be kinder and there will be plenty of water stops and rest stops and cafes and albergues along the way. Except on this first day. Or so I thought. And yet I always vaguely knew there was another route, a "low road" that runs parallel to high road, it just never was on my radar. Until today, when the thought suddenly popped up in my brain: we could take the low road! I found some information on the low road and learned that it passes through villages, over rolling hills and through lush forests and that few pilgrims take it. Maybe few take it because, like me, they just don't think about it, or maybe because the breathtaking panoramic views from the mountain trail are supposed to be among the most beautiful sights on the camino or anywhere. So can I stand to go through life knowing I'll have passed up one of the most spiritually enlightening vistas on the planet? Eh, well, you know what they say: "Before enlightement: chop wood, carry water, clean floor. After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water, clean floor." I guess I can.
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