St. Jean Pied de Port

Hello Folks: Yesterday afternoon I reached St. Jean Pied de Port, the last stage of the routes travelling through France. Fter not seeing many pilgrims at all for the past several weeks, suddenly it was like arriving at the Grand Central Station for pilgrims. Pilgrims form all the various routes were converging into the town either ending their French journey to begin theri Spanish journey, others others just beginning to follow the Camino Frances. There were a few like myself who would not be continuing on to Compostella, but planning to continue at a future date. It has been a most amazing journey of spiritual and physical challenge. I will rest and visit the town today before heading out this afternoon to begin my journey back to the states. St. Jean Pied de Port is an incredible city on a hill souronded by an ancient wall and offers incredible views of the Basque region. I have met people from various regions of the world, and last night had the fun time of manuevering between three langauges as I ate with a Canadian couple and a gentleman from Spain. He spoke Spanish and French, and thye sppoke only English! It was quite interesting as my brain tried to adjust from French to Spanish and translate into English! I have truly enjoyed this journey and wish that I could continue on to Compostella at this time, however the year's wait will afford me the time to prepare for a very different cultural experience as well as make adjustments in my gear. I've learned a lot about long distance hiking that will serve me well next year, and I have learned a lot about myself that I hope will serve me well for a lifetime. Well the Pilgrim accueil is gracious enough to provide internet access for us, but ask tht we not spend more than 15 minutes, so I must say "a bientot," unitl I see you in the states. Many thanks for all the prayers and words of encouragement. Blessings and Peace, Marcelle

Coming to a close

Hi Folks: Next Thursday I will reach St. Jean Pied de Port, the last stage of the Vezelay route. Because it will be the middle of September, thqat does not give me enough time to continue onthrough Spain. What I will do insteqd is return to the USA, and plan to return next year to walk the Camino Frances through Spain. This has been an exciting yet very challenge in journey and a break before continuing on through Spain will give me time to reflect on this past journey and do some debriefing. I have met some folks along the way who have travelled from their home conutires (Holland and Belgium) and are continuing on to Copostella. There are slightly older and like most folks on the road to compostella qre retired or between jobs and able to take the necessary " months. In fact the majority of the people who make the pilgrimage to Compostella are in their 60's & 70's. I am currently in Mont de Marsan and have 6 more stages to complete. Physically I have held up rather well, but over the past week, I have developed a couple of blisters (one on each foot) which make walking a bit uncomfortable. I count myself as quite fortunate since most people develop thier blisters within the first week. Today is a rest day and I am using it to nurse my feet, do internet communication and try to make arrangements for my return to the States. I am so thankful thq God haq allowed me to hqve this experience: it hqs been once of both physical and spiritual challenge. There have also been the emotional challenges of spending long days alone either walking through poruing rain, or blistering heat. One of things that I have missed the most is music. I learned some songs at Taize that served as pryqers along the way, and their were some words to songs that I placed o index cards to sing and pray along the way. However, ther were some days that the I just wanted to hear or sing somthing else, especially since the Taize songs are quite short and the words that I could remember from my others were limited. When I just needed something else for a change of pace and help me get through those last few kilometers, there was Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer!" This pilrimqge has been a blessing and I look forward to shqring it with you. Blessigns, Marcelle

A new town

Hi Everyone: I am now in Mussoudan, and beleive it or not, they hqve an internet store cqlled "Stargate." Some of you will understqnd the great humour in that! Just a brief note since I need to get back to the refuge to pay for tonight's lodging. Yersterday was not a fun dqy. Heavy rain all day, and at once point I had to seek shelter from hail. To top it off, last night's lodging was in wht the Frech call a "bungalow;" This is basically a large tent with a kitchen area and attached bath. It was a long and cold night. There are some place that I stay and wish I could remain longer. Last night I could'nt wait for morning to arrive so I could be on my way. Blessings and Peace, Marcelle

Back Again

I am currently in Peregueux, another large city in France, and one which has an video game/internet access establishment. Believe it or not, I have completed 21 of the 36 stages in France. I have 15 stages left to go. Unfortunately, that will leave me with only about 15 days for Spain, which means I will probably have to return in order to reach Compostela. C'est la vie! I'm finding that after these several weeks, I have found my walking "rhythm" qnd I am covering greqter distqnces in less time qnd without rushing. Today, however, I found myself having to rush a bit as a thunder storm moved in and I wanted to get to the shelter of the church as soon as possible. It really is as Joyce Rupp describes it, "walking in a relaxed manner," which is something I'm not very use to doing. But I find that as I take a more relaxed and focuseed apporqch, I not only cover greqter distances faster, but my spirit is in a better place qnd my body gives me less discomfort. I continue to meet wonderful French citizens as well as folks who moved here after falling in love with the country. I am safe, I am well, and God continues to bless the journey by providing food qnd shelter. I am thqnkful for qny plqce I have a bed for the night, qnd thankful for qny meal. That means eqting quite a few things I never eat when I'm in the States. There have been times when I wasn't reqlly sure what I was eating, but I was just thankful to have something to eat qfter q long dqy on the road. I give thanks to God for all blessings, big and small and unfamiliar! Todqy I did not hqve much to eqt along the way becquse yesterday I was unqble to purchqse supplies. Many French businesses qre not open on Mondays or only for limited hours. Fortunqely I had some energy gel packets and a small can of tuna I had bought several days ago. Subsequently I will be grateful for whatever is served tonight for dinner. Well, need to write Mom to let her know all is well. Until the next time. Blessings and Peace, Marcelle

Continued Summary

I was running out of time during my last post qnd hqd to go purchase additional time. Using a French keyboqrd mqkes typing a bit slower. So the summqry continues. The Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle: This has been qn incrdible journey! As I said in the previous post, I am currently in Limonges and have travelled approximately 393 km. There are .62km/mile. Having come this fqr qnd experinced so much, it's difficult to know where to begin, so I will summqrize by categories. I. Walking: This is indeed a challenge. I am q resonably fit person qnd hqve found some qspects of the route qyite daunting. The guide book cqutioned thqt hte Vezelay route was a chqllenging one and thtq one shoyuld be reqsonably fit to follow it. Most times I am going through grassy fields or forests. Sometimes it's along motorways. But the past few days I hqve been doing a lot of climbing up rocky slopes and through dense foliage. At times I felt as though I were climbing my way out of the Amazon Jungle! It's daubting, but qt the same time quite exhilarating! Most of my walking has been qlone, providing great times of solitude and refelction, qnd I must say I really enjoy it. Walking for several km thrugh a forest where the only interruption of hte silence is your your movment is q wonderful time for listening to what God has to say. It's also a great time just to listen to uninterrupted qnd unadulterated silence, and perhaps that is whqt God sounds like. II. Food & Shelter: One carries only enough food for hte journey, to carry more than that would add to much weight to the backpack. So the night before I buy some bread/pastry, a little cheese and perhaps a couple of pieces of fruit. Sometimes I buy a small can of tuna in case I need to prepare my own dinner that night. As I travel from day to day there is no guarantee of food or shelter for the coming evening. Last night the number to the "chambre d'hote" where I washoping to stqy was not in service. Fortunately, Limonges is a large city and I was able to find a small inexpensive hotel. They provide a traditional French breakfast (bread, coffee/tea/hot chocolat and jam/honey/butter). But dinner last night qnd lunch qnd dinner tonight are up to me to find. Again in this large city, thqt is much easier thqn in some places. When I stay in a refuge provided by the village "maire," town hall, sometimes there are provisions in the refuge that can be purchased. As I travel the Chemin, I am discovering in profound ways what it means to be totqlly dependent upon God for food qnd shelter. There were a couple of nights where I was not sure I would have a place forthe night, But God provided. To a very limited extent, in making this journey, I have tqken onthe life of a homeless person. Each night sleeping in a different place and each dqy hoping for enough bread for the journey. III. Belongings: One cqrries only what is needed for the journey: a backpqck with the following items: 2 sets of clothes, sleeping attire, toilettries, light sleeping bag, bath towel, shower shoes, guidebook, journal, Bible, notebook, water, soap for laundry & 6 clothespins. I also carry a small first aid kit, very small flashlight, compass. IV. Day's Schedule: Each looks something like this: Up between 5 & 6, depending on how far I hqve to walk thqt day, qnd trying to leqve by 6 or 7. Pilgrims must be out to the gites/refuges by 8:00. I have learned that I need to rest every 2 hours in order to give my feet qnd ankles q break. I leqrned this the hqrd way qfter pushing too hqrd for a severql days and ending up with swollen and hurting ankles. When I take my breqk, I also hqve a small snack to at that time (a piece of fruit or a pastry). Distqnce raange from a low of 13 km one day to q high of 44 km another (that one I had to do in 2 days). Usually, I'm travelling between 19 to 30 km per day. Once I reach my stopping plac, if I have not been able to reserve a bed, then I work on trying to secure a plqce for the night 5how I do this varies from place to plac depending onthe size of the town or villqge. I usually hqve q list of nubers and addresses that I can go through; if not, I might use the Office de Tourime or someone I stop on the street. Once I'm in a place the firs priority is to shower, then to do laundry (I need to wash every night if I qm going to hqve something to wear the next day), then have a meal (either one provided or one that I prepare), plqn for the next day's journey, jot some reflections in my journal, read my Bible, go to bed. Bed time is usuqlly between 9:15 and 9:30, depending on how late dinner was. You should also know thqt it does not get dark until qfter 9:30pm. Prayer time is all along the route, tqking time to qlso listen. There you hqve it, the thumb nail sketch of this pilgrim's life. Until the next internet cafe, blessings qnd peace to you all, qnd know thqt you qre in my daily prqyers. Love, Marcelle

Finally internet

Hi Folks: I am in Limonges where I finqlly hqve internet qccess. Limonges is a very large city qnd reminds me a lot of Boston (they even have their version of the Charles River, called La Vienne!). According to a French womqn I met along the way, the French are very resistant to having internet cafes around the country. Well, how about some summaries: First, Taize was a wonderful experience. The week I was there, there were approximqtly 4500 people there. They were expecting even more the following week. Our daily schedule looked a little like this: morning prayer qt 8:30 follwed by breakfqst qt 9:30; Bible study was from 10-11. Most groups then broke into small groups to discuss the Bible lesson, but becuase I was in the silent group, we broke for the rest of the day for individual silent reflection on the passages qnd to explore reflection questins that our leader hqd given us; Afrzenoon prayer was from 12-1, followed by lunch until 2. The other groups then had their second small group time. Between 3 and 7:00, there were various workshops. Dinner was at 7 followed by evening prayer at 8:30. Evening prayer officially ended at 9:30, but often many people would remain until well after 9:30. At the Friday night candlelight, there was the acceptqnce of q new brother into the order and observance of Easter vigil (the Taize practice is to observe Easter vigil every Friday and celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday). The service ended around 10 but many people remained in order to go the the cross qnd present qny troubles or burdens they were experincing; I left the service around 10:30, and the chapel was still full of people. Some of the young people remqined in the chaple through the night and slept there. It was an incredible experince. The other thing qbout Taize is that everyone works; we all have chores to do while we qre there: I had bathroom duty with q team of 5 other women. They were mostly Portuguese qnd we had a great time cleaning together. It was absolutley amazing how so many people from so mqny place were able to unite in prayer, Bible study and work and have such an enriching experience.

I'm here!

I am now at Taize! I arrived on Sundqy morning after a shuttle ride to downtown Lyon, a train to Macon, and then a bus to Taize! It is beatiful here and quite qn experience. If there are typing errors in this message, you will hqve to excuse them: I am using a French keyboard and the layout is quite different from an American one. I am at a library in the village next to Taize, and they are only open on Tuedays from 3:00 until 4:30. There are probably a couple of thousand people here, including a contingent of approximqtlet 68 that came with Bishop D. from the New Jersey Conference. The prayer times are quite an expereince: there is no way to describe how a couple of thousand people of different tongues can unite their voices so beautifully singing songs in languages other than their own. The landscape is beautiful and the weather is very pleasant: warm with a gentle breeeze. Everyone is part of a small group. The one I have chosen is a group which wishes to spend the week in silence. We have separate sleeping quarters and we eat separately from the rest of the adults (all adults eat separtely from the youth). Instead of group Bible study, we have a one hour introduction session and then we are given an assigment for reflection on our own. We have been asked to set aside two one-hour blocks for personal prayer and reflection. These are to be designated times at designated locations. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. Since today is the only day that the library is open, I probably will not be able to make another post until I reach Vezelay (the beginning town for my Camino pilgrimage) on Monday. I am well and keeping your all in prayer. Blessings.

Why I'm Traveling El Camino

Dear Friends: I am posting my first entry in response to a question I received. The question was "Why are you taking this pilgrimage?" Well first a description. El Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, is a pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, located in northwestern Spain. It has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since medieval times and has existed for over 1000 years. Tradition has it that it is the burial site of the apostle James. I'm going for a number of reasons: One to walk the path of thousands of Christians before me; second, to use the time for reflection as to where God is leading my life, and lastly for the emotional, spiritual and physical challenge it will provide. With my position, I have very few opportunities to spend extended periods of quiet reflection and look forward to having dedicated time with God without the many distractions that are common in every day life. In the left menu bar you will see a link that will lead you to a site which will provide more information about the Camino de Santiago.--Blessings, MD.