The journey begins

 

The beginning of the journey…in Esther’s words.

June 10 2023

Yesterday my family set off on a trip to Santiago de Compostela, a pilgrimage called the Camino de Santiago. We will walk 500 miles to reach our destination: Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James are buried.

One day, my father came home from a long day of work at our parish school. As we sat down to eat dinner he told us about a pilgrimage called the Camino that his students were learning about. "I wonder if people still do the Camino?" he asked.

Yes. They sure do. Only over a thousand people do each year. So, here we are.

Yesterday morning was very long. But finally it was 2 o'clock p.m. and time to leave for the DFW International airport. There we would fly to Paris, France, and take a train to Bayonne, France. We will spend a night in Bayonne, take a train to St. Jean Pied-de-Port from which we will start our journey!

When we arrived at the airport we walked to security after checking my parents' packs. The security line ran all down the airport hallway, curved at the end, and they had to make two lines for security! It took a long time.

Finally, after that was over, we

proceeded to our gate. Our plane was supposed

to fly at 5:30 p.m. but was delayed until 9:30!

On that plane ride we all slept (cat napped.) We landed in Paris at 11:10 (their time.)

We hopped on a train from the airport, connected

to another, and arrived in Montparnasse

(Mont-par-na) Paris. There we went to eat at a

delicious restaurant and had crepes. Yum.

Then it was time to get on the

train trip. We were in the first car, but

the map showed us the last car as the

first, so we got on. Then we noticed we

had 2 minutes to run to the other side

of the 18 car train before it left. We

made it through with a mad scramble.

Now I am on the train enjoying

the ride. I'll tell you more tomorrow!

Au revoir! (For now.)