On March 25th my Grand daughter Christy and two of her kids and I along with my well packed Osprey backpack loaded up in her car to finally make my way to the San Francisco International Airport.
I purchased my round trip airline tickets to Paris, Charles DE Gaulle International Airport almost 6 months before my journey. The purchased tickets cemented my commitment to the trek, arrival date March 26th and departure date May 4th. I decided to fly to Paris instead of Spain, because I had been to the Paris airport in the past. I was afraid to arrive in an airport I had never been to.
My excitement heightened as we neared the airport. Everything about what I decided to do stretched my life’s experience boundaries. I was committed to this adventure even though it scared the “shit” out of me. For most of my life, I had planned things. I knew where I was going; where I would be staying and eating. I never traveled by myself. In addition, I enjoyed staying at 4 – 5 star hotels. The hotels with the scented soap, thick towels, big bath tubs, and plush robes. I was not a camper type of person who enjoyed living out in the elements. In fact I was never a “hiker”. I would always make my way around driving a car or taking a taxi.
In this journey, I knew nothing. Up front I decided I would not let fear dominate nor direct my actions. I told myself, don’t anticipate what is going to happen, be open to the moment. Let the events in the moment lead you to your correct path. It was as if my internal being was challenging my external self.
I arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport tired but ready to go. I had purchased my train ticket to Bayonne , France which had one change of train from Bordeaux to Bayonne in advance. I figured I would take the train from Charles De Gaulle to Bayonne, where I had reserved and paid for a hotel. The next day I would take the bus to St Jean Pied de Port where the Camino Frances begins. Sounds simple, no.
It was fairly easy to find the train station connected to the airport with a minimum of direction from the “information Booth”. Before hopping on to the train I purchased a soda and a sandwich. I found my seat on the high speed train and started to relax into the journey. Half way into the trip, my train was delayed at one of the stations.. train engine problem?? It was a very short delay around twenty minutes.
Still enjoying my time on the train I settled into reading a book on my kindle. As the time went on I started checking my watch to see about my train change. There are signs on the train that shows the various stops. I might mention at this point that all the train staff are giving directions in French. My French is weak to say the least, but I can usually get the gist.
I am suppose to make a train change at Bordeaux which was coming up in the next couple of stops. At this point the stop before the Bordeaux stop, the train conductor started to give a long discussion in French about the up coming stop. I am slowly trying to decipher the meaning. My second sense picks up that something is different. I am still trying to understand as the train comes to a stop. Everyone gets off who were sitting in my coach, not a good sign. By the time I figured it out I needed to get off to catch the train to Bayonne. The door had closed and we were high speed training to Bordeaux. “Not to worry,” I thought, there will be another train to Bayonne.
The distance to Bordeaux was further than I expected. By the time the train reached Bordeaux, it was dark and late. I entered the vacant and empty train station.. No more trains to anywhere tonight. I had been “abandoned” in Bordeaux.
