On April 30 we’ll be flying to Europe — provided Air France and the French transport workers and others cooperate! Our return last summer from the Caminho Portugues from Lisbon to Santiago de Campostela, accompanied by wonderful visits with friends in Vigo and Madrid Spain was followed by a stretch of medical challenges. Great weather and lots of golf and visitors in Florida over the winter was interrupted by ten days of bitter cold in DC and New England.

So now we are about to depart once again and don’t feel as though we’ve had enough time to prepare, emotionally at least.

In consideration of having a limited amount of spring pilgrimage weather before we need to return to the U.S., we have decided to combine a week’s walking from Lourdes, through southern France, to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Then we’ll hop (by transport this time, not by foot) to Irun on the Spain side for two weeks of walking along the Camino del Norte.

The Camino del Norte threads through Basque country along the Bay of Biscay, in view of the Atlantic ocean and is reputed to be the most beautiful of the dozens of camino routes to Santiago de Campostela. It is much less travelled than the “Camino Francese” which was our first path in 2015. The section starting in Lourdes will be the first time we’ve walked in France, and the first time we have used a local travel service to reserve our nightly accomodations and forward our backpacks ahead to the next stop.

We are looking forward to absorbing the quiet spirit of ancient places and to meeting holy people along this way.  And we’ll be carrying thoughts of our family and friends with us to lighten our steps.