It is not down in any map; true places never are. ~Herman Melville
In the
morning I quickly put together my stuff and rushed away already at 7 am. After
an hour I indulged myself with milk and coffee as a proto-breakfast that was
supposed to be a reward for a crazy uphill ride. Later I found a bigger city
where I had the real breakfast in the park. I became lost in reverie with my
loved pain chocolat after another hour full of intense biking in the mist
through various hills. Having eaten my breakfast, I was pondering that if I had
taken the breakfast in the morning right away, I would not have enjoyed it so
much. Clearly, there is no true joy without some degree of self-abandonment. Therefore,
I am just wondering that if people enjoying pushing themselves to the limits
are not some kind of masochists who later enjoy the reward after their
self-torture, just like in things so mundane as simple breakfast.
Having
realized that these 50 kilometers would be no kid stuff as I had originally
thought, I planned a detour through main roads. There was a lot of heavy
traffic, but it is difficult to say what was more dangerous for me – speeding
cars, or the peril of complications with my hernia. I must admit that I was
scared by speeding traffic. I had no idea back then that this would be my daily
bread later on Camino Francais.
Last 15 km
from Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port, I wanted to enjoy few more moments of tranquility
and solitude. For this reason I took a break for lunch in a small mountain
village. Firstly, I was looking for some electricity, but could not find any
and decided to have a picnic on a hill with a nice view over the village. I
wanted to enjoy the last French food and mixed once again my favorite fromage
blanc with chocolate spread. Later I read my Kindle and had a small nap. I was
only shocked that my back-up netbook battery unexpectedly broke down. The
yesterday rain might have leaked into my luggage and wreak havoc with electric
contacts. Damn, such a stupid mistake, I should have kept it air-tight in a
special case to prevent corrosion.
Right after
arriving in Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port I went to a Lidl shop that I spotted on the
way. Had I known that I can find Lidl at my starting point, I needn't have rushed
to buy food in the city yesterday. After the shopping I registered at the
pilgrim's office and got a pilgrim passport. The guy at the office who took
care of me was incredibly nice and we talked for a while in German about my
plans. The most important information he wanted to tell me was the route
option. There are basically two possible routes from Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port
through the mountains. One is the easier one and is advisable for bikers, the
other one goes straight through the mountains, is very steep, and should not be
used in bad weather at all. The first one would be the right choice, but I
simply could not pass such an adventure as riding my road bike through the
harder route even on the assumption that I would have to push it all the way. I
still had some days as a back-up and I could use it exactly for this purpose. I
kindly asked the volunteers there if I could leave my batteries there to charge
and strode into the town to do some sights. I had a great dinner – a baguette
with camembert and beer. Still, walking outside in the rain and observing the
pilgrims having their dinner in restaurants left me with a strange feeling. It
was not envy, but some kind of pride that I practice self-denial and this
austere way of life. One day I will enjoy having meals in restaurants, but to
fully appreciate it, one must have memories of times in which he could not
enjoy this kind of comfort in order to appreciate the higher standard later.
These memories I am collecting right now and I am glad for that! Of course, if
I really wanted, I could afford buying some food, but I plan to do it very
sporadically. It is like training your will and tenacity – it might be handy
one day.
That
evening I was quite tired because I woke up very early the days before. Still,
I could not build my tent until the city life eases off a little. I went to
sleep after 11 pm, having stashed my tent behind a tree in the citadel and
around 2 am was woken by noise of drunken tourists. Luckily they did not spot
my tent and this night was also quite peaceful.
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