Behind the Albergue Door: Inspiration Agony Adventure on the Camino de Santiago Read Free

Mainly because we didn’t have a lot of luck with breakfast on the Camino, and that would have kind of killed two birds with one stone.



Unverified Historical Aside
    The scallop shell has been an iconic symbol of the Camino de Santiago for nearly as long as the pilgrimage has been in existence. As you probably know, when the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage first began, all of Spain was still at the bottom of the ocean. And trekking 800 kilometres underwater was difficult enough already without drowning to death as well. So innovative pilgrims learned to strap the shells over their mouth and nose to allow them to survive underwater. Later, when all the water was removed to fill backyard pools in California, people were at a loss for what to do with the shells that had become such an important part of the Camino experience. Some chose to wear them on top of their head like trendy new yarmulkes, others stuffed them down their pants to use as a protective cup, but most found other, more functional purposes, such as a wine cup, a rice measure or an impromptu chamber pot. Which is why when you see shells hanging on the outside of backpacks today it is usually because they need to air out after a chaotic night of chamber potting.
    It wasn’t long after these developments that pilgrims overwhelmed by all their unstructured time to think on the Camino invented the game of Clam Licker. Despite the factually inaccurate name, it really is jolly good fun. The way it works is that pilgrims watch for backpacks with shells hanging on the outside. Once spotted, their goal is to sneak up on the unsuspecting pilgrim and lick their shell. If they are able to achieve ten continuous seconds of licking, Camino Law dictates that the victim is to empty and clean the victor’s shell each morning, refer to the victor as Master Clam Licker and pre-chew all his or her bocadillos until they have reached a pleasing level of moistness. All three requirements last for a period of one week, or until the victor is caught urinating in the communal shower, whichever comes first.





Trail Overview
    One of the most intriguing things about the Camino Frances is the impressive variety of terrain and scenery hardy pilgrims will encounter along the way. Of course, a certain amount of diversity is to be expected on a trail that starts in one country, ends in another, crosses two mountain ranges and one of the most famously harsh stretches of dry prairie in all of Europe, but the constant shifting from forest path to medieval village to rocky hillside is fascinating, not to mention very helpful in staving off the suffocating boredom for at least an hour or two each day.
    We hiked the most common, but by no means only, route starting in St. Jean Pied de Port just over the border in Southern France. Other more daring, or foolish, pilgrims started at a variety of locations in France, a few of them even coming from as far as Paris. Others we met started all the way back in Switzerland in early summer. Obviously, those people were wrong to do so, and really had no right to make the rest of us look bad like that. And even though we are only qualified to describe a mere 800 kilometres we still feel that our hike was pretty cool and I still fully intend to use it to abruptly change topics whenever someone gets a little too interested in my spotty employment history.
    So, as I have now made abundantly clear, we started out in St. Jean Pied de Port. And, as I will no doubt allude to numerous times throughout the remainder of this book, our first day tackling 1,200 metres of elevation gain up and over the Pyrenees before descending steeply into the tiny hamlet of Roncesvalles was probably the single most difficult leg of the entire hike. All the lush green farms dotting the rolling hills was like something off the box of a Fisher Price farm set, ages six to ten. The gloomy fog that rolled in at the top created a haunting atmosphere and bonds of uneasiness among exhausted and