Every story has a beginning. Endings are optional, or may at least, be beyond our sight or beyond our grasp. But a beginning, there must be. The story of my Camino begins with Ryanair. Well to be fair, a combination of Ryanair and the French Air Traffic Controllers.

My plan, our plan, Vicki and I, as we prepared our souls, oiled our feet and packed, unpacked and re packed our rucksacks, was to fly to Biarritz and make our way to St Jean Pied de Port, to start our 790km walk.  Price of flight to Biarritz ……. €720. I kid you not.  €720!  Change of plan. New plan, fly to Santander and get to Pamplona to start. Good plan!  Flights booked, souls prepared, feet oiled, etc., etc.

On the day before departure, at 5pm, I received a text message from the good people at Ryanair with their apologies.  The flight was cancelled. I could have my money back or rebook at no extra cost. Good of them, I hear you say. Could I rebook to Biarritz at no extra cost?  Yes!  Yes, booked to Biarritz for the same price and only one day lost.  Excellent!

Next day I received a text from those same good people at Ryanair with their apologies. The flight to Biarritz was cancelled. I could rebook, at no extra cost. They didn’t say, but I’m pretty sure that the not-so-good, (in my current opinion), people of the French Air Traffic Control, had an active part in this little affair. I’m all for the rights of the working man, (and woman by the way), but I do wonder how many of the Air Traffic Control brigade will be standing on the barricades in Paris, for the next revolution.

Never mind, we are re-rebooked, with the promise that we will be delivered to Biarritz next Saturday morning. That will be the beginning. The beginning of our pilgrimage.  The beginning of our adventure. What and where the end will be?  Well, it wouldn’t be an adventure, if we knew that.