Wow, I never believed when all this planning and conditioning began that this day would get here so quickly. It’s real close now!!
I have thought and re-thought every aspect of my adventure a hundred times over. Just yesterday, I researched changing my plans for arrival at St. Jean Pied de Port, France. I am booked with a small airline called Ryanair on a flight from Dublin, Ireland to Biarritz, France. I have since found out that Ryanair is earned the reputation of being a rip-off airline because of their many restrictions which if not complied with cost the traveler excessive extra fees.
So I figured I would change my original flight from landing in Dublin to land in Madrid or Barcelona, Spain and make my way to Pamplona, Spain from there. I spent the better part of my Sunday afternoon looking for flights and connections that would get me to Pamplona, where I can meet up with another pilgrim and then proceed to St. Jean on the 4 pm bus with her. All of the time I spent researching revealed that I was unable to make the necessary connections without changing the day of departure and spending a night in Madrid or Barcelona. This added significant cost to my trip because to leave a day earlier at this short notice would be costly as well as the cost of the non-refundable ticket on Ryanair, the cost of the train to Pamplona, the bus to St. Jean and the hotel in Madrid or Barcelona.
After all was said and done, I have decided to remain with my original plans. I land in Dublin at 6:55 am and catch the Ryanair flight at 12:25 pm. I think the 5 hour time span between the two flights will allow me enough time to fully comply with the restrictions of Ryanair as well as time to pass through Customs. I do not need to make the arriving part of my trip a scene from the TV show “The Amazing Race”!
I still have a few last-minute things to pick up before my departure like vitamins, waterproofing for my shoes and a luggage tag for the duffel bag, but all in all I think I am ready. The Camino is awaiting my arrival and it is calling me!
I will try to keep this blog updated along the way but can’t make any promises; we will just have to wait and see. I do, however, plan to send out update emails of my progress along the Camino. If any of my readers would like to be included in the distribution list, please let me know.
Thoughts and Adventures 