We spent Friday morning packing our bags for our long trek on the Camino. We each are allowed a 50 pound check in bag for the Airline and 1 carry one bag that weighs no more than 10 Kilograms (22 lbs). So the 5 of us had 5 big bags ranging from 43-48 lbs and 5 back packs with added stuff for our journey. Why so much stuff? Think about it. We had to pack for 19 days, 15 days of hiking on the Camino with limited washing and dryinf facilities. This include clothes for warm weather, cold weather, rainy weather, galoshes, hiking poles, water bottles, energy bars, sunscreen, blister cream, energy bars, vitamins, and evening clothes for the tapa bars, hair dryers, cell phones, kindle readers, other comforts of home.
Did we overpack? Oh yeah. Serious pilgrims take two hiking outfits, one to walk/sleep in, one to wash. But we made it.
So we met at Dulles airport at 3 pm to catch our 5:20 pm flight on Aer Lingus. So we began taking pictures shortly after our arrival at the airport. Here are some of the highlights of our travel day.
We meet at Dulles Airport at 3 pm. We checked in without a hitch. Bags all passed the weight test. Everyone in a good mood, even the TSA folks.
Our AerLingus Boeing 787 at the gate. Just love that Shamrock on the tail. I always thought it was a 4 leaf clover. It's actually 3 hearts connected by a common stem.
We stop at a the Dulles wine bar for a bon voyage toast. The Rose' flight was exceptional.
At 5:20 pm, boarding is complete and we are ready for take-off. Do we look a little giddy?
Stayed a little too long at the wine bar??
Here we are rolling past the Dulles Control tower on take-off. It's about 5:35 pm. The flight was very smooth. Dinner was modest (pasta or chicken) and the movie selection was good.
At 5:00 am, we approach Dublin airport. What a beautiful site in the early morn. The crew wakes us up with continental breakfast and instructions to clean the airplane for landing in Dublin. There is a 5 hour time difference, so 5 am in Dublin is actually midnight for East Coast time. So we are all wondering why we are hungry. It's only midnight and we've eaten twice on AerLingus. Oh well....
After a long night of travel, we stop for coffee and a little more breakfast at the Dublin Airport. We have a long 7 hour layover so we have some time to kill.
Dublin airport is very green. The AerLingus planes and the surrounding countryside are green. Also very cold (48 degrees) this morning.
We arrive at the Bilboa airport at 4:15 pm. Like all of us, Judi was so tired she slept thru takeoff from Dublin at 1:00 pm. So she and Chris are excited to finally arrive in Bilbao.
After a 10 minute cab ride from the Bilboa airport to the city center, we check in to our 4-star Hotel Abando, very nice hotel in the heart of the city.
Here's to a successful first day! Our bags made it to Bilbao without a hitch. So we celebrate at the local Tapas bar. We are pretty thirsty and are toasting with nearly empty glasses.
In Spain, restaurants open for dinner at 9 pm. We couldn't wait so we settled for Tapas at 7 pm. Nothing like a little food and wine to bring out the best in us.
It's 8:30 pm and the streets are full of revelers enjoying life at the end of a workday.
In Spain, the toilete is called a banyo. So what is Komunak? Must be a basque word.
So we stop for Gelato on the way home and pass a beautiful park near our hotel.
We arrive at our hotel at 9 pm, just when most Spaniards are ready for dinner.
Tomorrow (Sunday morning), we will drive from Bilboa to St Jean Pied de Port, about two hours. St Jean Pied is an ancient town on the French side of the border between France and Spain. It is a frequent starting for many pilgrims. From St Jean we will cross the Pyrenees into France. There are two routes over the Pyrenees. One is the high road, called the Napoleon Route, the other is the low road, the Charlemagne route. Our plan is the less travelled and also the low road.
So in closing, here is one of the 10 Beattitudes of the Pilgrim appropriate for today. "Blessed are you pilgrim, if what concerns you most is not to arrive but to arrive with others"
More tomorrow. For now, Buen Camino!
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