Wednesday 4th June 2014....Camino day 1!!!!

Before i tell you about my day I want to just inform you that for the Camino I shall be referring to my walks in km and you will have to work it out for yourself in miles but one km is about.6 of a mile. The same goes for costs i will be telling what things cost in Euros and here is the break down for that.. 1 Euro = 17 pesos 1 Euro = 1.48 Canadian dollar 1 Euro = .8 pound Had a great sleep and my small down travel pillow is very comfy I woke up around 7am to rain...something about the rain in Spain comes to mind!!!!! Estitxu showed me where things were in the kitchen and i fixed myself breakfast and left around 9m for the tram station.....Estitxu who teaches Portuguese was still sleeping so I left her a kind note thanking her and looking forward to being back here in a few days the Camino trail goes almost by her apartment. The tram station was maybe a 4 minute walk and a 5 minute wait and it cost me 1.5 Euro About 10 minutes on the tram and it dropped me off right outside the bus station and I got in line and paid for a ticket 8 Euros and had to wait about 40 minutes before we boarded and a pleasant and uneventful journey to Irun. 5minute walk from the bus station to the hostel and I got there around 1.30pm my travel book told me that it did not open till 4pm and that was correct so I went walking and found the bridge on the border of Spain and France where my Camino began so this is the first step of thousands to come!!!!! A couple of shots of the town did not do too much exploring but found a nice bakery cafe and had a bite to eat and relaxed before I went back to the hostel at 3.45pm. My book tells me it is best to arrive early as sometimes the beds can be taken quickly and I was fourth in line and I signed in and received my Camino Passport this gets stamped at every stop and is needed to be shown finally in Santiago....the cost of the hostel is by donation so i put in the can 5 Euros...the place is clean but busy about 7 rooms with six beds in each room bunk style and I did manage to find a room with just two beds and as I was there second I have the top bunk the guy down below is what I would kindly call very unfriendly and I was surprised!!!! The first thing on my agenda was a cup of tea then i also learned really quickly that you take the shower room when you can so i had a great long hot shower and then went out for a walk to find Internet and I am in a Tapas bar, not eating Tapas, writing this blog. So I have walked my first 5 km of the Camino and what I know so far.......not sure if I will adapt to hostel life will see this is the start and it is very busy and again a surprise mainly men. Many Spanish women are stunningly beautiful but they love to smoke!!!!!!! My pack is full and I have re sorted yet again but even though it weighs about 18 pounds my pack feels great. I feel relaxed and am not stressed about the route or finding it or where it may lead.... I need to eat and drink lots and regularly..... I am blessed.... There is a small supermarket across the street from the hostel so I am going to buy something easy to cook and then the lights have to be off by 10pm. Did you enjoy the first day??? Yashi Kochi!!!!