Day 42: Reboot

42: An auspicious number:

• Jackie Robinsons number in baseball—retired by all major league teams in recognition of his groundbreaking accomplishments.
• A friend was once asked by a man in his 80s how old he was. He replied, “42.” The man replied, “A great age. You’ve lived only about half your life but made most of your mistakes.” He used 42 as his trail name.
• According to The Hitchhikers’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the number from which the meaning of life, the universe, and everything, could be derived.

Not sure about the last one—but who am I to refute a bestselling author.

Friday we took a train from Deba to Bilbao, the biggest city on our camino—which includes the 500+ miles of the French section. We needed to reboot (or, reshoe) Laurie as her old hiking shoes had lost their water resistance which led to some blisters. After visiting five stores we managed to score a pair which should take her through to Santiago, our destination. And she’s recovering nicely. 

For seven weeks we’ve been eating local French and Spanish food (well, I guess pizza is Italian) but in Bilbao we ran across a Route 66/Texas BBQ themed restaurant. It was too tempting. Stopping at the Starbucks in town was also too tempting—first one we’ve seen since Paris.

Q & A:

From Tom H: “When you meet new people, do you use your John Wayne voice and say, ‘Howdy Pilgrim”?Ummm, no. But you’re welcome to join us and try it. Laurie also thinks that you have too much time on your hands and should bag the retirement gig and go back to work. 

Today we returned to Deba via train to reboot/restart where we left off. A very short day to let Laurie continue to break in her boots and let her feet recover. Tomorrow we head to a very interesting albergue. Really looking forward to it. The one we’re in tonight is also interesting—a converted cow barn.