Media (5)
Prologue: leaving before leaving.
June 2 and 3 were the approach days: from Perugia to Bergamo, then an evening flight to Lourdes.
The Camino started before the trail. On June 2 I went from Perugia to Milan with a friend who was heading to Milan that same day; along the way we had picked up other people through BlaBlaCar, and the trip passed quickly through interesting conversations. Then I continued from Milan to Bergamo by train to reach friends who would host me for one night. For the Camino I had considered bringing a tent, but in the hours right before departure, while I was packing my backpack, I realized it would be too bulky and heavy for the backpack balance, so I did not bring it and kept only the sleeping bag in my backpack. On the morning of June 3, in Bergamo, I went for a bike ride: light air, slow pace, and at the end of a path, near a stagnant stretch of the Brembo River, I encountered donkeys. In the evening I took the flight: I landed in Lourdes late and had not organized accommodation. I could not find a place to sleep, and every place I reached was already closed or had no reception. It was objectively worrying because I really had nowhere to stay for the night, but I was not anxious at all: I had the sleeping bag and had no problem sleeping outside, homeless style. From that point on, it was no longer preparation, it was the real start.
The first step of the Camino does not coincide with the first kilometer on foot: it begins in logistical choices, in waiting, and in the way you prepare yourself for the journey.
Transfer Perugia-Milan by BlaBlaCar, Milan-Bergamo by train, night in Bergamo hosted by friends, then evening flight on June 3.
If reading this diary makes you feel the Camino might be calling you, but you still need to clarify a few things, start with the free guide.
Day notes