A Modern Pilgrim

My husband and I travelled by train and bus to the French town of Aire-sur -l'Adour on the Route de St Jacques, one of many ancient ways through Europe to Santiago de Compostela. Our plan was to walk to Santiago in stages, over a number of years, taking about a week at a time. This was to be our first stage -  about 100 k through Béarn and the foothills of the Pyrenees to St Jean Pied de Port near the Spanish frontier and a popular departure point for many pilgrims on the Camino. 
We got off the bus in Aire sur l'Adour and walked, carrying our rucksacks, to the church of Sainte-Quitterie where we were each given a Crédenciale - a sort of pilgrim's passport to be stamped at various points along the way.  Then we set off for the B&B where we were going to spend the night.  At some point on the short - about 1km - journey - I began coughing. When we arrived at the B&B, the owner took one look at me and advised bed, the French equivalent of Vick to rub on my chest, and hot lemon and honey. I coughed all night.
The following morning, my husband hoisted his rucksack on to his back and set off for our next overnight stop. The owner of the B&B drove me there and told me about a company that transported bags for pilgrims.  Every day, a mini-bus made the long (915 k) journey from Vézelay - where some pilgrims begin their journey - to St Jean Pied de Port . It also carried sick and injured pilgrims for the same fare. (Strictly speaking, it carried injured pilgrims without charge,  but most pilgrims have at least a small rucksack and some of those using the service had suitcases.)
So my 'taxi' was in fact a small mini-bus carrying the bags of pilgrims willing to pay 8 euros to have them transported from one overnight stop to the next - between about 10-15k away. 
For the next week, my husband set off each morning for our next overnight stop. I was collected by the 'taxi' and travelled via hostels,  B&Bs and hotels in villages and towns along the route where the minibus was picking up and delivering bags. 
Despite coughing and wheezing like a donkey, and developing a chest infection (eventually cleared up by an antibiotic - which set in train a series of events which led us to Belfast - but that's another story.....) I enjoyed the journey. I met other pilgrims in the places we stayed along the way. Some of them had made the pilgrimage several times - starting from Sweden, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands. Some had made other pilgrimages - to Trondheim, Jerusalem, Rome. Some walked alone. Some in groups. Some walked for religious reasons, some cited history and culture as their motive, some said they just enjoyed walking.
Hilary McCourt, one of the guests on Sunday Sequence, put her finger on what goes to the heart of the appeal of Pilgrimage in a secular age.  "You never met anyone walking towards you," she said. "We were all walking in the same direction."
A powerful image.