ADHD and PTSD are like waves. Sinusoidal waves to be specific. Think back to high school (I know I’m asking a lot of some people) physics, you learn that sometimes colliding waves can result in either constructive or destructive interference. The resulting wave can either be amplified or lower in intensity, depending on the interaction. Sometimes my anxiety helps counteract the “distracted” or “forgetful” side of ADHD and sometimes they join forces to make me feel like a hot pile of garbage. Add on fatigue and burnout and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not in the best of shape right now.
Having dealt with both for many years, I’ve learned many coping mechanisms, when to rest and recover, and I would like to think I have developed a pretty good attitude about life. Thus when I had to stay in Montreal an extra night due circumstances of my own indiscretion, I’m down to roll with the punches. The flight Edmonton to Montreal was pretty unremarkable, I ended up sitting next to a lady who’s doing the Camino next year with her daughter so we compared plans and stories throughout the flight. Upon arrival in Montreal my gate was full and I was in need of a charger, so I moved two gates over to make sure my phone didn’t die.
I was tapping away at gate 53, booking hotels, trains, writing a blog post, and it was difficult to hear the announcements as it seemed every time there was an overall announcement, the was a gate-specific announcement that overrode it. I tried to book my train ticket from Paris to Biarritz, but my bank made me send a confirmation code to ensure someone else wasn’t going on a Euro vacation on my dime. I re-sent the code four times before I discovered that my phone was still on air plane mode from my Edmonton flight! I got a million notifications, realised it was 9:50 and my flight had left at 9:45.
The VERY kind service counter agent took my passport to book me on a similar flight the next next (874 as opposed to 870, the new flight was slightly earlier) and escorted me through the locked arrivals door (since it’s the international area) so I could get some sleep. Unfortunately a mere 30 meters on the wrong side of a locked door, I realised that I forgot to grab my passport back from her! The security guard I encountered wasn’t able to help me, or call anyone else to help me, so I had to go through border control (surprisingly easy once I explained that I hadn’t actually left the country and that I had my driver’s license), figure out where my luggage was and then find the airline counter to see if they could reunite me with my passport.
The first desk person I encountered had an attitude similar to that of Miss Truchbull (Matilda). I can’t say I blame her overly much, having watched several people before me get upset with her over things out of her control. I was however, very unprepared to deal with the full force of her animosity at 11:00 pm after very little sleep and simply trying to locate my passport. After waiting around an hour I was finally transported to the security section by the second desk agent who was much friendlier. He offered me a hotel for the night and some meal vouchers (which I’m pretty sure his supervisor gave him shit for) and I gave him a painting of a harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) in gratitude.
Whilst waiting for news of my passport I met another stranded passenger Pete, who was attempting to get to Prague via Amsterdam or Frankfurt and we agreed to share a taxi to whatever hotel we could locate at that time of night. Pete was outside for a smoke when I had to hustle to go pick up my passport and I felt guilty for not being able to follow through. Luckily as I rolled up to my hotel around 12:30, Pete was checking in! He had met up with another passenger Kayla, who was on the same delayed flight as him from Toronto and was departing the next day on the same flight as me to Paris. We all agreed to share a taxi to the airport the next day.
As much as I wished to use the opportunity to see Montreal, I knew I needed to catch up on some sleep, lest I get sick just before the Camino. Pete, Kayla, and I met up around noon, went to a shopping mall for a few hours, explored the neighbourhood (we saw a cute little church which was a nice warm-up for all the architecture I was excited to see in Europe), before heading back to the airport. My last meal in Canada ended up being a subway sandwich and some macaroons, which then also became my first meal in France. I didn’t sleep at all on the six hour flight as I had the aisle seat and the person next to me required many a bathroom break. I specifically packed all my Camino luggage in my carry-on just in case my luggage was lost I wouldn’t have to wait around until it was found, and I was grateful for the decision when my bags didn’t turn up on the carousel. On a hunch though, I waited a few extra minutes until the 870 flight showed up and luckily my suitcase had been sent on my original flight.
Since Paris is currently being ravaged by bed bugs I was checking each surface before I sat down. Hung out at the airport until I could check in at my hotel and then marvelled at the ease at which I was able to navigate to my hotel on public transportation (except for the bits where I had to haul my 40 pound suitcase up and down a few metro stairs). I accidentally booked my hotel for the wrong day, but at that point I hadn’t slept in 26 hours and I was more than willing to pay an extra 30 Euros to get a bed tout suite! I had aspirations of going for a walk around Paris but the best I managed was a little walk to the ATM and grocery store for dinner before going to bed.
The next day I took the train from Paris to Biarritz. I splurged on a first class ticket from Paris to Bordeaux, which was well worth the extra leg room and the solo window seat. My ticket from Bordeaux to Biarritz didn’t have a seat number, so I assumed you could just sit wherever. Not only is it sit where you like, the regional TER line is also stand where you like/can! I had 16 minutes to make the transfer so I was with the last people getting on the train. I wasn’t quite expecting my two hour train ride to be standing room only, but luckily I only had to ride for 15 minutes standing in the bathroom and I was able to get a seat after 30 minutes. I had a lovely conversation with a few of my fellow passengers about the fact that there was already snow at home and about our delay in Dax (there was a fight and police were called).
Immediately upon exiting the train stations in Biarritz I ran into Hannah with a scallop shell (a symbol of a Camino Pilgrim) on her backpack! She had just completed her Camino and we chatted for a bit before going our separate ways. Biarritz was boring by blog standards, I pretty much caught up on sleep (as much as is possible in a 15 person dorm), finalised Camino plans, and took long walks on the beach. My highlights were meeting Fabrizio, a pole dancing coach who has aspirations of moving to Canada to work for Cirque de Soliel (I’m gonna visit him in Madrid and get some lessons!) and meeting Isabel from Montreal, with whom I shared my best dinner in Biarritz, some tacos to go on the beach.
I’m now on the 6:00am train to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, where I’m going to spend the day at the market, wander around painting cool architecture, visit the pilgrim’s office for my passport, until I can check into my hotel at 3:30. I booked a hotel tonight to ensure a solid sleep before my first night on the Camino and because I deserve it after listening to the sounds of snoring in harmony the last three nights! There are several baggage services available for the Camino, some people have bags transported for them each day, some reunite at major stops, I’ll be forwarding my suitcase to Santiago di Compostela and picking it up at the end of my journey!
Buen Camino!
(Ace Up My Sleeve by Lord Huron)