Day 1 - St Jean de Port to Roncesvalles

The day began rather too early, at 4:30, the iPod thinking it was still on Tel Aviv time from our trip in 2012.  An hour later we were up, packed, and off for breakfast.  With our typical breakfast done; bread, coffee, croissants, we were on the way at 6:20.  It was a cool, 18 C, foggy, dark start to the day.  We had had a look at the portion to Orisson the previous day as we had meet some folks from Atlanta who had a car.  We estimated the walk would take 10 to 12 hours and involve climbing what looked about 5,000 metres along a paved goat track.

Off we headed.  It was a lovely start, dark and cool.  As we walked, we met up with other pilgrims, singley or in groups.  We would tend to slow down and walk along for one, or several minutes, exchanging conversation before either you or them would move ahead.  Today we met people from Hawaii, Italy and Germany.

Before we knew it, we had passed through Huntto and reached Orisson.  This was something we had expected to take 3 or 4 hours, but took under 2.  This proved to be the hardest part of the walk.  The fog made the landscape very strange.  You could well imagine Watson telling Holmes about the strange sounds on the moor, as out of the gloom would emerge a flock of white sheep or cows.  Later on we passed through a herd of horses that seemed nonplussed by our presence.

The portion from Huntto to Orisson proved the steepest, with the rate of rise then dropping off until we reached the summit.  We had climbed 1,230 metres in 18.5 km!

From there it was literally all down hill, 580 metres in fact.  And we went down a lot faster than we had ascended.  This was hard on the knees, and with the fog and light drizzle, the going was interesting.

The way down passed through some beautiful wooded areas, very green and lush.  I should say that the slugs in this area would eat the slugs we have in Ottawa, being almost 4 inches long and the thickness of your finger.

We arrived at Roncesvalles in a little under six hours, a far cry from what we expected.

We checked into our lodgings and ate our previously purchased sandwich with local wine.  That made the day much better.

The afternoon was occupied with washing clothes, making ourselves human again,  getting a tour of the local museum and church of St. James, enjoying the peregrino special for supper, and going to the pilgrim mass at the church of St. Mary.

Summary - the day was foggy and drizzly so the scenery viewing was limited, improving near the end.  The trail is very well marked and you would really have to go out of your way to get lost.  The day was a careful and difficult slog, leaving no time to think on the purpose of your journey or other spiritual matters, the next days should be physically easier and allow time to reflect on the deeper purpose of the journey. Once again we have a lovely room with a view of the camino.