Camino Frances Day 1 Saint Jean Pied De Port to Roncesvalles

Camino Frances - Day 1
Saint Jean Pied De Port to Roncesvalles – 26 km
We were up at 6am and on the road by 6:30am. It was a perfect day for a walk. They predicted rain and thunderstorms but it was a brisk morning and no rain in sight.

All the preparation in the world did not help in what I would describe as an extremely difficult hike over the Pyrenees - 20km up and then a tough 6km down.

Orisson was a welcome sight at 8 km into the walk and apparently the worst of the ascent was behind us. We stopped to take a break and breakfast. This was the start of what would become our breakfast staple for most of the days ahead. Strong black coffee, orange juice, tortilla and bread. A chat with some other pilgrims at Orisson confirmed our thoughts that it was a hard slog so far.

We were graced with sights of eagles in the sky, cows, sheep and horses on the trail and views to die for.

We still had some climbing to do before we got to one of the steepest, rockiest declines I’ve ever come across and was so grateful for the hiking poles for stability. We managed to make it over the Pyrenees before thick mist shrouded the mountains blocking out the magnificent views. I felt for the people behind us still coming up as it would have made the hike so much harder.

After 8 ½ hours of hiking Roncesvalles was a welcome sight.

A second stamp in our Pilgrims passport and we were shown to our bunks for the night. A cubicle containing 2 bunks in a dormitory of approximately 50 bunks in total. I believe Roncesvalles can house up to 183 people. When we checked in we had the cubicle to ourselves but during the night late comers arrived in the cubicle to occupy the other bunk.

We are glad we booked an early dinner. We were ushered to a table with folk that spoke the same language. Our table consisted of us a guy from Canberra, Australia and a Korean lady born and bred in America. This also become a bit of the norm for most nights sharing a meal with fellow pilgrims. “Menu de Pellegrino” as they are known consists of 3 courses. Always 2 or 3 choices for each course normally a soup or pasta or salad, followed by a choice of meat and potato fries and desert always with a bowl of bread and a bottle of wine.

9:30pm and we were full and tired so we ended up tucked up in our bunks, worn out but glad we made it through the day. Roncesvalles beds fills up very quickly and I would recommend booking ahead.

Until tomorrow.

Buen Camino Jim & De

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