A few days later...

The trip up and over the Pyenees on Wednesday was a cold and foggy one - quite the experience of the mountains! We were glad of our jackets and gloves. There was snow in the mountains, and, when we got to Roncesvalles (Roncevaux in the picture) we heard they had had about 6-8 inches of snow the day before and on the weekend they had turned people back because of the bad weather at the top of the mountain.

The refugio in Roncesvalles was another experience. Neither of us have ever slept in a dorm with 110 other people! The snoring did not keep us awake but apparently it did bother some of the others. We woke up to dim lights and lovely music at 6am. The refugio is run by Dutch volunteers; we had some lovely conversations with them and got away by 7:30 am.

On Thursday we walked to Zubiri, 22km. We thought the Pyrenees were tough, but this was also a tough day. The weather was gorgeous - sunny; it became hot as the day went on. There were a lot of steep ups and downs but the scenery was beautiful. Sights and sounds included lots of wildflowers in bloom, birds, more cowbells, the clock tower in Zubiri. We´re grateful for good footwear, including an extra pair to change into and our Tilley sunhats. Alice is really appreciating her walking poles, especially on the ups and downs.

We´ve had some fabulous food. The best was at the albergue in Orisson - cassolet - white beans in a delicious sauce with lamb. Every Peregrino meal starts with home-made soup, usually vegetables in good broth. Local red wine appears with every supper, just like water. It´s delicious! Our coffee breaks happen any time of the day, any time there is good cafe con leche available. Breakfast and lunches are usually baguette with cheese, possibly some meat, some fruit.

On Friday we walked 22 km to Pamplona where we stayed at another albergue, this one run by German volunteers. It was delightful! We poked around Pamplona a little bit. It´s a very lovely city and worth a trip back sometime. Today we got as far as Uterga, a very small town. We´ve covered about 90 km so far. We´re still trying to find just the right combination of time to get up and leave in the morning, walking, breaks and how far to plan for each day - so far the first 5 km are much easier than the last 5 and ups and downs (of which there have been many so far) make a big difference.

Thanks for your comments. We´ve enjoyed reading them.

We're on our way!

We arrived safely in Paris after an uneventful overnight flight - the way we like it - and took the train to Bayonne through the beautiful countryside to the south of France, though the scenery was a bit lost on us as we dozed off and on along the way. Bed at the hotel was very welcome! On Monday we took the bus to St. Jean Pied de Port, where we poked around for the rest of the day. It's a lovely old, little tourist town in the Pyrenees. The market was in full swing - with lots of colourful things to buy, but we held fast to our rule "no souvenirs until Santiago". We checked in at the Pilgrim office and picked up our credencials des peregrinos (passports for pilgrims). And we bought lunch goodies for the trek on Tuesday - some cheese, dry sausage, bread, an apple and chocolate (a staple for hikers).

At the gite we met other hikers, including a group from Ottawa! And on Tuesday morning (today) we started walking!!!! Our first day has been short, though uphill all the way - 8 km to Orisson - picture above; we arrived at 11am, ready for coffee and lunch. We met more hikers, this time including a couple from our neighbourhood in Etobicoke.

The walk this morning was lovely - a very still morning with the early mist still hanging around. We heard lots of birds, cows and cowbells, sheep, roosters and the chatter of fellow peregrinos. The scenery is breathtaking - steep green hillsides, picturesque white plaster farmhouses with red tile roofs and matching shutters, wildflowers blooming along the narrow ashphalt roadsides. All but about 1 km was along the narrow road; we had to step off the road to let cars by. The 1 km was off-road, on a grassy/stoney/wet/muddy track.

So now we've done our chores - showered, did our laundry, made our beds, and updated our blog, fighting all the way with a very different French keyboard!!

Tomorrow we anticipate more good weather and spectacular scenery as we continue to climb up and over the Pyrenees.