Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Days 1 thru 3 SJPP to Roncevalles to Zubiri (March 19 - 20)

We left for SJPP on train from Bordeaux at 0727, I forgot to validate the ticket and got a lecture from the conductor.  We arrived in Bayonne at 0930 and we had a couple hours to kill so we walked around a bit.  It would have been nice if I had made time for us to visit Biaritz and see if I remembered anything from when my parents used to take me as a child.  As the time approached to catch the bus there were two other pelegrinos waiting, a Korean (I think) and an Italian, Mateo. We had a bit of guessing which bus would be taking us as none were marked.  But finally we noticed a small sign on a little bus that it was going to SJPP.  Apparently, the Korean pilgrim had a different ticket so he had to wait for another bus.

When we got to SJPP we walked up a big hill from the train station to the pilgrim office and checked in.  We were advised the Napoleon route was too dangerous and we should go the Valcarlos route.  We also received scallop shells for our packs. Check in at Le Chamin de E'toile was 4 pm so we sought a place to purchase our pilgrim staffs and a restaurant for lunch.  We found one with a nice outdoor patio and had a nice Basque lunch of sausage, pepper stew and French fries with a jug of wine.  When it was time to check in we walked to the albergue.  It was in a very old building that could handle 14 pilgrims. Apparently it had recently changed ownership.  The new owner was a Parisian fellow named Eric, who was super nice and very enthusiastic about the Camino.  He was not officially open and was in the middle of getting things ready for the upcoming pilgrim season.  We were given a room with three full sized bunk beds, so Palma and I zipped our sleeping bags together and took a lower bunk. We took our showers, washed some clothes and went out for dinner.  While looking for a place to eat we walked into a demonstration against the recent ETA assassination of a French policeman.  

Next morning we got up about 0700 and had breakfast, the day was beautiful, the church bells were ringing and so we started our Camino. The walking was not too difficult. At one point we passed a small dog that charged at us but a smack with the pilgrim staff stopped him.  About 1030 we crossed into Spain.  As we approached Valcarlos we had our steepest incline, it knocked the wind out of us but it was not so bad.  Since the albergue did not open until noon we went to a bar and Palma got a coffee and I got a beer.  When we went back to the albergue no one was there so we went up to the town hall which was also locked up.  We had to go through our stack of notes about the Camino and found a phone number to call.  We finally got help and we got into the albergue.  We were really surprised at how modern and clean it was. They had two rooms with a total of 24 beds, 2 bathrooms with four showers and 4 toilets.  Also had a nice kitchen.  Cost was ten euros and included breakfast which really was access to coffee.  We had checked out the couple of eating establishments and fish did not seem to be an option and since it was a Friday we decided to go to the local market and buy some tuna fish and bread for dinner. As I was walking to the store I ran into an elderly peregrino who was looking for the albergue.  I told him he could follow me, but I was getting food for the day.  This pilgrim was a 75 year old German named Dieter on his pilgrimage.  His kids had chipped in their time to care for his wife and insisted he do the Camino.  So we shared our food and wine with dieter, learned a lot about each other.  Very nice man.  

This morning we got up at 7, had our coffee and left for Roncevalles by 0830.  Today the walk was hell.  Valcarlos to Roncevalles is only 11.9 kms but it was very steep inclines.  It seemed all we did was walk up, up and up. When we got to the top we were hit by gale force winds. We were dead by the time we got to Roncevalles 5 hours later. We had lunch and then checked into the peregino office. We got our beds, a double size bunk which allowed us to hook our sleeping bags together. We took our showers and then went to the pilgrim mass which was very moving. The two priests singing was outstanding as was the pilgrim´s blessing. After mass we went to dinner and ate with some other pergrinos. One was an Anglican priest and his wife, Dieter, and a German cyclist named Tim. We had a nice meal of vegy soup, trout and wine.

Next morning they got us up and 6 am and we were walking to Zubiri by 0715. It was lightly raining so our Altus ponchos worked great. We stopped at the first town (fill in name later) and had a cafe con leche and un bocadillo of ham and cheese. Later as we were walking Palma lost her glasses so we spent about 20 minutes looking for them on the trail. Luckily we found them with the help of St Anthony. We were feeling good and had a good pace. The weather seemed to clear up and the walk was good. A bit later we were feeling really good. We sat down on a bench by the trail that over looked the valley and the major highway and had a drink of water. We then got up and charged up the hill. 1/2 mile we got to a crossroad and no Camino sign. We had gone the wrong way. So we went down the mountain back to where we sat on the bench and saw the right trail marker. This little mistake really was terrible because as we started down the proper trail a herd of Spanards came upon us. It was the dreaded 100 Spaniards walking the Camino using busses to move them around. After they passed us we had about 10 kms to get to Zubiri. This was not a bad walk, but the last few kilometers seemed be downhill in a dry riverbed with rocks and ruts. Hard on the feet and knees. We came down the mountain into Zubiri and decided to stay at the priviate algbergue. We stayed at the private albergue and shortly after we arrived several familiar pilgrims arrived as well. There were about 10 of us who ate dinner together at the bar down the street. Got back to our room around 9 o´clock and all the lights were out! A couple of pilgrims decided to his the sack and left us in the dark. Tomorrow we head to Pamplona which should be about 12 miles - a ¨cake walk¨ according to the young Canadian pilgrim.

2 comments:

  1. Good to hear you made it safely over the Pyrenees - hope the weather is getting better for you. Enjoy the wines in Navarra - I thought they were outstanding! Buen Camino!
    Eva

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  2. Sounds like you're having a wonderful walk!

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