Camino de Santiago Day 2: To Roncesvalles

Wild animals under my bed woke me around 2 AM. Bear? Mountain lion? Nope... just promises being delivered.  My 81 year old friend doesn't just snore though, he has sleep apnea. After stopping breathing for 15-20 seconds, he roars back to life with a gasp and a snort.  It's frightening but also astonishing. How the heck is he NOT waking himself up?

There is nothing quite like loud snoring to annoy you in the night.  I honestly thought I had divorced the only person who gasped,  snorted and thrashed in his sleep and didn't wake himself up. I was wrong. It was bringing back memories I could live without and emotions that reveal my selfish side.  I wanted to poke this kind old guy with my hiking poles and then pretend I was still asleep! Instead I rolled over and reminded myself that I signed up for this... that snoring and dorm rooms are part of the Camino experience and I knew about both going in.

He gradually subsided, but was replaced by a duet from the ladies on the lower bunks. One I would consider softer, more rhythmic in her song and if I tried hard, I could pretend she was my cat, purring with contentment. Her friend however, proved that women really can do anything just as well as men. She rattled and shook the room for the best part of the next hour and I found myself not only with my sweatshirt tied around my ears, but also my extra long pillow! It wasn't a complete solution, but apparently it worked well enough to get me back to sleep.

Mr Mountain Lion threw the main light on at 6:30 AM and announced "time to wake". I was mentally ready for day 2 to start... and start it did, after a mediocre breakfast.

7:15 AM in Orisson - sunrise!

My hike began at 7:55 AM

One of the first points of interest was this Virgin Mary statue at the top of a long climb, on a large rock pile. She appears to be directing most of her attention (blessings?) to Camino pilgrims, as evidenced by all her shells, which are the pilgrim symbol, so I offered her my thanks before heading up the trail. 

On top of the world. For now, but not for long, not a cloud in the sky.  A simply gorgeous day for this part of the trek and it appeared the earnest warnings I received from the welcome office in Saint Jean, would not come to pass on my pilgrimage.

What are they?  Let's see... 

• Don't take just snacks, take 3 full meals in your pack. 
• Be sure to note the number on the post that you last walked past, so you can tell emergency services where to rescue you. 
• You may have to use the emergency huts for shelter... be prepared so you know where they are. 
• Leave early in the morning so you have time to get to the other side before dark falls. 
• Above all else, let us at the pilgrim office scare the crap out of you, so it's hard to look forward to hiking without feeling anxiety too!

I was now hiking with Rickard, Sue and Chuck. Adventurous souls, all 3 open to whatever the Camino would teach them. 

This is what it looks like when you pass from France to Spain. I may have missed it if my notes hadn't mentioned the cattle guard.  Begs the question. ...does France not want Spanish cows entering, or is it the other way round? 

The road got a bit muddier, the clouds were blowing in.  

One could not help but notice slugs of unusual size. It didn't deter us from lunch, perched high in the Pyrenees, rugged up against the cold wind, enjoying all we had packed and this would be the only 15 minutes of no walking the day would bring! 

Among my favorite finds... Several emergency towers. Push button direct connect to emergency service, WiFi gratis and cell reception if you stood close enought and accepted their terms of service!  LOL. Well done Spain. Thanks for taking care of your pilgrims.  :) 

Yep, I texted Mark with an update and my GPS coordinates. 

Then it was downhill through the dark woods to Roncesvalles. 3 km of steep descent, rocky terrain and feeling it in the knees. Neither Sue, Chuck nor I remembered the pilgrim guide had told us to use the road (longer but safer) instead of the track. Oops!

Arriving at Roncesvalles just after 1 PM, we ran into this sign, touting Martin Sheen's movie, The Way. Remember the scene where he is in the large dorm room and his Dutch friend is rustling in the night for a snack?  That was here. 

Roncesvalles is a tiny village with a giant hotel and refuge. It's famous for the 183 beds in one dorm room, thing.  After spending a night with 3 snorers out of 5 roommates, I was reluctant to play the odds and wind up in a room of 90 snorers. Call me crazy! Instead, I chose the Chuck and Sue Plan. Walking 3 extra kilometers to the next village - Burguete - for a room at the albergue that also hosted Earnest Hemingway, many years ago. It's amazing how ones tired feet can summon the energy for 2 more miles when a private bathroom,  private bedroom is offered up! I almost ran here.  

 Shortly after socal in Burguete, the temp speed,  winds picked up and I watched the Pyrenees disappear under menacing clouds.

Glad to be through the mountains and heading for Zubiri tomorrow.