Day 2 Orisson to Roncesvalles

I will admit to warming up quite quickly after leaving Orisson but once we reached 1100m it is fair to say that the weather was pleasant. Cloud cover and altitude meant that the walk today was a vast improvement on yesterday. Both times I had walked this path previously the wind was biting and sleet was blowing in my ears.

My beloved steamed ahead for the first half of the journey and, after noting a somewhat enthusiastic indulgence for beer and wine at Orisson the night and day before, I must admit to wondering is there nothing that can stop this man! But then as we kept going up up up again he started to falter. I was genuinely worried a couple of times when I passed him with great enthusiasm only to look back and see he was struggling. We eventually spotted the caravan man selling refreshments in the middle of nowhere and bought a drink and a couple of boiled eggs. (A bit of protein is always good even up this high!).

Anyway we continued on as I suggested the refuge just through the pass where Michelle and I had stopped for lunch last time. After a bit of a struggle up a donkey killer we eventually found it and I took the opportunity to stuff some more wool around my toes. At this point so did my beloved – at last recognising there may be some benefit to the many bits and pieces I had hidden away in my pack!

It was wonderful to stop every now and then and listen to the silence with only the occasional tingle of a bell on a horse in the distance but otherwise not even a whisper of the wind.

Sometimes we managed even closer views of the horses.

Anyway we met a couple of Aussies at the very top of the pass and had a brief photo session before heading down the mountain on the longer less steep path. We were pleased to have the Brazilian Diplomat from Sydney sharing the journey. We arrived at Roncesvalles before the Albergue had opened! I have to say this was a first for me. Speedy Gonzales I may not be but I am no longer arriving after everyone else has already recovered!

I had actually precooked these beds (not sure that was possible the last couple of visits) and we ended up being allocated the first two beds on the first floor! Oops prebooked not precooked. No-one sharing our wall! Just magic. Only problem was one half of the Spanish couple sharing our cubicle was not well! Oh ho – could there be trouble ahead?

Dinner was the pilgrim menu in a separate bar and we had the pleasure of sharing the table with an American woman and a young lady from Martinique in the Caribbean. The Camino is a wonderful opportunity to meet people from countries we had never heard of before!

Anyway headed off to bed and I was allocated the top bunk so husband could utilise his anti snoring contraption! It was a real struggle getting up and down this one as my feet hurt when I stood on the ladder and did a pirouette before landing on the ground! All was well for an early start the next day – buenas noches!