Roncesvalles, Day 7

Wow, a day as physically demanding as was today makes me wish I was still cooped up on an airplane.

There was an air of excitement flowing through the street in St. Jean Pied de Port, as everyone finished their breakfasts and took their first steps along their Camino.

The excitement was needed, as today would contain about 5000 feet of elevation, and a foggy, grey view of the Pyrannees. We walked all morning, burning through carbohydrates and adrenaline, through the sideways rain that falls in this part of the world.

We stopped for lunch just after the sun had chased out some of the fog. A man had parked his van along the road we were walking and was selling homemade cheese, hard-boiled eggs, some candy bars, and an assortment of canned soft drinks. We had bread and tuna from the night before, so we sat near his van and decided to eat and watch others. The first view of the trip was incredible.

After lunch we continued to walk. We reached the highest point not too long after lunch. Between us and the albergue, at this point, was two miles of steep decent, practically undoing all of our hard work from earlier today.

It was on this stretch that I realized that walking down hill can be as challenging, or more so, than walking up hill. I don't have much to say about this part, and would rather erase most of it from my memory.

The albergue was beautiful. There were maybe forty beds on the third floor of the monastery, where we were staying the night. The walls were painted white, and the vaulted ceiling that looked to be hundreds of years old had newly added skylights. Everyone was charming and delighted to be done with the first day of walking.

We showered and went to find dinner. We opted out of the pilgrim dinner which we decided to try next time, and walked to a small restaurant/cafe for sandwiches and a San Miguel.

We went to bed with sore feet and tired eyes, ready to conquer the next day.