Camino walking day #1

Roncesvalles

Chapel of St James (Santiago)

Well, today went as well as could be expected. For a jet-lagged first-day walker with laryngitis and a wheezy cough that might make a feral dog flinch.

Woke before dawn in Roncesvalles, prior to the dormitory lights coming on at 6. Getting ready to walk takes some getting used to: proper placement of needed stuff is critical. Fortunately, my cubicle mates Janice (US) and Mascha (UK) were on their first day or so as well, and we fumbled around before watching Steffen, who began his Camino in Paris, deftly arrange his very few items.

Out of the dorm by 630, a bit bleary but happy to be starting at last. Many walkers skipped the "late" breakfast time of 7 AM, but I decided to stay and get what I'd paid for. Which was (in order of appearance ): an apple, square of orange cake, piece of toasted bread, slice of ham, slice of cheese, followed (finally) by a much needed cup of tea.

Pilgrims departing in the dark

Obligatory (awful) selfie. Only 790 Km!

Then off down towards Bizkaret...only 13 km, but the right distance under the circumstances. Sunrise lit the horses and cows in their pastures, peeped through the leafy tunnels of oak and fell upon mossy stone walls.

Basque architecture is lovely. Big stucco-and-stone multi family homes with crests over the huge timbered doors, many balconies dripping red geraniums. Looks a lot like Bavaria, yet different somehow.

In foreground: Hostal Burguette, where Hemmingway once stayed.

The terrain had some small ascents (250m) total, a lot of level ground and then the trail dropped pretty steeply into Biskarret.

Lots of pilgrims on the move... more than expected for this time of year. At dinner last night, someone told me that the night before, there were 400 pilgrims in St Jean Pied de Port...a town of 220 beds. The September surge is extending beyond the traditional start of the month.

Lots of French and Spanish pilgrims... no surprise. Also English, Canadian, Australian, Japanese and American. Heard a few Germans, and walked with Susanna from the Schwarzwald for a bit early on. Lots of solo pilgrims like me, of all ages and nationalities. Everyone is friendly and helpful to one another.

Giardia National was out on the Camino, handing out cards with emergency contact info and issuing their own stella (stamp.)

Felt pretty good physically until kilometer 12 or so. That's a bit over the halfway point for the majority of folks going to Zubiri. I'm not yet up to that, given jet lag and this cold. Got to Bizkarret and immediately tracked down what seemed to be the last room. 4x as expensive as an albergue, but still reasonable AND IT HAS SHEETS, SHOWER, and my own room. Camino luxury. Plus dinner in-house. I can do this once in a while, especially if it gets me back to full steam faster.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Four French pilgrims. One and a half were friendly. I had no voice. The obligatory vegetable soup, a tortilla (huge egg, onion and potato frittata), sliced white sausages in fresh tomato sauce, vanilla pudding, red wine. Could have been merry, and probably was once I left.

And so, to bed in hopes of shaking this scourge.

Bizkarret

Bizkarret: this house is 200 years old. So many lauers of stucco that the stone corners are recessed.

My Casa Rural (kinda like a B&B) in Bizkarret

Biggest home in Bizkarret