We returned our little car to Bayonne on Saturday, met up with Anita at the train station as she arrived from Paris, then went straight to the ticket office to verify our tickets only to be told that due to track work, the train to St Jean Pied de Port had been cancelled and a bus service was operating instead. That was disappointing as we were all looking forward to the picturesque train journey to St Jean. But it was great to be together and we had a lovely evening wandering the streets of St Jean, having a few wines and a lovely meal before heading back to our hotel to prepare our packs and discard any unessary gear one last time before setting out early in the morning by taxi to Roncevalles.
We set off from Roncevalles in light drizzling rain, rugged up in gortex jackets, scarves and gloves in an effort to keep warm. We were on the Camino and our first day was amazing, we walked through beautiful countryside, the track was very well marked, and we stopped for lunch along the way at a picnic table beside the road. We bought a baguette in a village we walked through and Steve opened a tin of fish we carried with us, while I had vegimite which Anita had brought from home for me as a surprise! Anita dipped into the small reserve of gluten free food she brought with her. Finding suitable food is going to be a challenge for Anita on the Camino. We saw no other pilgrims and spent the entire day walking on our own.
We spent our first night in the small village of Viskarret, a walk of around 15km. We arrived tired and footsore late in the afternoon and couldn't find a place to stay as all beds seemed to be taken. Then in an amazing turn of events, a local man came by in his car, offered us accommodation, then opened his small but well stocked grocery store especially for us so we could purchase wine and food to cook for dinner. He then drove us to his Casa Rural which turned out to be a nine bedroom mansion which we had to ourselves for the night. We were stunned at first but it didn' t take long for us to settle in, take over the house, lounge around on the feather pillowed couch, have a few wines, cook a great meal in the fully equipped kitchen, crank up the heaters and have a wonderful evening!
WiFi has been non existant for the last few days hence the absence of blog updates. Tonight we are in Puente la Reina after a long walk from Pamplona. It is our 4th day on the Camino. On the second night we stayed in Larrasoan in Pension el Peregrino. Accommodation was limited so the three of us shared a nice room with three single beds and a balcony, unfortunately it was too cold and wet to share a wine on the balcony.
Today was another great day of wonderful scenery, very rural, very hilly, fields of canola and grain and lovely small villages with beautiful old churches. We climbed an elevation of 350 metres to Alto del Perdon where there are wrought iron statues of medievil pilgrims, heads bent to the west wind, and then dropped (walked) an elevation of 450 metres. There were many pilgrims on the trail today, it was a very social day, we met several Aussies, had great conversations and enjoyed every minute, even the steep hard sections!
Although weary and footsore at the end of each day, we are travelling well, extremely well, managing the weight of our packs and looking forward to tomorrows unknown adventure.
We spent our first night in the small village of Viskarret, a walk of around 15km. We arrived tired and footsore late in the afternoon and couldn't find a place to stay as all beds seemed to be taken. Then in an amazing turn of events, a local man came by in his car, offered us accommodation, then opened his small but well stocked grocery store especially for us so we could purchase wine and food to cook for dinner. He then drove us to his Casa Rural which turned out to be a nine bedroom mansion which we had to ourselves for the night. We were stunned at first but it didn' t take long for us to settle in, take over the house, lounge around on the feather pillowed couch, have a few wines, cook a great meal in the fully equipped kitchen, crank up the heaters and have a wonderful evening!
WiFi has been non existant for the last few days hence the absence of blog updates. Tonight we are in Puente la Reina after a long walk from Pamplona. It is our 4th day on the Camino. On the second night we stayed in Larrasoan in Pension el Peregrino. Accommodation was limited so the three of us shared a nice room with three single beds and a balcony, unfortunately it was too cold and wet to share a wine on the balcony.
Today was another great day of wonderful scenery, very rural, very hilly, fields of canola and grain and lovely small villages with beautiful old churches. We climbed an elevation of 350 metres to Alto del Perdon where there are wrought iron statues of medievil pilgrims, heads bent to the west wind, and then dropped (walked) an elevation of 450 metres. There were many pilgrims on the trail today, it was a very social day, we met several Aussies, had great conversations and enjoyed every minute, even the steep hard sections!
Although weary and footsore at the end of each day, we are travelling well, extremely well, managing the weight of our packs and looking forward to tomorrows unknown adventure.
A great start. Good to hear from you. Is Steve doing the Dawn Service before the walk on Anzac day? Will have a drink or two with Barney. Thats two years in a row no Steve !!!!!!! Very disapointing. Keeping those legs & feet moving forward. Probably do it in your sleep before too long.
ReplyDeleteNo sign of Brad & Janet at Casa Rural?
ReplyDeletewish I was there!!! sounds totally amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. No Dawn Service but we did gather 8 Australians around a table on Anzac night for the Ode and dinner, washed down by a few jugs of good Spanish red. It was a really good night.
ReplyDelete