Over the Pyrenees

A bit of advice from Dr. Seuss:

Day 1 – SJPdP to Auberge Borda – 5.4 miles

May 18, 2023

Elizabeth:

What a gift a good night’s sleep can be!

After my freshly ground espresso, bread with jam and banana I was ready to start our first day…a 2,300 ft climb in 5.4 miles . And, yes, it was as strenuous, steep and fabulously picturesque as the photos! It was 50 degrees when we started at around 500 ft in elevation in SJPdP and three hours later it was roughly 45 and  sunny near our destination for the night. 

We stopped at the Refuge Orisson, for pictures on the deck and a wonderful lunch. Gary’s sausage platter and my lamb with roasted red peppers and fresh mixed greens hit the spot. We have stayed there twice in the past.

After saying hello to some new friends that arrived as we lunched, some moved on to finish the walk to Roncesvalles, which we will walk through tomorrow; some are staying at Orisson (roughly 28 beds, restaurant, bar and great patio); and some pilgrims, like us, will walk another .6 mi. up the hill to Auberge Borda. We are still in France so it is an Auberge, not an Albergue.

Borda is a renovated sheppard’s house bought in 2019, completely “restored” to accommodate 14 people. We highly recommend Borda. The owner, Laurent, designed three rooms above what was the sheep barn, each with 4 beds, and each room has access to a separate bathroom. Each twin bed (not bunks) have a curtain for privacy as an added bonus. We got the only private room which is in a different building. It was the sheppard’s cottage. Lodging, dinner and breakfast is roughly 45 euro per person, in the multi-bed rooms. Our private “quarters” was 110 euro for two, with a private bathroom. A no-brainer if you ask me! We were lucky to be able to reserve it ahead of time. See pics of Borda below. The view from our door to the mountains, guarded by “Little Wizard” the cat is… well… need I say more!? 

Auberge Borda is off the grid. Solar for powder/lights, propane stove, and we assume refrigeration. There’s a couple of wood stoves (not currently being used) but plenty of blankets offered. It’s in the low 40’s which for us Phoenicians, is cold without heat. Good thing I knew to bring a down blanket and down jacket. Socks on my feet tonight!

Our community dinner was wonderful. All 17 of us in one small room enjoying introductions of people from all over the world (US (4 others beside us), Italy, France, Austria, Ireland, Korea, Germany). We had warm vegetable soup, scalloped potatoes, a pork hash, wine and great conversations.

There’s always talk about the two routes you can take to Roncesvalles. We plan on the traditional Napoleon Way through the woods, vs taking a bit longer but less steep decent on a switchbacking road. We will let you know how it goes!! (We have to wait 15 hours for a verdict. You just need to keep reading.)

Day 2 – Borda to Burguete – 11.8 miles

Elizabeth:

After a good night’s sleep, my cafe con leche (coffee with hot milk) and a light typical European breakfast of yogurt, bread, jam and OJ, we headed out over the Pyrenees for the last time this trip. The sun was trying to make it’s way through the cumulous clouds and 43 degree air temps. The prediction was for showers later in the day. In the next 7.5 miles we gained 1,800 feet to a height of 4,700. The higher we walked, the mistier it became. A food truck provided me with a banana which I topped with the peanut butter Gary is carrying for me and we both appreciated a hot chocolate as the wind had come in and dropped the temps to mid 30’s.

There is quite a bit of chatter at the Pilgrims office in SJPdP as well as at Borda as to which route of the two options to take on the decent to Roncesvalles. We choose the quote at the top of this post with this debate in mind. One option is to veer off to the right and walk downward on a rural road that switchbacks toward Roncesvalles. The second option is to take the wooded route, a bit shorter but with a steep decline in places. The Auberge owner at Borda explained it well. If you are a novice at hiking go right, if you are a hiker and don’t mind the possibly slippery decent through the forest, go left. Gary’s and my conclusion, last night, was to decide according to the weather at the intersection, at the time. Go right down the road if it was pouring rain, or go left, if it was a nice day, and enjoy the wooded path. The weather was dry and the sun had started to show it’s face again, so we went left, down t the woods. An awesome decision. I have taken this route once in 2015 and Gary has taken it twice, 2015 and 2019. I love walking through the woods and although there were some very steep pitches challenging my knees with every placement of each foot, the remoteness and lack of other pilgrims (those that walk the Camino) made it a beautiful forested trail.

After the 1,800ft decent in just 2.4 miles! Steep! We rewarded ourselves with a early afternoon, main meal of the day, after impressive, but for me, exhausting 2nd day hike of 9.8 miles taking me (Gary could have gone faster) 5 hours up and over the Pyrenees. 

Add another 2 miles to our destination for the night, after lunch, in Burguete for a total of 11.8 mi. for the day. 

Checked into our rural hotel, washed our socks and hung a few items out to flap in the breeze, iced my knee, napped for 45 min.,  and did this journal together. 

Regarding booking ahead. The American Pilgrims sites, Facebook and other social media sites have been jabbering about how crowded it is and how difficult booking a place to stay can be. We have not found this to be true or I should say it’s not affecting us so far. We booked the 1st 4 nights through tomorrow before we left Phoenix. Just now, we have booked three more nights ahead and found no challenge in finding a room with a bathroom along The Way. I can not speak to finding an Albergue (we’re in Spain now) the day of.

I will get my trail legs after about 7 days but for tonight? Early to bed and head out for another adventure walking west for about 14+ miles to Larrasoana. All pilgrim’s spirits are high and excitement to be on the Camino is readily felt.  Buen Camino! (Meaning Good Walk/Good Way).