Day 1 – In France looking across into Spain
Camino 2025
Jan 2025
This will not be as detailed as the Elizabeth produced version. Thank you for travelling along with me.
Day 1 – 15.5 Miles
Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles
All my travels went smoothly. I had a flight at 7am Wednesday from Phoenix to Charlotte. From there it was a redeye to Madrid, then a short flight to Pamplona. I carried my bag on, so no issues. Once getting to Pamplona it was go to the taxi rack and get a ride for the 90 minute drive to SJPdP. The taxi was only $110. Pretty good when you consider it takes him 3 hours total, because no one is coming back to Pamplona from there.
I forced myself to stay up till 8pm. The sun sets about 6. I walked around St Jean trying to find a restaurant or bar to get some food. No luck, so walked to the grocery store. There are quite a few people in St Jean, so the bars were probably going to open back up at 8, but I wasn’t going to wait.
The weather forecast for today was rain developing during the day and chilly. Well, it was raining when I got up this morning and rained all day. The temperature was 45 when I left St Jean before sunrise at 8:45 and 41 when I arrived in Roncesvalles, which is 2,500 feet higher in elevation. There are patches of snow on the ground here.
The summer route up over the Pyrenees is closed, so the winter route follows the main road through the pass. Of the 15.5 miles probably about 1.5 was on the main road, the rest on side roads and much of the second half, a beautiful trail. I obviously enjoy the trail. I had stopped for a snack at a bridge across the river, which is the border between France and Spain when a guy I met yesterday from Florida showed up. He preferred walking on the road. There are actually quite a few walkers out here. I saw probably 15 people today, only 2 English speakers. The path went through 2 towns and was actually much better than I expected. Overall, a great first day. The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow – party cloudy high of 48.
Day 2 – 13.6 Miles
Roncesvalles to Zubiri
The albergue did fill up last night – 30 people in two rooms. I had a lower bunk on the far wall, which was nice. There was a group dinner offered which 12 of us took part in. I had the typical roasted chicken with French fries.
After a relatively long first day, people were tired. Lights were out at 9:00pm and people started stirring again at 7 in the morning. 10 hours of quiet is pretty good for an albergue. Breakfast was next door at 8am. It was very dark and half sleeting. By the time I ate breakfast it was light enough where we didn’t need a headlamp. My Florida friend wasn’t feeling well, so he stopped walking in Espinal, only 4 miles in. By that time the rain had stopped. In the summer it is popular to stop at all of the outdoor cafes. In January they are all closed. After noon the sun made a few brief appearances and the temps warmed up to the upper 40s. It made for a great day of walking.
There was only one option for a place to stay in Zubiri. I had had breakfast with 4 Korean young ladies. Two made it to Zubiri and two were struggling, so they took the bus to Pamplona. So 3 of my “friends” have already gotten off the schedule. There were two Italian guys that I also lost track of. Oh well, I am fine and doing great.
Day 3 – 13.2 miles
Zubiri to Pamplona
I woke up at 6:30 and went to breakfast next door at 7 when they opened. I had checked the night before. I just had a piece of toast. They didn’t have any fresh baked goods. I was walking in the dark at 7:45. It was cloudy, but dry, so good walking weather. The trail is very wet, so I am glad I bought trekking poles. The path is very quiet. The cafes in the small towns are closed and everything is wet, so there are very few places to sit on a dry spot, so people tend to keep moving. Today I passed one Korean gentleman and nobody passed me. The walk is pretty following the Rio Arga. Being a Sunday there were many locals out walking and bike riding.
Once in Pamplona it was very busy. Tomorrow is a big holiday here – Three King’s Day. The streets were packed in old town as I made my way through. I had thought I would have lunch in the main plaza – but too busy. I ended up walking to the far end of the busy old town and buying a to go pizza and getting a beer at a bar. I sat outside in the 50 degree weather. I then walked to Hotel Tres Reyes (Three Kings) and got a room on the 10th floor. Should be quiet up here. We have stayed in town on a summer Saturday night and it is quite noisy. I have been in Albergues the past two nights, so hoping for a good quiet nights sleep tonight. I also used this afternoon to catch up on my work and obviously post this journal.
What we find in a soul mate is not something to tame, but something wild to run with.
Robert Brault
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