Well really, it is only day 1 of our Camino and it seems they really want to test what you are made of on the first day. We left the sleeping village of St.Jean this morning at 6.45. We meant to leave at 6 a.m. but that's another story :) It started off lovely, the sun rising to our left as we passed by some gorgeous little red roof tiled farmhouses, some sheep and a donkey (the donkey was the first creature to wish us "Buen Camino!"). Then the gradient began to get a little steeper, and a little steeper and even steeper. We had two hours worth of a hard climb up a rocky path before we reached Orisson, calves burning and already questioning what the hell we were carrying in those backpacks. The scenery was beautiful, the rolling hills around us rising up out of the dewy morning mist, an absolutely cloudless blue sky and even a nice little breeze to keep us cool. We couldn't have asked for better conditions. We stopped at Orisson (which is basically just a cafe and a drinking water tap) for a cafe con leche and met the Spaniards that had been in our hostel the previous night and had left when we were supposed to have. We continued on and the next 2 hours were on a very pleasant path, up a gently ascending road up the mountain. It was for all the world like being down in west Kerry or up the Sally Gap, except for brilliant sunshine and all the shaggy looking ponies roaming around with the sheep, who all had bells. It was fairly uneventful except for me nearly killing a older man who was cycling up behind me on a unicycle! I didn't look back when I heard him coming and stepped right into his path instead of out of it causing him to cycle almost right over the edge! But seriously- who brings a unicycle on this thing?! We were talking to a Portuguese pair who were biking it (well, pushing their bikes up the hill complete with Portuguese flag capes and uncanny whistling abilities) and they said that bikes had probably been a bit of a mistake. We stopped for lunch on the side of a hill with the sheep and had two more very steep ascents before we caught sight of Roncesvalles nestled away in the middle of a forest in the valley below us. After a good 22km going up the mountains it was finally all downhill. The altitude we got up to today was 300m higher than Carrantuohill...Ouch. The cricket symphony had kept us going since morning and the hills were covered with purple heather on the way down. We stosped to watch at one stage, the wind swirling around the valley was making purple waves down the side of the hill. Fairly beaten by the road at this stage we eventually made it in, a good deal later than we anticipated, at 2.45 p.m. We checked into the pilgrim hostel, literally peeled off our socks and boots and collapsed. The hostel is pretty new and clean. It is huge. There are 172 beds on our floor alone. It's a bit like a capsule hotel but less oppressive. You have your own bunk and speaking of Japan, there is a Mr.Migagi lookalike called Koji-san in the bunk below me. Haha :) We had a nice nihongo conversation a little while ago. Its a bit mad that is it a big mixed dorm, Maura-chan is in the bunk across the way though so it is all good. Fairly stiff now, bed in a bit now. Hopefully we will still be able to walk tomorrow. We are shadows of our former selves at the moment... :) No blisters but Maura's got dodge ankles and my sticky out collarbones are wrecked from the shoulder straps already....Anyway, vamos!!!
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