Wow, what a day — that has to be one of the most difficult days on the Camino. Although it was only 24km, about 20km of that was uphill, and on top of the climb, there was a very strong wind. The good news, though, was that it didn’t rain until about 15 minutes after we finished.
I didn’t take many photos as my hands were very cold, and it’s always hard to capture landscapes well on the iPhone.
I started at 06:45 and met Stephen about 10 minutes outside of SJPdP. He’s from Galway, Ireland. We stopped once for coffee in Orisson, about 7km in, and then walked the next 13km climbing to the top of the pass at a place called Collado de Bentartea — elevation 1,337m.
Then came a 4km descent into Roncesvalles, where we had two well earned beers. As forecast, it started to rain at 13:00. We made great time — it only took us 6 hours instead of the 7 hours listed on Gronze.
The hostel is part of a large church complex that has been built for pilgrims. While old in appearance the inside is quite modern.
Tomorrow I’m heading to Zubiri. IT is mainly a descent of 450m with undulations.
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