Day one, St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (The Valley of Thorns)
It's a little cruel that Day One is reputed to be the hardest. If that's the case, then I'll survive, but only just.
The slope is hard from the start and it doesn't let up much for 20km as you climb from France into Spain. The day starts at 170m above sea level and rises 1390m to the Col de Lepoeder, at 1450m, before an abrupt descent over about 5km to Roncesvalles, at 960m.
I set off from the Hotel Itzalpea just before 8am and it wasn't long before the road was going steeply upward. As the morning progressed, the temperature quickly climbed to over 30 degrees and I was drenched in sweat.
Tomorrow is even longer - 30km - but more on the flat, so I think I can handle it.
At 7pm I was admitted to the Pilgrim meal.
We were shunted into tables of four. I had a Spanish man in his forties, a Californian woman in her fifties and an 18-year old from the American state of Georgia. Each table had a bottle of wine to share and we had a three course meal of pasta, chicken and ice cream ) although there were other options.
That was all for 10 euro, so it was a very good option, although the room was very noisy and I found it a bit of a strain to keep up with the conversation.
Back in my room - I'll try to prepare for tomorrow, although it's likely I'll crash.
Morning - wifi signal is much stronger, so managed to load the photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/W65YXZkRwMokz4tL7
For statistics, 40,000 steps
Here's the course"
The slope is hard from the start and it doesn't let up much for 20km as you climb from France into Spain. The day starts at 170m above sea level and rises 1390m to the Col de Lepoeder, at 1450m, before an abrupt descent over about 5km to Roncesvalles, at 960m.
I set off from the Hotel Itzalpea just before 8am and it wasn't long before the road was going steeply upward. As the morning progressed, the temperature quickly climbed to over 30 degrees and I was drenched in sweat.
I made it a condition (to myself) that I wouldn't stop until I reached Orisson, at 8km. At that stage I walked a while with an Alaskan school teacher, Shannon, but she was carrying a full pack (whereas I, the dilettante, had only a light day pack), and was struggling a bit to keep up, so I left her to find her own pace.
Towards 1pm, I found a shady spot to have some lunch. The hotel had provided me with a sandwich, but to us it was more like a bread roll, although thinner and with a crunchier crust. It was filled with Basque ham, something I'd been looking out for. Dried and smoked, it had a strong taste and it was pretty chewy - leavened a bit by the fact that it was cut off the bone with about a centimetre off rich fat, which helped with swallowing. I had to stop when my jaw started to ache, but it was very sustaining.
The scenery was a distraction from the business of putting one foot in front of the other, but I seemed to be making good time, getting to 20km after six hours - not brilliant on the flat on a cool day, but not bad in the conditions - I'd knocked back two litres of water by this stage, but hadn't stopped for a pee.
On reaching the high point of the Col de Lepoeder at 1450m, I was eager to plunge on down, but I was blocked by a serious Dutch woman, who had researched the route thoroughly and read the options out to me.
Following the pilgrims to the left was apparently a reckless dive into a steep and slippery descent of about 4km, whereas the trail to the right was an easier route of about 4.5km.
Femke was nothing but thorough. At every turn, we researched the options, which seemed pretty plain. Nevertheless, it was good to have the company of someone who seemed even more buggered than me and I was delighted to reach my destination after more than seven hours.
I'd been slightly worried abut leaving my suitcase in the hotel lobby in the morning, so was relieved to find it at the foot of the staircase in the Casa Sabina - a small hotel with only five rooms, one of which I was delighted to fall into, although I was tested by the task of lugging my suitcase up the stairs, when I felt as if I was at death's door.
I was pleased to remember that Spain is cheaper than France. Last night's 20cl beers were 3 euro, whereas tonight 30cl beers were 2 euro.
I got a couple and proceeded to have a shower (very welcome), while treading underfoot all my dirty washing, which I then hung out on the balcony.
Nobody speaks English, so I found an online translator and wrote out the questions:
Do I have to book for the Pilgrim menu?
What time is it?
What time is breakfast?
I'm now booked for 7pm and 7am and can't wait to eat and get to bed.Tomorrow is even longer - 30km - but more on the flat, so I think I can handle it.
At 7pm I was admitted to the Pilgrim meal.
We were shunted into tables of four. I had a Spanish man in his forties, a Californian woman in her fifties and an 18-year old from the American state of Georgia. Each table had a bottle of wine to share and we had a three course meal of pasta, chicken and ice cream ) although there were other options.
That was all for 10 euro, so it was a very good option, although the room was very noisy and I found it a bit of a strain to keep up with the conversation.
Back in my room - I'll try to prepare for tomorrow, although it's likely I'll crash.
Morning - wifi signal is much stronger, so managed to load the photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/W65YXZkRwMokz4tL7
For statistics, 40,000 steps
Here's the course"
The adventure has begun!
ReplyDeleteGuess you are not missing a Nelson frosty morning though
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great start, Peter. Nothing like doing the toughest day first. Trev
ReplyDeleteJust began reading your blog from the beginning, Peter1
ReplyDelete