Bonus Miles! (Day 2)
Today’s hike started before dawn. I stayed the evening in Roncesvalles and didn’t have the best nights sleep. My room was just above the bar. Directly below my open window were at least 20 pilgrims from various nations celebrating completing the first day. It’s not all of the laughing that bothered me (that was kind of nice actually), nor was it the constant clinking of glasses. It was the singing. It was in many languages but all of them off key. The laws of probability seem to dictate that at least one of the 20 or so people would be able to sing. Apparently the laws of probability don’t apply to camino singing, because these tone deaf bastards couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. To be fair, I was a bit of a harsh critic because my legs were sore and my shoulders stiff from the hike. The party stopped around 1am and I drifted off.
I awoke early, grabbed a breakfast of coffee and toast and headed out into the dark. IT WAS AWESOME.
The camera actually lightened this up a bit. It was dark!
There were very few walkers on the trail and when someone passed me (you’ll find that me being passed by other walkers is a recurring theme in this blog) no words were spoken. There was a nod or small wave. Always an acknowledgment but nothing more. It’s as if there were a silent agreement to maintain the stillness for as long as possible.
After 3 miles I met up with Glenn and Jan and we began hiking through some woods and villages. They were also quiet at this time in the morning and there was a sense of peacefulness in the walking.
Much of the hike was a descent, at times quite steep. We walked along for roughly 13 miles and made it to Zubiri. This is where I was a little confused. My accommodations were supposedly 4km away and I had detailed walking directions to them. Then underneath the directions there was a phone number that I could call and they would come pick me up, take me to the hotel, and then drop me off back at the same place in the morning. This all seemed odd. As we looked at a map I realized that where I was staying, Larrasoana, was right off the camino in the right direction. That’s the way Glenn and Jan were going (they were staying a little further up the trail then me even) and it was only 4km after all. I felt good, my legs were strong and nothing could stop me. Time for some bonus miles!! We pressed on to our hotels. I swear it was probably only 15 minutes before we hit the first hill.
Another “this is bullshit” section of the walk
So here’s what went down - 4km was actually 6.7km. And it seemed that much of that 6.7km was uphill. Steep hills.
We had forested hills (It’s hard to tell in this photo but it was pretty steep).
We had road hills.
It felt a little like a replay of the previous day but we kept pushing. Larrasoana came into view and I was thrilled. Glenn and Jan continued on and I found my hotel. It’s a great little village and I enjoyed my evening there.
Tomorrow is the trek to Pamplona and because of the bonus miles it’s probably only going to be about a 10 mile hike. I do like the fact that 10 miles seems pretty straightforward but after the last two days it does feel like a treat. Also, I want a damned Oreo. I’m not sure why but don’t judge me. I’m burning a lot of calories and apparently I need some creme filling to replenish me.
From the Larrasoana bridge
From the Larrasoana bar.
