Camino days 1-2

I'm a bit behind but will get caught up soon. So far it's been 4 great, productive days. Here is a recap of the first 2days.

Camino de Santiago -Day1 - St Jean Pied de Port, France to Roncevalles, Spain - 15.6 miles

The first day was tough. It was 13 miles to the top of the Pyrenees. That's a hard hike to start the trip. The decent into Roncevalles wasn't any easier even though we were going down hill. In fact, it was probably more difficult. Very steep and my kegs were shot so it was tough to catch myself with every step. Sadly I do not have GPS data from the first day. About 2 miles from Roncevalles my watch battery died and lost all the data.

A few of the people I met on the first day were a father/son team from Canada that are here as a high school graduation gift for the son. Also I met a Korean girl when she noticed that I did not have the traditional pilgrims clam shell tied to my pack. She had an extra and insisted that I take one of hers.

I enjoyed the southern French countryside. It is in credibly beautiful with lots of rolling hills and thick green forests. The towns were ok and the people nice enough but now that I have spent a few days in Spain, the French can not compare.


 Camino de Santiago -Day 2 - Roncevalles, Spain to Arre, Spain - 23.9 miles

Day 2 was the hardest so far but only because I made it so. A few miles outside of Roncevalles I met John, an army special forces officer. We struck up a conversation and just kept walking. He is on a tight deadline and convinced me to try to make it to Pamplona that day. That would be a total of 27 miles. That's a lot but I  wasn't not going to do it once it was proposed. We ended up only making it to Arre which is on the outskirts of Pamplona. We stayed in an old monastery that was the oldest continuously running albergue on the pilgrimage.

We were walking pretty hard so I did not have a lot if interaction that day outside of my conversations with John. I was able to meet Peter, a priest from Poland.

I can not express enough how impressed I am with northern Spain. The landscape is nothing short of incredible but even more impressive are the towns and the people. Every town, and I do mean every town, now matter how big or small, is immaculately clean and manicured. The people are among the most helpful, nicest and friendly people I have ever encountered. This is not hyperbole and I am not easily impressed. It has been astounding.