Day 1 of the Camino
12000 steps
7 km
800 metre change in elevation
We started at the Office of the Pelerins in St Jean Pied de Port. Two of the volunteers were wonderful :
Maddi and Odile. They were so helpful and do informative.
This section has the reputation of being the most difficult of the entire Camino. We sent our packs ahead for 8 Euros and just carried day packs. It took 3 hours and 20 minutes and considering that we usually walk at 5 km/h, you can see that the route was a challenge.
We stayed at the Refuge Orisson which housed about 40 - 48 people. We shared a room for six with a Spanish family - 3 bunk beds. We arrived around noon and had a vegetable soup for lunch. There was no Wifi so I worked on the blog and posted it today.
We were up in the mountains accompanied by free range cattle, goats and sheep. We could hear the bells ringing all day.
The refuge is private so it is a little more expensive, 33 Euros for a bed, dinner and breakfast. Our companions included 3 Irish women, 2 Isrealis, 1 German woman, a Norwegian family, many French people and our Spanish family. One French woman is Basque - very friendly and informative about her culture. There was a group visiting at lunch in which two are from Quebec, one Basque fellow (Pierre) nursed in Montreal for two years and the other three are local.
Orisson is beautiful!
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