Zubiri to Pamplona

Getting ready to leave Pensione Amets at 7:15 (pretty good for us) and decided to grab breakfast along the way. I'm having a bad hair day:

Decided to go with my clean green shirt today.  On our way out of Zubiri and back over medieval bridge.

Coming into Zubiri was a steep decline so we started the day going back up.

Walked through some beautiful small towns as we kept looking for cafe to get cafe con leche and breakfast.

The path is well marked.

Marilyn leading us onward.

Breakfast/lunch and java at 11:00

Cafe and tea and frittatas 7 euros:

I was almost done eating before I remembered to take a picture - it was tasty. Marilyn raned her plate too.

And another medieval bridge in the back ground.

How the path is marked on pavement in Pamplona.

And yet another medieval bridge in Pamplona.

We checked into the Hotel Europa and did the routine - showered and laundry.

Walked around Pamplona. The area for the bull fights:

Gate where bulls run into the arena:

Streets where bulls run:

We had pinchos aka tapas for dinner and chocolate croissants for treats and a beer to wash it all down.

It's crazy busy - I never thought so many would be on the camino in September. Hard to get places to stay. People are calling ahead, we don't have phone, or leaving early to arrive by 12 or 1 to get a bed.

Heading out tomorrow for Puenta la Reina and hoping we have a roof over our heads!

Buen camino

Yikes!

Roncevalles to Zubiri

We left the Casa Sabina, our hotel, about 8:00.  I looked out our room window at 6:00 and lots of pilgrims were already leaving- still dark out.

I took a picture of one of the albergues in Roncevalles - the beds are lined up:

.

Our last look at Roncevalles:

Marilyn and I walked to Burguete, 3 kilometers, and stopped for breakfast - we each had a piece of spinach pie and I had my cafe con leche and Marilyn had tea con leche.

The path was wonderful and the weather sunny and warm.  We stopped in Bizkarreta for lunch at the Cafe Juan- we shared a ham sandwich (I had another cafe con leche - need my java).

Cafe Juan:

We arrived in Zubiri at 3:00.  Thank goodness we had a reservation - the town is sold out, every pension, albergue, room is taken.  After  arriving we made reservation for the 7:00pm pilgrims dinner at one of the albergues in town.

Arriving in Zubiri - medieval bridge:

Laundry is done and hanging on the line, we are showered,and are going out to sit by the river.

Orisson to Roncevalles

We started walking at 9:00 am. We were walking in the clouds until we were coming down to Roncevalles.

Sunny in SJPP 

Once we got to Orisson we were in the clouds.  We began our walk over the Pyrenees into Spain.

 

Coffee, tea, hot chocolate etc available up the camino - busy place.

Crossing into Spain

Only 765 kilometers to go! We got this.

Casa Sabina - our lodging tonight in Roncevalles 

Roncesvalles 

Roncevalles 

Across the road from our lodging,

We went to the pilgrims mass and received the pilgrims blessing,  We will take all the help we can get.

We had the pilgrims menu at the Casa Sabina 9 euros  - very good, pasta, pork and  fries, ice cream bar for dessert.  

Buen Camino

St Jean Pied de Port to Orisson

Beautiful walk today. We started out at 8:30, spoke with Henry and Lucille - two Canadians we met on the train, and left for Orisson.

Arrived at the Albergue de Orisson about 11:00.  We enjoyed a cafe au lait and a tea on the deck overlooking SJPP, chatting with 3 people from Scotland while we waited for taxi to take us back down to SJPP.

Sue with 5 km to go to Orisson

Marilyn heading into Orisson

View from deck

Coffee time.

Back to our hotel. Showered and washed out our hiking shirts for tomorrow.  Heading out shortly to pick up some apples for tomorrow.

Our routine - eat, walk, eat, walk, shower, laundry, eat, go to bed, get up and start over.

St Jean Pied de Port

We spent the touring St Jean, got our first stamps for our Credencials, had a nice breakfast at our hotel (Hotel Itzalpea), good salad for lunch and crepes for dinner, and made our arrangements for tomorrow.  

Tomorrow we will walk to Orisson and return to St. Jean. On Sunday we will get a ride back to Orisson and walk to Roncevalles, Spain - crossing the Pyrenees.  We wanted to stay on Orisson but the one albergue was fully booked.  

Going from St Jean to Roncevalles in one day can be done but 28 km in the mountains makes for a long day hard day, and we have plenty of walking ahead of us.

Blue shirt at breakfast 

Green shirt touring St Jean

St. Jean Pied de Port, France

1 taxi ride, 3 planes, 1 Air France Bus, 2 trains and we are in St Jean (our starting point for the Camino).  Left our house at 6:00 am Wednesday and arrived on St . Jean at 7:30 pm Thursday night.

Traveling went smooth.  Our flight from Boston to Charles de Galle Airport in  Paris was on time 7:30 am.  We picked up our checked bag and proceeded to the Air France Bus that took us to our train station, Gare Monparnasse, in Paris.  The bus ride was just over an hour long.  We waited for our 12:27 train to Bayonne.  First Class train tickets were so  worth the extra $25-$30, for a 5 hour train ride.

That's me in my only hiking shirt - green shirt in pictures - that's Sue.

Blue hiking shirt - that would be Marilyn.   

We have one hiking shirt each!

In  Bayonne we had a short 1/2 hour wait for our train to St Jean, which was a 1 hour ride.

St Jean Pied de Port:

Our Hotel

Chicago waiting

We're in Chicago waiting for our next connection and running the numbers - if we were to get bumped what would the airlines have to offer us? We have 2 opportunities to get bumped.

We would be out train tickets $140 and 1 night hotel $100.

New train tickets would be $300 for second class ( we have 1st class tickets now) plus a hotel in Paris $150 (not the worst that could happen. And catch train on Friday rather than Thursday.

If they need volunteers we are ready to negotiate!