September 6, 2018
- Route: St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Espinal, Spain
- Distance: 30.6 km (18.97 miles)
Despite my fatigue and incredible jet lag from yesterday’s travels, I didn’t sleep very well last night. One thing I’d soon learn is people aren’t always respectful of the communal living situation in the albergues.
I spent more than two decades in the Army. So I’ve lived in my fair share of open spaces – from barracks to tents. I know about some of the pitfalls of communal living. If you’re a light sleeper, you better bring earplugs. If you have a small bladder, claim a lower bunk so you don’t wake people when you get up multiple times in the night to satisfy that urge. And so on.
Last night’s events though, had nothing to do with these typical concerns. Instead, it had to do with hunger. One of the people on a bunk nearby woke up at 2:30 a.m. and decided he was hungry. Trust, me – I understand that. When you travel across multiple time zones, your stomach doesn’t always recognize it’s the middle of the night.
However, this guy he opened what sounded like a bag of corn chips and loudly eat out of it for the next 15 minutes! He wasn’t even trying to be discreet or quiet. It was just lots of crinkling the loud foil bake followed by even louder crunching while he chewed. Seriously?!? This person couldn’t have picked ANYTHING quieter to eat in the middle of the night??
I tried to drift back off to sleep after the lengthy interruption, but I wasn’t very successful. Instead, I stayed in that super light “nap mode” until people started stirring at 5 a.m. Ugh! It was going to be a rough first day!
Let’s get this party started!
Everyone in the albergue seemed to be rustling around and getting dressed early this morning. I’d soon learn this would be typical behavior. Many pilgrims like to start their day early so they could finish walking their intended kilometers by lunchtime. Once the mid-afternoon Spanish sun grew intense, few people want to still be out there walking the Camino.
And so, I decided to get up and join the masses early. As I was brushing my teeth at one of the sinks, a girl dressed in cycling clothes approached (yes, lots of people cycle the Camino too). She was holding a full Camelback water bladder, but didn’t have the lid closed yet. That’s when she tripped on the threshold of the bathroom, and the entire two liters of water came hurtling toward me!
I don’t have superhero reflexes, so there was no time to deftly dodge the water. The water completely drenched me, soaking my entire right side. Wet shorts. Wet shirt. Wet socks.
Yep…Day 1 of the Camino was off to a rocky start.
Departing France
When I left the albergue, the sun was just coming up. The cobblestone streets were dry from yesterday’s rain, and the air was warm and humid.
The road out of town passed numerous small farms with livestock, chickens, and even ponies! Soon I was climbing up fields, looking down on hills dotted with wooly sheep. The views were pretty darn great, even though there was a thick fog in places that partially obscured. One of the odd things I noticed was the sheep. They seemed to have been marked with large circles of spray paint on their backs. So, either there’s some rowdy French teenagers out here tagging local sheep, or the various ranchers use this paint method to mark their respective herds.
I passed through was the small village of Orisson, which is really just a stopping point between St. Jean and the pass over the Pyrenees. Pilgrims were milling about near the sole restaurant, and ordering coffees to enjoy at the outdoor tables.
After refilling my water bottle at a fountain, I decided to press on. It was too early in my mind to take a long break. I wasn’t on an extended 6-week holiday like many of these people. I needed to fly back to the U.S. in less than a month. That meant I’d needed to walk at least 28 kilometers (or 17 miles) per day to get to Santiago on that timeline.
And so off I went to get up and over the Pyrenees. The higher I walked, the thicker the fog seemed to get. Before I knew it, I was adding my jacket as an extra layer to keep warm because the temperature seemed to drop at east ten degrees.
Near the top of the pass, there were dozens of tiny horses wandering loose. Their shaggy manes seemed to cover their eyes completely, making them look so adorable. They seemed extremely friendly and probably associated the hikers with free treats because several horses just walked right over to me.
Near the top of Napoleon pass, I noticed a guy with a food truck parked on the side of the road. Clearly he knew there’d be lots of cold pilgrims walking the route each day. He had hot drinks for sale, along with fresh hard boiled eggs, goat cheese, and fruit. Despite, the chilly air the food truck convinced me this was a good spot to break for a snack. And so, I availed myself of a much-needed hot chocolate and a banana for a few Euros.
Feeling warm again, it was time to make my way down into Spain’s Basque Country.
España
The trail over the pass into Spain had a few muddy, steep sections from last night’s rain. I overhead one of the ladies in the Pilgrim’s Office last night even warning some cyclists that one of the shorter side routes might have washed out.
Apparently, there are multiple alternate routes down from the pass to Roncevalles (the first town in Spain). I wasn’t 100% sure of which exact trail might be affected, so I was sticking to the main walking path. As I descended, I didn’t see any pilgrims doubling back or coming back up the trail, so I had to assume the main route was fine.
I passed dozens of people trudging up the mountains on the hike over the Pyrenees. Most of them seemed to be headed to Roncevalles, Spain. This town is a common stopping point for the first day on the Camino Frances, because of it’s very large albergue. I really wanted to avoid the crowds (and looking watching lots of people bandage their blistered, unconditioned feet). So, I was pretty sure I’d hike beyond Roncevalles my first day.
I made good time over the Pyrenees and arrived Roncevalles just before 1 p.m. I stopped outside the church to eat the rest of my snacks from yesterday’s travels for lunch. It wasn’t the healthiest of meals – just the remainder of my baguette, cheese, and a candy bar from the grocery in Hendaye. And after about an hour of rest, I set off toward one of the smaller towns further down the Camino.
I made it to the small town of Espinal about an hour later. According to my guidebook, there were two two albergues there to choose from. I didn’t know the difference between my options, so I just chose at an albergue at random. As it turns out, I’d picked well. The other one didn’t offer meals, so the people staying there would have to come down to this albergue for dinner.
Upon checking in, I was assigned to one of the communal rooms upstairs. Each one had about 15 beds and its own bathroom. There were two Dutch girls in their 20s relaxing in my assigned room, so I assumed one room was for women and the other for men. So, imagine my surprise to see an Italian guy in his mid-40’s laying on one of the bunks when I got out of the shower. Apparently, the rooms are co-ed!
I set off on a quick walk around the town after cleaning up, and soon learned Espinal was a sleepy town. There weren’t any open stores (many Spanish stores in towns like this close for the afternoon and then re-open for a few hours in the evening).
I eventually ran into a couple of pilgrims walking around the town too. They told me they convinced the local proprietor to open up her store for them so they could get some snacks. Then they pointed me in the direction of her door.
The woman was happy to open her store, but it was nothing more than a small room on the main floor of the house. Initially, I’d hoped to grab a more nutritious lunch for tomorrow. Unfortunately, the majority of her stock was just canned goods (too heavy, thank you!).
Still, I felt obligated to purchase something after asking her to open up the store. So I bought a small baguette and some dark chocolate. Tomorrow, I’ll walk through plenty more towns, and I’ll be sure to find something then.
Dinnertime
When I returned to the albergue it was time for the communal dinner. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the waiter said they had a vegetarian option, so I decided I was in.
I took a seat at the end of a table next to a British couple in their 60s. One of their sons was living in Maryland, and they’d recently visited the U.S., so they were excited to tell me all about their bike trip down the Allegheny Trail. As they were talking, the two Dutch girls I’d previously seen upstairs came over and sat across from me. They both spoke English as well, so the five of us had a lovely meal and dinner conversation.
The Italian man I’d seen upstairs chose the seat on my opposite side, but he didn’t speak any English. We’d gleaned that his name was Marco, but not much more. So, he spent most of the meal trying to talk to the Spaniard seated across from him. Although neither man spoke the other’s language, Spanish and Italian are close enough that they seemed to be able to communicate adequately.
All in all, I really enjoyed the meal. The food was excellent and the portions were generous (we were all ravenous after walking all day). More importantly, talking to the other pilgrims at dinner was genuinely enjoyable. Everyone seemed so well traveled and we sat for hours just talking and enjoying the wine and the meal.
Today definitely ended on a better note than it started. So far, I’m really glad I decided to walk the Camino!
