Day 1 The calm before the storm

"Pilgrims" on the Camino, just of out St. Jean
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Enroute to Roncesvalles from St. Jean, about 8 km outside St. Jean (but 600 meters higher!) is this delightful little oasis of an auberge, Auberge Orisson.

I had walked diligently from St. Jean, fully intending to spend all day getting to Roncesvalles, about 25 kilometers away, and OVER the mountains.  But by the time I got 5 km (3 miles) out, I had walked STRAIGHT up for three hours, and had to admit to myself that my walks in the mid-Atlantic countryside and State Parks had most definitely NOT prepared me for the Pyrenees.  Take a look at those mountains and you will see what I mean.

Oasis of a place

The long way begins
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After another hour and a half or so, I spied this oasis of a place, and stopped.  The people were wonderful, and I quickly dropped my backpack and sat down outside with a beer.  Inside the television showed tennis, and I could have been anywhere.

Later the rain and hail started, and I realized that I might have been at the top of the mountain at that point. Being inside, anywhere inside, was wonderful - as I was to find out the next day, but that is still another story!

Dinner was great - hearty soup, meat, free wine, lots of Camino walkers in good spirits.  The next morning´s breakfast was sparse but adequate to get us going.  All for €30.