Orisson to Roncesvalles

May 3
Okay- over the mountaintop today. We have about 750 meters to climb today in overall gain although in fact we go down about 100 meters twice so our real climb is more like 950 meters in 14 kilometers. Today is not the sunny day yesterday was for our relatively short walk. We have both our heads and our feet in the clouds and everything in between. Visibility is sometimes as short as about 20 feet but at least we are not starting out in the rain. This is the part of the walk that people fear the most and sometimes for good reason. We are lucky that we can even make this walk today because two days ago when we first came into SJPP we were told at the Pilgrims' Office that the road was closed because of the recent snow. But yesterday the police opened it again. When Damon and Kristina crossed yesterday they had rain, sleet, hail and snow and of course, where there was no pavement, lots of mud to go with it. But if you read yesterday's blog you will remember that there will be another 7 kilometers of pavement to travel on today before we hit any dirt paths. There is a specific downhill part of the path that the police have recommended that everyone avoid since it is still covered with snow and is very slippery. It's interesting to see how close the communication is between the police and the Pilgrims Office with additional help from Jean-Jacques, owner of Auberge Orisson.

Just as a weather comparison, when I first went over this mountain in 2003 it was April 8th and I didn't see any snow. And I would like to make a point about this mountain about which so many scary things are written on various forums. And that is this: every mountain and every ocean can be dangerous. Mother nature is forceful and when in the mood can and does kill. There are times when no human can conquer the ferocity of the mountains and oceans. But in reality, much of the time both the mountains and the ocean are peaceful and with respect, we can cross them. For this particular mountain, the police check it every day in the spring, fall and winter and give a report to Pilgrims' Office. As well, in the spring and fall, Jean-Jacques from Orisson also gives a report to the Pilgrims' Office. If these people say it is not safe to cross the mountain it's because it's not safe to cross the mountain. Why the heck would anyone else think they know better that those who are on the mountain every day?                              

It was way too drippy to even get the camera out today so no pictures but it was a beautiful day that I really enjoyed! We walked through the drippy mists pretty much all day until we were part way down the descent into Roncesvalles. It gave an eerie sense to the day but in some ways made it feel quite mystical and magical. In most places we couldn't see down into the valleys we were skirting. Inevitably there are those who have recently gotten off a chair for the first time in years who just stop at some point and feel they will never make it. But in the end they do of course since the option of staying on the mountaintop in the dark is not all that attractive. It was exciting for me to see the mountain in this misty, magical mood as it has been mostly sunny the other times I have walked it.

This is the first time I have been at Roncesvalles since the new very fancy albergue has been built. Good grief what a place. Very modern, impersonal and convenient - little soul - but certainly anything else you might need. The young women at the check-in are obviosly very used to mimic sleeping, eating and washing in several different languages!

After a conversation at Roncesvalles it became clear that vertigo is an issue for some people on this walk. One of the issues that the people with vertigo had is that in some places the snow still covers most of the road in a huge bank and pushes up against a path. So although that path is usually 8 or10 feet wide with a huge dropoff on one side, in this weather it was about 18 or 24 inches with that same huge dropoff. We had a discussion at Roncesvalles at how much that terrorized anyone who was alone at the time they walked that part. It has been eye opening to me to hear how frightened these people are because it is something that has never occurred to me, as someone for whom vertigo isn't an issue.

We made it down to Roncesvalles in pretty good time, glad to be there but not nearly as exhausted as many. Our previous 400 plus kilometers of walking no doubt helped considerably. The new albergue at Roncesvalles is quite an amazing place. It's very modern with beds in cubicles of four, lockers for backpacks and other things, clean, hot showers and clean toilets. We did feel a bit as if we had entered a foreign country and had to go through a processing centre. We had to line up, fill in a form, show our passports, get our credencial stamped, go the bed number we were given, put the lights out at a specific time. And wake up at a certain time to overly loud music piped in through the loudspeakers. The place was full and apparently 50 or 60 of the overflow had to sleep in the old dorm. 

The new albergue also has touchscreen elevators and a wonderful woman in the laundry who washed dried and folded our laundry for 2.70€. Quite impressive all in all.
My son and his wife walked over from Burguete to join us for dinner and although the dinner was really quite awful in the brand new hotel there, we had a nice visit and talked to other Canadians from the east coast.