You know how I said I would be sensible and take my time? At dinner last night, of the 12 people potentially in my new “Camino family” not one intended to walk the “easier” route, let alone take two days to do it. Over dinner I found myself agreeing to join 3 others in marching right over the Pyrenees the next day. Two of us decided to send some of our stuff on to Roncesvalles so we could just carry the necessities for the day.

So… 25.1 km with 1390 m elevation gain followed by a 400 m decline. It was pretty arduous, taking us oldies 9 hours walking plus about 30 minutes of breaks. The youngster in the group was having back pain and hitched a ride with a shepherd for a few km. The wind was like a hurricane most of the time, but fortunately it wasn’t cold or rainy. We are exhausted and noticing new never-before-tested muscles.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll get around to describing some of the people. Need to go to bed now!