Camino a Santiago Day 1: Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

Distance: 16 miles (25km)
Ascent: 1400m (4,600 ft)
Descent: 650m (2,130 ft)
Steps: 33,479
Calories burned: 1488

Where to begin? I can barely think I’m so tired. Here I am, icing my feet and knees, while trying to get some nourishment in, wondering how I’m supposed to be up tomorrow by 8am in time to drop off my bag for the courier service. Have I mentioned I walked this stage on two hours sleep? Jet lag and nerves are a wonderful thing.

Day one on the Camino a Santiago is the hardest of the entire French Way. If you go all the way to Roncesvalles in one day (which many don’t) it’s a 16-mile (26km) trek up and over the Pyrenees, starting in France and crossing over into Spain. Ignore the guide books that tell you it’s 15 miles. They lie. And trust me, after 7 hours of walking over mountains that extra mile is killer. It is for the average pilgrim, baptism by fire.

In terms of difficulty, it’s not terrrible when compared to the High Alps…it’s just a really loooooog slog. The first 5 miles (8K) are quite steep and definitely the hardest part. It’s why many folks stop there and continue on the next day. I did see a poor girl I met in my gîte this morning who by mile two was about to fall over. Her lovely friends had ditched and left her to her misery. It was up to me to let them know when I saw them again what was going on. But honestly, while I feel bad for her, that’s just a lack of preparation and not understanding what you’re in for. There was also a poor French kid who clearly planned on riding his bike over the Pyrenees. Well, I never saw him on his bike. He walked the beast of a thing up for a bit until he gave up and called for help. C’est la vie. Day One is definitely a filter.

As for myself, I got to the Refuge Orisson at the 5-mile point, refilled my water, ordered a coffee and chatted with a couple of folks there before continuing on. One thing I knew from the start today was that I wanted to walk on my own. No socializing. Not today. That would just distract me from the crossing and if there was one stage I wanted to be completely present for it was this one.

I love the mountains. Let’s agree that when you live in the flatlands of Illinois, you gain a real appreciation for them. The Pyrenees lack the awe factor of say the Alps or the Himalayas, which are so stunning as to feel surreal. That’s not the case here. It’s the same feeling I had last year during the cycling camp in Girona. The Pyrenees are beautiful in an easily digestible, every day kind of way. They don’t make you feel like you’re on another planet, just on a really lovely walk. Oh, and can I say I love border crossings in Europe? Literally, just a rock somewhere random with markings on it. That’s it. The one between France and Spain along The Way was a much more elaborate rock than usual, likely owing to its placement, but still, just a random rock.

Crossing the border from France into Spain

As some of my friends will attest, I’ve been a complete lunatic over the last week manifesting all sorts of aches and pains onto myself convinced something terrible would happen to sabotage this for me (I apologize by the way). It’s day one, so I clearly have no idea what will happen on day 2, 3 or 30. But for now I’m good. Exhausted and sore, but in a good, I just did something really positive for myself kind of Way.

Accommodation: Hotel Roncesvalles. I utterly loved this place. The building the hotel is housed in is magnificent. Roncesvalles is not really a town. More like a converted monastery that has housed pilgrims on their way to Santiago for centuries. The hotel is part of the complex and maintains a lot of its charm on the inside while also providing a modern, comfortable space for exhausted pilgrims. It’s also expensive owing to it essentially being the only place to stay here with private rooms. Double room, single use plus breakfast: €95

Dinner: Hotel Roncesvalles. When I arrived it was no longer lunchtime but not dinner either. Unlike most places in Spain their restaurant was open all day, but completely empty. I chose to eat on the terrace which meant I was limited to tapas/bar food. But it was, I must say, excellent bar food, including the best patatas bravas I had anywhere in Spain. €28.50