Roncesvalles to Zubiri

April 19, 2016 Tuesday

Roncesvalles to Zubiri    Walking Day #2

After that long, long uphill hike yesterday, I am ready for some downhill, and today is indeed a day of mostly downhill. But downhill walking brings more stress on the knees, and my knees are already feeling the stress of the first day up and over part of the Pyrenees mountains. Yesterday, the first day was hard and I was too tired to take a picture of the hotel entrance. Today I am still feeling it the stress of yesterday's walk and here is a photo of the hotel entrance:

And here is our little group after breakfast [sort-of] eager to take on the Camino for walking day number two. From the left, the French couple, Phillipe and Marie-Pierre, then Sebastian, and yours truly (hat in hand, camera dangling off my backpack strap).

At about half way for the day, we passed through a small town Viskarret and took some pictures of a charming old church. Here I am outside the church, main entrance on the right.

And the trail goes on, and on, and on with the arrows and the shell depiction pointing the way. It is not always so evident, but there is almost always some kind of a mark like the smaller concrete Camino way monument marker to the left, or a yellow arrow painted on a tree or signpost or telephone pole or something.

And the trail today just keeps on going, and going. Most of the trail today was downhill, and my knees were hurting early in the day. I am a little concerned about this, because this is only the second day and there are 32 days of walking to get to Santiago de Compostela, then 4 more days to get to Finisterre. Also today, not so evident from these pictures, is that the trail is mostly in the woods, so while the sun is out, we were frequently in shade. Not so important for us today because of the cool weather, but this area would be hot in the summer were it not for the shaded path.

The trail today was also very rocky, much like the trail I hiked a few times outside Chiang Mai, Thailand from Chiang Mai University up through the forest/jungle to Wat Palad and then on to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Being rocky, one does not get good footing every step, and the rocks are slippery, so the going was slower and tiring.

My legs were really hurting when we got to Zubiri. I have a hotel here for the night, and I am very happy about that. We stopped for a late lunch at a cafe near my hotel, and after eating, I bid the group farewell. The are continuing 5 more kilometers to Larrosoana; right now, I am certain I cannot do 5 kilometers more. And the next day, I will walk from Zubiri to Pamplona, while they are walking from Larasoana through Pamplona on to Cizur Minor, 5 kilometers further.

Here is my hotel in Zubiri, a town of 400, the Hosteria de Zubiri.

I am so, so tired. These two days were difficult, and at the same time uplifting in ways that are hard to put into words. I met wonderful people, ate good food, saw the beautiful natural settings in northern Spain.

Next: From Zubiri to Pamplona (and it is expected to rain)