Month: June 2016

Roncesvalles to Viscaretta-Friends Along the Way (8.8 miles)

An important experience on the Camino is meeting fellow pilgrims from all over the world.  Although contemplative, the Camino is not an isolated experience.  Last night we enjoyed dinner with a Canadian couple we had meet in the bus station in Pamplona before we took the bus to Saint Jean Pied de Port to begin our journey.  This morning we again saw Pete and Sonia at breakfast and decided to walk together.  Along the way, we came across some girls from Boston and a group of Italian women (more on that in a moment).  Our path took us through Burguete where Hemingway used to stay. Cafe con leche was in Espinal which is a small, traditional village. 

We walked through beech woods ascending to Alto de Mezquiriz.  Along the way, as Sonia stopped to tie her boot, Chris noticed a small, blue miraculous medal of Mary in the dirt on the path. The safety pin was open and someone must have lost it. Chris decided to take it with her on the very off chance of returning it to its owner. We continued along the path heading for Viscarreta which is an ancient hamlet with a 13th century church of St. Peter.
The four of us arrived in Viscarreta and had lunch.  Chris had brought left over pork in a Roquefort sauce from last night’s dinner along with some local cheese that we had bought in Roncesvalles. Yum! The group of Italian women arrived. One of the women, Sylvia from Milan, started talking with Chris.  Chris remembered the medal she had been carrying and asked Sylvia if she knew of anyone who might have lost it. With a look of amazement, Sylvia realized that the medal was hers! She had owned it for many years having purchased it at a church in Paris. She said that medal was important and she had been sad about losing it.  Chris was thrilled to be giving back on the Camino as someone had done for her two years ago! Chris and Sylvia hugged knowing they may never see each other again. This is one of the lessons on the Camino.

Pete and Sonia were going to push on to Zubiri and Chris and I were staying in Viskarret so we parted ways. We said we might meet again in Pamplona but one is never certain of anything on the Camino.  Tonight the owner of our casa rural is making us a wonderful dinner and tomorrow an early start to Akerreta. Buen Camino! 

Valcarlos to Roncesvalles: Slugging and Slogging It Out (literally and figuratively)

Our day started out after a night of rain in Valcarlos.  We had an early cafe con leche and then started our trek from Valcarlos to Roncesvalles. This led us to the steepest terrain so far with many uphills and downhills. In this Basque region of the Pyrenees, the path we are using is through dense woods and is the same as the medieval pilgrims. Unlike them, we are not too worried about bandits.  For those of you who have read The Nightingale, these paths are similar to those used by Isabelle to rescue American and RAF pilots during World War II. For us, the path was not always obvious, but the Camino marking is getting much better.  Because of the rain and mist, everything was wet and our shoes and pants were quickly soaked through and through.


The first (and last) scream was when Chris thought she had stepped on the largest slug we had ever seen and, simultaneously, was whacked by thorny bushes. Throughout the morning we walked along the river while looking at the fog-shrouded mountains.  Walking through beech and hazel wood trees we unexpectedly came across hill ponies which were wandering along our path.


Close to Roncesvalles we arrived at Puerto Ibaneta which was the site of a church and hospice built in 1127 to serve pilgrims on the Camino. The original church has been replaced by a modern church.

We finally arrived in Roncesvalles wet and tired but with a strong sense of accomplishment so we enjoyed a bocadillo, soup, and a beer. We are now drying out our clothes and getting ready for our next Camino adventure. Tonight we will go to the pilgrim’s mass at the old church in Roncesvalles (a village with about 40 full-time residents). Roncesvalles means valley of the thorns (don’t we know it!) and is the official gateway in Spain for the Camino de Santiago.  Buen Camino!

Saint Jean to Valcarlos (9.1 miles)


We started this morning by having a typicalpilgrim’s breakfast. As this was our first day walking on the Camino we decided to only go half a segment that you find in the Brierley book. We also decided to take what is known as the alternate route through the valley along the river. It turned out to be an excellent decision. Most of today was along country roads through the valleys, through the hills, and along the vineyards. In addition, we were wandering across the border between Spain and France several times. Cafe con leche was about two hours after we started (yea!) and was in a little cafe next to the river. I ordered in Spanish and thanked him in French as this section of the Pyrenees uses both languages.  Lunch was a local vegetable purée and some chicken.


We we delighted to find our accommodations in Valcarlos are in a wonderful one bedroom apartment with a washer. We will have clean clothes for tomorrow! It is supposed to rain tomorrow as we head to Roncesvalles. Sunrise this time of year is around 5:30am and it does not get dark until around 10:00pm.  Buen Camino!

A short break by the river

Acclimation Day

After yesterday’s bus ride, last nights dinner, and the time change, we were restless most of the night.Adjusting to jet lag is always a challenge. This morning we were up early and had a wonderful breakfast. We decided to walk around town and learn more about Saint Jean Pied de Port. We also decided to do a trial walk on a small part of the Camino. So we walked about 6 miles. Something we both noticed on this section of the Camino is that the signage is not very obvious. This means we have to be very careful every time we cross a different path. This most likely will improve as we get more used to the signage on the Camino. This afternoon we went to the church for reflection
and then we spend our time getting water and other things that we might need for walk tomorrow. Our plan is to start early in the morning and arrive around noon or 1 o’clock. Tonight will be dinner and early to bed. Buen Camino!


Getting to Saint Jean Pied de Port

The first part of walking the Camino involves getting from New York City to Saint Jean Pied de Port in the southern French Pyrenees, which is in the heart of the Basque country.  Starting at JFK we flew to Madrid and then rented a car and drove 5 hours to Pamplona.  Of course cafe con leche was a must!  In Madrid, we started from the Hotel Regina. This is a place of good luck for us as Regina is Chris’ mother’s name.  From there we took a bus through some of the windiest roads we have ever seen and finally ended up in Saint John Pied de Port at around 7:30 p.m. One of the things about walking the Camino is that once you arrive in a town you have no idea where to stay. After walking for about 20 minutes and asking a lot of questions we finally found our hotel which turned out to be a lovely place.  Here in the Basque country does not get dark until around 10:30 p.m. at night so it was a late dinner and then to bed. Hopefully, we will be ready for a big day tomorrow seeing Saint Jean Pied de Port and getting ready for our first day walking the Camino. Buen Camino!

Madrid hotel




2016 Returning to the Camino

In 2014, Chris and I walked the Camino de Santiago.  Due to some time constraints, we walked the segment from Logrono to Santiago which is about 375 miles.  It took us about 28 days.  Even though we felt it was quite an accomplishment, there was a sense of incompleteness because we had not started in Saint Jean Pied de Port in the French Pyrenees.  So we decided that we would return to the Camino in the summer of 2016 to complete the segment from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Logrono.  And so our journey begins!  We are now about 14 days from our return to Spain and have begun to pack in earnest.  Here is our progress as well as a map of the 125 miles that we plan to walk when we return to the Camino.  We hope that you enjoy following us on this journey!