Stage 1 - Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

Where We Are Tonight:  Roncesvalles                Miles Hiked Today:  15.5 (25 km)

Steps Taken Today:  48,269                                Blister Count:  0

Spanish Word of the Day:  viento (wind)

What We Learned Today:  It's always up from here!

It seems ironic that we begin the most difficult stage of the Camino on Sunday, the traditional day of rest.  And to top it all off, on Mother's Day  This stage begins in the town of Saint Jean Pied de Port in the southwestern corner of France.  Our endpoint for the day is Roncesvalles in Spain.  The distance is 25 km, or about 15.5 miles which would be fine if it was level.  The challenge is that the route goes over the Pyrenees Mountains, with an elevation gain of  1100 m (3600 feet), and a peak elevation of 1300 m (4300 feet).   Talk about starting our odyssey with a bang!  This is why we choose the"difficult", or "more difficult"hikes back home to prepare.   We figured that if we could survive Dog Mountain in a wind and hail storm, Huckleberry Mountain in the snow, etc. then we at least had a shot of making it over the Pyrenees alive.

































On many parts of the Camino there are small towns or villages every several kilometers along the trail, so you can adjust your daily distance depending on the weather or how you feel.  Many of these towns have an albergue, or hostel where pilgrims can spend the night for a reasonable fee, typically about 10-15 Euros.  There are also options to get a meal or to purchase food to take with you.   Unfortunately, on this stage once you begin the serious climb up the Pyrenees there are only two options, make it over, or turn back.

So, we knew that the first stage was going to be difficult with the length and elevation gain.  But nothing could prepare us for what we would actually encounter.    The length of the first day plus the elevation gain alone is overwhelming to us mature hikers (cough, cough)...however,  what was so incredible was the wind.   For those of you who have seen the movie The Way (a movie about the Camino that I highly recommend ), I'm now 100% convinced that the main character died while on his first day going over the Pyrenees because he was BLOWN OFF THE MOUNTAIN! !  Why nobody told us about the wind that we would experience is beyond me...it's so much more of an issue than the length of the day or the elevation gain.   The wind is simply hellish and brutal.   We laughed later on that we pictured ourselves like the poor weather person who gets sent out to report on a hurricane.  It takes a lot to knock me over but many gusts did almost that...luckily I caught myself every time thanks to my walking sticks but there were many people who weren't so lucky and were knocked down.

Oh my goodness,  I can't believe we actually survived the first day!  It was so difficult!   But first things first,  here are photos of us just starting out from St. Jean Pied du Port in France, a very cute little town at the base of the Pyrenees that caters almost exclusively to the pilgrims who walk the Camino.   It was uphill from the start!

So, all in all, it was the most difficult hike I've ever completed.  It took us 10 hours.  We walked through sun, rain, and even some snow.  I've never been so happy to see a building (the hostel where we were staying) before in all my life.  Here is Pam at the highest point of the day.

The Pyrenees are stunning.  The area looks like Switzerland and the Alps, although smaller in stature.  The scenery is absolutely beautiful.   At the albergue, we found our bunk bed (in a room with maybe 100 others...you should have heard the snoring! ) and took showers.  By then, the place to wash out clothes had closed.   Since we have 2 sets of clothes, we're going to have a problem in a couple days!  There was also no Internet,  which was a bummer.  What they did offer, however, was a wonderful pilgrim dinner.  We ate with 8 others from all over the world.  The camaraderie between the pilgrims really is something special.  To do this incredible journey with like-minded people is truly special. Dinner was over about 10 and we fell into bed.

One of the statues along the way

In case we were counting, only 765 km left to go!

Editors note:  Karen's actual description of the first stage was "(unprintable), that was difficult!!". If the saying "if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger" is true then they must be a lot stronger now.  J

Getting there

Tuesday, May 3 to Saturday, May 7

Before the start of the Camino we had planned to spend a couple of days in Paris.  This was the most convenient point to fly in, and you can't pass through Paris without spending a little bit of time there! Our itinerary was to fly from Portland to Vancouver, Canada, then to Montreal, and then on to Paris.   Unfortunately our flight from Vancouver to Montreal was delayed for a number of reasons - and finally the crew timed out and we had to wait for another crew to arrive - and that got us into Montreal with only 25 minutes to spare for our next flight.   They greeted us at the gate with "you're too late and we've bumped you off the flight! "  This was not what we wanted to hear but we took advantage of the extra day in Montreal by discovering old town.   We started our Camino early by doing lots of walking (~ 8 miles) and making some new friends (there were maybe 25 of us bumped) including Theresa from Victoria and Celine from Paris. We visited the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral among many other places.

After a 24 hour delay in Montreal, we finally boarded our flight to Paris, and arriving at 9 AM Thursday morning.  We were left with only one very sleep deprived day and one good day.  We loved to just walk around the city. ..so much to see!  We did visit the Eiffel Tower,  took a Seine boat tour, visit the famous Paris catacombs and climb the Milian steps up to one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen - the Sacre Coure.   While there we saw stunning views of Paris.  We also spent quite a bit of time sampling Paris cuisine as well.   We ate our fill of baguettes, cheese and meringues!  And don't forget the wonderful French wines...

At the end of the 2nd day, we boarded a train to Bayonne.  Our first leg would take us 780 km (480 miles) southwest across France.  We had a sleeping berth but not much sleep happened in the 8 hours we were aboard.   Early Saturday morning we arrived in Bayonne and then waited a couple more hours for our short train ride to St. Jean Pied du Port.  Finally we had arrived!!  After months of planning for, thinking about, reading about and studying the Camino, we are finally here ready to start tomorrow.   Unbelievable!   We found the Camino office, got our passports and became official peregrinas  (pilgrims).    The man at the office explained how rough the climb over the Pyrenees will be tomorrow. ..but we are ready!   We will walk just a short way and then we will be in Spain and off to Santiago de Compostela!

Welcome to Pam and Karen’s Camino de Santiago blog!

For those who know us well, the only reason we need for doing something like this is that it’s an adventure we haven’t had yet!  It all started after a book club meeting at Pam’s house when Karen, (as per usual) stayed after everyone else went home.  After reading about this Camino that month in our book, we began discussing it and after a bottle of wine, decided this was something we had to do!  We also felt it good timing as Karen is celebrating the beginning of her 50s and Pam is celebrating the end of her fabulous 50s…and what better way to celebrate?!   

What is the Camino, you ask?   The Camino de Santiago (or the Way of St. James) was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during the Middle Ages and has been “in business” since the 9^th century.  James (an apostle of Jesus) spent some time in Spain proselytizing for the church.  After his attempts were unfruitful, he returned to Jerusalem and was promptly beheaded.  Legend has it that James’ remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried, in what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.   He became a martyr and Spain’s patron saint.   Over the years, the pilgrimage to Santiago has been made for reasons of penance, atonement and spiritual growth.   Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of St. James began at one’s home and ended at the pilgrimage site.  Nowadays, a few of the routes are considered main ones, including the one we will take, the Camino Frances (French route).   We will be walking from St. Jean Pied du Port in southern France to Santiago de Compostela, a whopping 800 kilometers (500 miles)! 

Major routes, with Camino Frances highlighted

We will also be taking the journey a little further to Finisterre (the End of the Earth) on the coast.

An “official” pilgrim will carry a credencial or special passport-type document that gives them access to inexpensive overnight accommodations (hostel style) along the route.  Pilgrims get stamps in the passport from each town or hostel (and sometimes restaurants and other locations) and it provides pilgrims with a record of their journey and serves as proof to the Pilgrims Office in Santiago that the journey was accomplished according to an official route.  This qualifies the pilgrim to receive a compostela (or certificate of completion) in Santiago.  To obtain a credencial, you must state your reason for doing the Camino.   While religious reasons are still common, many pilgrims (like us!) are doing it for fun, for the sport of it, to travel and see new and exciting things and simply for the challenge of weeks of walking.  It will definitely be a spiritual adventure to remove ourselves from the bustle of modern life! 

We have been planning this trip for almost of year.  We’ve completed multiple hikes from the coast range to the gorge (selecting only those the books deem “difficult”) as training.   We’ve walked for hours through rain, wind, hail, snow, more rain, mud and even hot temperatures at the end of the training.  Our routine for each hike was a Starbucks on the way to the hike, a rice krispy after the roughest part, and pizza and beer to celebrate at the end.  It worked because we put in many miles and gained many feet of elevation gain!  We’ve carried our weighted-down backpacks on these hikes, hoping to get acclimated, as we will carry all we need on our backs for the 6 weeks.  

We look forward to this mystical and uplifting opportunity - the adventure of a lifetime!  Thank you for your interest in our journey. We hope to keep you informed and entertained!   Please post comments if you’d like.

Karen & Pam

"20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour.  Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore - Dream - Discover." - Mark Twain