Date: 2nd June 2019
Route: St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (Napoleon Route)
Distance: 14.9 miles / 24 KM
Accommodation: Refugio de Peregrinos de Roncesvalles

I left my hostel at 7am and waited for the two girls I’d met the day before in Bayonne; Queenie from Hong Kong and Miri from Germany. They stayed at the municipal albergue whereas I’d pre-booked a night in a cute little place called Gîte Bidean, so we arranged to meet at the church first thing and start walking together. They had also met a guy called Rob from the Netherlands who walked with us for the first day, so we had a nice little group from the get-go.

When leaving SJPDP there are two choices: the Napoleon route or the Valcarlos route. Most pilgrims take the Napoleon route, but if the weather has been bad it is recommended you take the Valcarlos route as it goes along a lower route. I was really lucky with the weather (33°C!) so I was able to take the Napoleon route.

The first day is sometimes referred to as a ‘baptism of fire’ – you are getting used to carrying a backpack, walking for hours on end and the overall pilgrim routine. On top of that, the Napoleon route is pretty steep, going from 200m to 1400m with a steep descent back down to Roncesvalles. There is the option of stopping at Orrison which is 4.9 miles (8KM) from SJPDP, but it books up really quickly and is quite expensive so most pilgrims do the full walk to Roncesvalles in one day.

Looking back, I now understand why some people choose to stop halfway as the climb is seriously steep! I had underestimated how hard the first day would be and was already sweating my arse off by 8am. It is a beautiful route though, so even though I hated most of the first day, in hindsight I can say it was worth it.

We reached Orisson at about 11am and stopped for a cold beer and a chance to take our shoes off. I noticed that I had a hot spot forming on the back of my heel, so I took the opportunity for some foot therapy before it turned into a blister (it still turned into a beauty of a blister). It is quite funny how everyone takes their shoes and socks off when they are sitting at a bar/cafe, it can start to smell quite…ripe!

The route up to this point is on tarmac and while it is easy to walk on, it is hard going on your feet so I would definitely recommend having a break at Orrison. It is worth mentioning that this is the only place on the way to Roncesvalles that has a toilet as well…

We soon established that Queenie and Rob had a much quicker pace going uphill then myself and Miri, so the group split shortly after Orrison. I wasn’t too bothered as we’d arranged to meet at the albergue in Roncesvalles for dinner, so I knew I would see my Camino pals again later that day.

After another climb from Orrison, you arrive at Biakorre where there is a statue of the Virgin Mary.  I’m not a religious person, but there was something quite soothing about the idea of having a figure watching over you. There were some wild horses and a few locals with their dogs here as well, so it made for a nice spot to have another break.

I was a little disappointed with how lacklustre the crossing from France to Spain was! I wasn’t sure what I had expected, but you would think that there would at least be a massive sign or monument of some kind. From what I remember, there was a fountain but if you weren’t paying attention to the writing inscribed on it, it would be easy to miss.

Towards the end of the day, there are two choices for getting down to Roncesvalles: one route goes steeply down the hill and can be quite dangerous in bad weather or the alternative route goes to the right and follows the road. The second choice is slightly longer, but both routes emerge at the back of the church in Roncesvalles so it doesn’t make too much of a difference. We had actually been advised to take the alternative route by the volunteers at the pilgrim office as a few days prior there had been a lot of rainfall, but we decided to take the original route as the weather had been so hot that day. The walk down was hellish on the knees, but the trail hadn’t been affected too badly by the rain and we made it down in one piece.

I’d prebooked my room at the Albergue de Perigrinos in Roncesvalles as it is the only albergue in the area and fills up pretty fast. I paid €22 for my bed and dinner which was a 3 course “pilgrim menu” consisting of pasta, soup and bread for starter, a choice of pork/chicken/fish and chips for main and yogurt for dessert. As standard, all pilgrim meals come with wine and water, but the wine is pretty awful in my opinion!

I had a good nights sleep in the albergue (although I was on the dreaded top bunk!) The snoring wasn’t too bad, but the toilets were ridiculously noisy so I was glad to have some ear plugs with me.

Buen Camino,

Jasmin