17/05/2024 – Walking the walk

We started our journey on Wednesday. I’m sorry to say that I wish you were on Facebook! There is the walk, and also the afternoon/evening in the astonishing, historic places where we overnight. We’ve posted at least 50 photos across 2 posts each day so far. And, of course, a picture speaks a thousand words. How to share, even a fraction with this mostly word-receiving audience?

Day 1 is actually the toughest stage. You gain 1,440m over 20km through the Pyrenees, as you crunch your way up to the pass into Spain. Then, you shed about 550m over 3.5km on one of the most notoriously dangerous (rocky, slippy, uneven) descents. Then, you stride/hobble, (thighs screaming from the climb; calves screaming from the descent) through farmland into Roncesvalles.

On a dismal, claggy stretch, 1.5km from the end of the forest, we came upon a German woman (Sylvia, 63, born and identifies as female) who had fallen and was stuck on the wet clay with what she thought was a broken ankle. Our Wilderness First Responder training kicked in. Carey and another large passing walker, raised her up. We got her off the trail and onto something dry. She couldn’t put any weight on her leg, so we were not getting her down alone. We elevated her leg, offered her water, aspirin, a blanket… (we have a boss first aid kit). Neither of us had cell signal, but another passing walker did. Together we called “112”, the local emergency number. They were able to put an English-speaker on for us (amazing). We WhatsApped them our GPS coordinates (his English wasn’t THAT good). They sent us firemen in a jeep and an ATV (we were uphill on the challenging trail), who took over her care and got her to hospital.

We walked Day 1 largely separately. I needed to go hell-for-leather uphill. Carey needed a steady pace. I hit 20km (90% of the climb), looked for somewhere to perch and waited for him. He was along in 25 minutes. We then breasted the pass together. Thankfully, that meant we were able to act as a team when we met Sylvia in the mud.

As we sat at dinner, sharing the bottle of local Tempranillo that came with our “pilgrims’ meal”, what we both noted about the day, apart from the staggering sense of achievement, were the slugs – luxurious big black slugs everywhere!

Roncesvalles is a church and 3 16th Century hotels/inns, all hosting pilgrims for 5 centuries. We watched in awe as our dormitory “processed” 80 pilgrims in 2 sittings for dinner – it was beyond polished. The pilgrims’ menus are communal tables, 3 courses, with crisp fresh bread and a share of bottles of local wine. They are local, hearty and a signature part of the Camino experience. They are also, typically, the only way to eat. Most of the way-points, like Roncesvalles, are too small for a shop or bakery.