Some Thoughts and Pictures

We have been home for a few weeks now and have had a chance to process our thoughts about our trek across France and frankly, I don't think I can adequately sum up what we experienced.  But here are my (Ed's) random thoughts: The trail was tough at times. There was beauty everywhere; in nature, in art, in architecture and much more.  The people of France were so hospitable.  The food was amazing and plentiful.  Many people's behavior left us scratching our heads.  And so on and so forth. Rather than ramble any farther, I will adhere to the old adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and leave some links to our photo album and a slide show video.  Enjoy!

Chemin 2015 Pictures

Chemin 2015 Video

Day 37: Montserrat to Barcelona - Train & Bus

Awoke to a thick fog over the high mountain. We would not be deterred. We were going to see something while we were there. Ate a big buffet breakfast at the hotel including way too much coffee. Got ready and checked out of the hotel (they allowed us to keep our bags there while we explored). Meandered around in the fog and found a trail called the Cami Dels Degotalls which was a path lined with tile pictures of Mary. It was also a Camino De Santaigo path! Can't seem to get off that trail. Headed back toward the main area where we found some market vendors selling fig cakes and cheese including Mato cheese that is a curd like cheese that is eaten with honey. Very good. Went by the post office there and mailed our trusty Opinel knife back home since we can't take it on the plane. Took the funicular train (it's one of those steep mountain rail cars). Down to a path that we followed to the Santa Cova where its purported that someone once had an encounter with Mary. The chapel is built over a cave in the side of the mountain. We did one other trail to a high peak but unfortunately the fog prevented any good views today. We finally gathered our bags and grabbed the trains down the mountain to head back to Barcelona. Upon arrival we grabbed some things for tomorrow's travels but also found a medieval street festival just starting which had some great food vendors. Caught a bus to the airport where we met the shuttle for our hotel. Whew! Decompressing before the big plane ride back to the U.S. In the morning. Hoping the storms back home don't prevent us from getting there. 

Have decided to leave our shoes behind. Good bye, old friends {sniff ; (  }

Day 36: Barcelona to Montserrat - Train

Threat of rain subsided so we got ready to head to Montserrat. A bit of a walk to the train station but along the way we were successful in getting coffee at a nice shop plus a couple small sandwiches for lunch. Found a market building where we got another sandwich and some fruit. Found our train and rode the one hour to the mountain top monastery. Got some info, dropped our backpacks at our hotel and had lunch. Then attended the short service where we heard the boys choir sing. The experience was a bit tainted as the throng of tourists ignored the requests and took many pictures with flash during the service. There was just a complete lack of respect and reverence. Disappointing. Took off afterwards and hiked to the top of the peaks at Sant Jeroni. Scary steep and windy cold. On the way down we had hoped to ride the funicular train back down to the monastery level but you had to have a ticket and couldn't buy one at the top. We ended up walking all the way back down. Found out later our train ticket included the funicular ride. Ha ha! Oh well. The whole area is geared towards the tourists and the souvenirs ($$). Very little info about the hiking and the trails are poorly marked. When we got back, we looked around a bit in shops and finally cleaned up and rested until our late dinner at the restaurant here. It was very nice. 

Hotel Abat Cisneros - A good hotel

Day 35: Pamplona to Barcelona - Train

Lazy morning in the hotel. Cafe con Leche and then checked out and walked to the train station. Four hour trip and we arrived in Barcelona where we were greeted by Anna, our good friend we met last year on the Camino Primitivo. Hung out at a cafe and caught up on our lives. We sadly had to part ways but had a great visit. We walked for a bit until we found our Barcelona hideaway. Dropped our bags and walked a bit more towards the Plaça and the La Rambla area. The amount of people walking the streets here is staggering. Were able to find an early dinner salad. Searched a bit and finally found some good boutique sweet treats. 

H La Paloma - Boutique hotel. Quirky but nice.

Day 34: Larrasoaña to Pamplona 16 kilometers

Overnight rain was sure to muddy the paths today but we only had 16 kilometers to go so we march on.  A very quiet morning and not as cool. Stopped mid morning at El Horno De Irotz, a cool little cafe that we enjoyed on our journey last year. We had some great coffee and breakfast cake but it was very quiet as no other pilgrims stopped in. We continued and got to the big city of Pamplona before noon. Made our way through the busy city until we reached the officina de tourisma where we got some maps and needed info. As we exited the office we ran into some Pelerins that have been on the same path as us for some days now. They have been traveling from Geneva and are going to Santiago. Even though we didn't hang out with them much I think we found we had a great respect for one another. We said our goodbyes and continued on. As we went to find our hotel and the train station we followed the path of the running of the bulls. After obtaining tickets to travel to Barcelona tomorrow, we checked in to our hotel, dropped off our bags and did a walking tour of the great walled city.  The fortress that is the city is massive. What was a bit sad was the defacing of several of the entrance gates. Not sure why anyone would feel the need to mar a beautiful and historic place. We lucked into finding a great restaurant for a midday meal of salads, pinxtos, and coffee. After tiring during our tour, we headed back towards our hotel, stopping at a store to get some things for dinner and our trip tomorrow. Our days of walking on The Way for this journey are now over. A bit sad. 

Day 33: Ronceveaux to Larrasoaña 27 kilometers

Awoke to a cool and foggy morning in Ronceveaux (Roncevalles). Had our first cafe con leche this morning. Joan is missing her Cafe Noisettes already. Hit the trail just before 8:00.  The parade of pilgrims had already begun. Found it to be a bit strange to be on the Spanish route again. Saw so many people with gigantic backpacks.  Don't know how they do it. Stopped mid morning for a rest and a coffee stop in Bizcarreta, a place where we spent the night before we started last year. Then walked some long wooded paths before coming to Zubiri (pronounced Zoo-beedy). We picnicked there and got an ice cream before making the last bit of today's journey to Larrasoaña. Checked into the albergue and got our chores done by 3:00. Went to the local tienda where we got some food for a meal last year and enjoyed some classic rock tunes played by the owner, Angel.  He's quite a character. Got a few things to sustain us tomorrow morning.  Decided to participate in one more community dinner. The company and conversation were far better than the food this time. Talked with women from Ireland and Lithuania.

Albergue San Nicolas - very nice, clean facility. Meal is sub par but not many options in this town.

Day 32: St. Jean Pied de Port to Ronceveaux 26 kilometers

Awoke prepared to climb over the Pyrenees today except for Joan fighting a bad cold. Today began with breakfast at Alain's Gite. One of our top petite dejeuners yet. Yogurt and grain cereal with bread baked in his kitchen, and an apple and cheese! Ate with Jack and William who will finish walking today.  We left at 7:45 and it was quite cool and foggy.  Of course my "tough as nails" wife knew she would be sweating as soon as we started climbing so she didn't bother to don any cool weather clothing like most others who walk. They looked at her like she was crazy. And there are so many people walking this morning. Way different than the last month. The first 10 kilometers are very steep so it is a rough start.  Last year we started in Hunto which was five kilometers into the journey.  We arrived at Orrison which is at the 9 kilometer mark at about 9:15 where we took our first break and got an excellent espresso.  Continued on until we got to the statue of Mary and took another break for our daily banana.  As we walked we started hearing a lot of American English spoken.  It's amazing that in the last month we had only encountered three Americans and in our first few hours we saw several times that amount. Walked a while more until we encountered Henri and his buddy Alex who were passing out water and offering encouragement to the pilgrims. Henri said we didn't look like Americans because we were fit (not a good statement about the state of what people think of our country). It was quite funny but we were very conflicted on what language to speak as there were still many French but we started hearing the familiar refrain "Buen Camino" instead of "Bon Chemin" (and of course all the English). We eventually passed the France/Spain border and found ourselves a bit sad. Seems we have grown quite fond of the French people and their land in the last month. Passed the shelter at the 20 kilometer mark and found a big rock to sit on and enjoy our picnic. After a long break we headed off to complete our day's journey.  We felt like we kept a relatively slow pace since Joan wasn't feeling well yet we arrived in Ronceveaux at 1:45.  We finished the day in six hours with numerous breaks. We had wondered if last year we were just pumped on adrenaline because it was the start of our journey. We didn't think it wasn't nearly as hard as people had said. That was part of the reason we wanted to do it again because generally, we don't like to retrace our steps. But now we have to wonder if our last four weeks of walking made us strong enough to think it wasn't that bad. Upon arriving I did what I had been wanting to do for weeks....throw off my shoes and put my feet and ankles in the cold creek that runs behind the cathedral.  It was so cold but so amazingly refreshing and therapeutic. 

We then found our accomodations. We eschewed staying in the big albergue since Joan is sick and were able to book a room at the Casa de Beneficiandos.  Wish I could find rooms like this in the states for these prices. It's a one bedroom apartment. Nice! We were able to get an early dinner here at the hotel restaurant and it was a surprising treat. Delicious! 

Casa De Los Beneficianados (Hotel Roncevalles) - Excellent!!