CAMINO FRANCES: DAY 1

Today was Camino's first day.

 Day 1  | 27 km | From Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

We have started from Saint Jean Pied de Port, which is located at an altitude of 165 meters, walking towards Roncesvalles which is at an altitude of about 1400 meters. Many people had told us that the first day of the Camino would be the hardest one and we found out for ourselves that it was true after all . For 21km the road was uphill and the last 6 km steep downhill. That was a route which usually takes 8 hours to walk, we made it in 11hours because we were taking pictures.

When we finally reached our final destination in Roncesvalles, which is a 12th century monastery and was the place to spend the night, we were told that all beds were full and we were taken to another Albergue (hostels where pilgrims stay) which was 6km further to Espinal.

Along the way there were countless free flocks of sheep, herds of horses and cows grazing in the vast Basque meadows.

The truth is that we are extremely exhausted but we remember the words of the great Rumi:

"As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears."