Day 1: Roncesvalles to Larrasoana

So today was the first day of walking this thing they call the camino.

I'm sitting in front of the computer in the Albergue in Larrasoana and don't really know what to write. We started out in Roncesvalles, where we arrived by bus in the evening around 7pm. There were two other pilgrims on the bus, two guys (about mid to late twenties?) from Madrid and somewhere around here, and two more in the dormitory who had walked from St Jean over the Route Napoleon (also guys) from Rome and Prague. Slept ok, woke up in the morning and started walking (in the dark at 8am. Wasn't dark for long though). It was raining, naturally, so it was waterproof pants, jackets and hoods for us both. Still got a bit damp. But it cleared up again in between and walking through Zubiri it even was sunny for a while. About 10 degrees, maybe a little more. And it went down and up, and up and down, and up and up and up and through a strange industrial place where they have warning signs telling you to stay on the path. But it was beautiful too - lots of mist, hills, forests green with moss and evergreens and deep purple where the red leaves and grey branches mix. I would upload photos (of which I have a lot), but the USB port on this computer is locked off, annoying, eh? Tomorrow I might have better internet.

And overall, the walking was really nice for the first 15km. For the next 12, it was worse, I guess. The albergue in Zubiri was closed, so we walked on to Larrasoana, another 6km up and down. Needless to say, I am aching all over. My feet have no blisters (but I do have a bad rash - all red and lumpy - from my new socks on my ankles, I didn't wash them before going...) but hurt. My back is sore (but actually ok), my shoulders are sore, my ankles hurt from all the steep downhill, and my leg muscles hurt from all the steep uphill.

Despite that, it was a great day. Very scenic, although the hills were killers. And I think I can do it again tomorrow (if slightly less of a distance). But for a month? What a crazy idea. I suppose I'll get used to the rhythm of things though. Not being able to speak spanish is bad, but we manage. I was very proud that we got two big boxes of clothes sent to Santiago with no Spanish knowledge -  and for only twenty euros! And that for 26kg... Really cheap.

Not much else to say really. Got to the albergue, had a shower, bought a bit of food (oh yeah, food is strange. Not in the sense of the food itself, but the stuff we scrape together for meals in little shops and places. Did you know a boccadillo is about a foot (or more) long? It lasts about three meals.) and will go to bed soon.

Planning to go to Pamplona tomorrow, only 15km or so... but we'll have to see what's open. Apparently one in Pamplona and Cizur Menor is closed (the next village), I don't know what we'll do if the second albergue in P is closed too.

This travel stuff is weird and complicated and slightly overwhelming.