Day 2 - St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (the Hardest Day (Reportedly))

St Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles was billed as the hardest day for the Camino, but we have done that today and it did not seem too bad.
  


 













We set off at 7:30am although Vicki wanted to leave much earlier as she was concerned about finishing in the dark. I was delaying things as I wanted to make the posts for the last two days and, frankly, I wanted breakfast which was not due to start until 7:30am. Vicki would have none of that so we left without breakfast. It was that or the whip.

By that time most of the young things I mentioned in yesterday's post had left. But not to worry as we passed most of them on the upward leg. They may have been half our age but contrary to my concern of yesterday, they were only half as fit and not ten times fitter.

In short it was a 25km hike that started at 150m above sea level, went up to 1420m above sea level at the 20km mark and then dropped to 965m at the end point. The whole route took a margin under six and a half hours.

Some of the upward legs seemed never-ending but were easily doable. The downward leg on a track comprised of mud and rocks was, in our opinion, the most challenging. 

Mainly because our bones and tendons are not as young as some of the other tendons and bones that went racing down the hill. The first 500m of the downward leg was a drop of 150m in elevation.



In Paris we brought walking sticks, much to Vicki's disgust and with a word of warning from her that she would never use those. The walking sticks were fantastic, improving the posture and respiration on the upward legs and providing stability and control on the downhill plunge. 

Yes, after the first half of the day, Vicki gave in and started using hers.

The end of the trek came abruptly and suddenly we were at the town of Roncesvalles. 

We stood on the road for a moment feeling confused about what we should do next but we then realized we were standing next to a pub, so we sat and enjoyed a well earned beer and watched the young things follow us in.



Our accommodation in Roncesvalles is superb. - an apartment with lounge, kitchen and bedroom (and a proper stand upright hot shower).

The scenery  was wonderful and it is impossible to compress the wide open nature of it into a photograph. Our photos do not do it justice.

No injuries or blisters to date and tomorrow we will try to keep to our commitment to stretch before walking (which we forgot to do today).