Tag Archives: Irouleguy

Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncevaux

Chapter 9 – Getting to Roncesvalles (Day 1 of Camino)

Early morning we could see the early morning mist blanketed over the Pyrenees like it was waiting for the sunlight to unveil it.

I set my temp Basel to -50% (reduced the Basel insulin (slow acting insulin) to a temporary setting to -50% for a set time in my insulin pump) since the whole day will be “one long physical activity”. I set it for 12 hours as we heard it would take minimum 8 hours to reach Roncesvalles from the tourist office. I estimated from speaking to many people and Camino Forum it that would be minimum 10 hours – I just wanted the extra two hours for meal and blood sugar testing breaks. The full dosage of Basel insulin per hour would result in many low sugars and it could get dangerous to walk the mountain with the strenuous activity of climbing without proper training, snacks etc. This is what my whole training in Toronto was all about and this Basel setting has helped me knowing “my numbers” as Sebastien Sasseville talked about.

IMG_1799We stepped out of the hotel like warriors armed with our packs and walking poles like we were ready to tackle the mountain – totally exciting feeling. As we walked out of SJPP we could hear the church bell ringing 8 times as it was waving goodbye to us. We walked through the medieval “Gate of Spain” towards our “Route de Napoleon” and it really helped that we had walked few hundred meters yesterday so we were familiar with our path. Right away we could tell that it wasn’t going to be easy, within 400 meters out of town we climbed a steep hill that was so vertical it took us by surprise and we were out of breath. We found ourselves quickly out of town and walking by many farms. Our focus was to get to Orisson 11 km and if we could get there in 3 hours (giving us 3 hrs per km) as the climb was quite steep and hard.  We passed many pilgrims along the way and met a whole group of Canadians and many students from Europe all with big backpacks as we sported our small day packs.

Orisson

Orisson

Mountain view

Mountain view

Manech sheep

Manech sheep

 

 

 

 

If the Pyrenees could talk …

The climb was hard and invigorating in many ways; we stopped frequently to take a sip of water and Gatorade (to replace salt, carb and electrolytes) and snacked on fig-newtons (prescribed by many athletes as a snack of choice).  As we climbed the scenery kept getting grander and beautiful, we couldn’t believe our eyes. The only down side was that we had to keep climbing but we took few moments to enjoy the breathtaking view of the mountains and cows roaming the field as we could see SJPP disappear.  We met so many travelers at the water fountain after the village of Hunto as we all exchanged stories and wished Buen Camino to each other and climbed the mountain.  We anticipated how Orisson would look like? To our surprise Orisson snuck into us quite as a mouse, two buildings on the middle of the mountain road, that’s it – wow! We made it less than 3 hours to Orisson and we shouted in joy as we knew we were going to conquer the Pyrenees by end of the evening, no problem.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes ― Marcel Proust

Like seasoned traveler we unloaded our pack on the eating area and filled our water bottles, made more Gatorade (we took Gatorade crystals) and packed on Bocadillo Chorizo (Spanish sausage sandwich) and said hello to few pilgrims and high tailed to the mountain as we knew we had a hard day head of us as we were only finished 1/3 of the climb.

Pyreneean chamois

Pyreneean chamois

Glorious lunch spot

Glorious lunch spot

Roland's Fountain

Roland’s Fountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone reading this blog and wants to do the Camino there is no question, you must try the Route de Napoleon – the mountain and the view is incredible. Flocks of Griffon Vultures, Hawks and Falcons soared over hot air pockets looking for easy preys along the mountains as it was midday. You could see flocks of black faced sheep roaming the high pasture as they are called Manech for their exquisite milk producing Ossau Iraty cheese in Navarre. Many kinds of flora along the way – too many to mention and took pictures as we could as they blanketed the mountains. As we were in higher elevation about 1200m (about 15 km) we decided to take a lunch break in one of the prettiest spot along the road. We passed many pilgrims but none were close to each other as we were only one at this area and it was our castle for the time being. We sat on the rock and watched the sheep calling each other from one mountain to the other as they were singing. We could see at a distance Pyreneean chamois (wild horse) grazing the mountain pasture. I gave 50% bolus insulin for my lunch since the sandwich was so heavy in carb (so much bread).

Border France & Spain

Border France & Spain

Birch forest

Birch forest

Mistry mountain climb

Misty mountain climb

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could totally see us coming back to this climb once more in our life time as the serenity, the magic, the beauty in this mountain that I’ve never seen anywhere before. We packed up and walked toward to the summit as we still had another 5km to climb. The climb was harder than we thought as it became rocky with big boulders and you had to watch every step forward. Closer to 3pm still no sight of the summit as we didn’t see anyone for quite some time except at the distance the young Korean woman that we had met earlier who was walking slow and steady.

We got to the fountain of Roland and ran into a German traveler where he had been walking since April from Frankfurt by foot. It was quite inspiring to hear his story. After 2km we could reach the summit where there were many pilgrims resting and enjoying a snack. We fell to the ground in joy. We asked ourselves, where did all these pilgrims come from as most didn’t pass us? This was my first successful mountain climb to the summit the feeling was indescribable.  We met other travelers and exchanged stories as the German traveler said in all his journey climbing the Pyrenees was the longest and toughest. His comment somehow made us feel good as we thought it was only us who thought it was a tough climb taking 8 hrs to climb it.

Roman ruin (Mesala & Agrippa's win 27-38 BC)

Roman ruin (Mesala & Agrippa’s win 27-38 BC)

Bunker from 1936-39 Spanish Civil War

Bunker from 1936-39 Spanish Civil War

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a choice in descend paths as well as we were advised to take the steep 5 km path down to Roncesvalles rather than through a thistle path which was dangerous.  I am not sure which was dangerous but our path was straight down with large boulders and stones and every step had to be cautious, one false move could result in injury or falling forward.  The descend down was arduous and steep as well as we were going through thick forest and not knowing how far we had come down. Finally we could hear people, church bells not far away, as usual Roncesvalles at 950m snuck into us so quickly it was anticlimactic. It took us in total 10 hours from beginning to end including our breaks, not bad I thought, it was the longest day in our week journey.

Top of the summit  at 1450m

Top of the summit at 1450m

Our hotel was right on the path of the Camino and our suitcases were waiting. We got our second stamp and unloaded our packs as we were very curious to the famous church in town before it closed at 8pm.

Roncesvalles is a small town filled with a Romanesque church, a monetary and couple of albergues and a hotel, nothing more, not even a grocery shop or shop of any kind. So bring extra supplies until you hit the next town. We were happy to meet other travelers at the bar of our hotel which was quite famous (the only one) and exchanged stories while having a beer.

Church of Santiago 13thC

Church of Santiago 13thC

Monastery

Monastery

New church & Alburge

New church & Alburge

 

 

 

 

 

 

It felt like everyone knew each other. We were introduced to other Canadians who walked that day as people got the wind that we were from Canada and that we might know each other. It’s quite funny actually but it was nice to connect and hear everyone’s stories.

Roasted piquillo peppers

Roasted piquillo peppers

Cordero al chilindron

Cordero al chilindron

Cod with potato

Cod with potato

 

 

 

 

 

 

For dinner we had the regional food from Navarra which was exquisite and had the same wine Irouleguy that we had in SJPP. If you are in Navarra you must try the cordero al chilindron (Lamb stew), its outstanding made with local wine. After dinner we passed out in bliss contemplating how our next day’s long trek to Zubri was going to go.

Thought of the day: I can really do this!

Buen Camino!

Preparation at Saint Jean Pied de Port

Chapter 8 – Getting things ready for the Camino (Day 0)

When we decided to do the first part of the Camino (until Logrono) we had decided to book our hotels and arrange for a baggage pickup through a British travel company.  Before starting the walk, we were just finishing a business trip/vacation from Europe so it made sense to have our suitcases moved and carry a daypack with necessary things for the day.  Having pre-booked our hotels didn’t mean that we would be driven around; it was our responsibility to get to each stop at the end of the day and check into the accommodation that was set months ago.

At the tourist office

At the tourist office

The maps from the travel company were identical to the main Camino route that every pilgrim undertakes.  Since I was going back to the Camino in late summer this was a trial to see if I could do this all on my own as I was a bit nervous traveling by myself as a person with type1 diabetes. Not that I needed hand holding but for low sugars, emergencies as I was pretty nervous about climbing the Pyrenees alone as I heard it’s pretty hard and so it made sense for me to have my partner with me just in case. He was happy and willing and he also felt that he hadn’t done a walking holiday in many years and he felt it was time to do one together.

Our adventure started together – see Chapter 5 (Getting to Saint Jean Pied de Port). Once we got to Saint Jean Pied de Port (SJPP) the trick was to find out hotel with our massive suitcase dragging through the street as there were taxis.  We asked for our hotel name and we ran into a lady who spoke very good English and pointed to the old town. Perhaps they are used to people with big backpacks not massive suitcases like we were moving into an apartment, it did look funny. The heat in the midday was exhausting but not more than a kilometer in the old part of the town we found our beautiful hotel and our room had an amazing balcony overlooking the village and the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Leaving the luggage in the room we took the opportunity to have lunch in the town as it was closer to 2pm. There were travelers from all over Europe, some walking the Camino and some with family taking few days off to do bit of hike and enjoy the village. We decided to try the Pilgrim menu as most bars, restaurants, alburges along the Camino serve a set course meal with appetizer, main course with dessert and some include a glass of wine or beverage of your choice all under 10 euro. We were recommended to try the Irouleguy rose wine which was produced locally. The wine was light and crisp, refreshing with perfect with our stewed chicken with mushrooms, delicious!

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Irouleguy, a local wine – Irouleguy was already being produced in the 14th and 15th centuries by canons in Roncevaux (Roncesvalles). The vineyards extend over 120 hectares and across some twenty communes, producing both reds and roses. This Basque wine obtained “appellation d’origine” status in 1970.

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After lunch we went to the tourist office to get our passports. It was hard to explain the feelings inside as I was about to embark on something totally different and my life after this experience would change forever. The tourist office is run by many volunteers who are so happy to see you and their first question was what language we spoke so they could direct us to the right table. A lovely gentleman greeted us so kindly and asked us few questions like where we had come from as it was also for data collection and was happy to see so many Canadians had come through, none that day. We signed our name on the register, explained about two existing paths to get to Roncesvalles and he prepared our passports.

When I started my Camino training in March I decided that I was going to climb the Pyrenees – it was something that I always wanted to do, conquer a summit in my life. And when I heard there were two paths, one through the mountain called Route de Napolean 25.1 km (adjusted for climb 32 km) summit 1450m and another route called Route Valcarlos 24 km (adjusted for climb 29 km) summit 900m there was no question. I’ve heard the scenery is spectacular despite the arduous climb.

I also thought it was automatic that you would get your Camino shell after you register but it’s not a requisite that everyone carries one. It was a personal decision for everyone. So we decided to carry one so we donated some money in a basket and select our own shell. It was quite special for me.

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This shell would walk the entire trip with me and share all my burden, happiness, all the beauty along the way. So I just didn’t pick the one on the top but found one that would be my companion.  It was already threaded so I all I had to do was to tie to securely on my pack when I got back to the room.

After our trip to the tourist office we explored the town – see chapter 6 (Camino Santiago Passports, Stamps & Symbols). We also decided go for a walk to familiarize ourselves to see the Camino path and where to pick up Route de Napoleon so that we wouldn’t miss it the next day with all the excitement. It was quite and non descript but the hair on my back still stoop up as I was would be on that path in the next 12 hours and my exciting journey would start.

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Went back to the room and got our packs and boots ready for the morning as our plan was to start as early as possible.  After another amazing dinner at our hotel overlooking the mountains we retired to our room setting the alaram for 6am.

Thought of the day: All this preparation, I am on autopilot!

Buen Camino!