Santiago Pilgrimage-St.Jean to Roncesvalles

[Pamela Forsyth]

Hi,
I am new to this list as well. In reply to Mary Frances Harrison- I did the
Camino in 1999 which was also a Holy Year -starting from St. Jean. That
first day from St. Jean to Roncesvalles was the worst day of my whole trip,
partly because it rained most of the day, but breaking it into two days
would be a good idea. A lot of the route from St.J. to Ron. is paved so it
is not like hiking in the Rocky Mountains here in Canada; the problem is
just the distance between those two points which is long for the first day.
I was 50 years old at that time and not in particularly good shape but I
made it. One thing that I would definitely recommend is to take TWO hiking
poles - they made all the difference to me, especially on downhill and rocky
stretches. I used the lightweight metal ones that are adjustable in length
and can be stowed in your backpack on the easier sections of the trail.

I had the luxury of lots of time for my pilgrimage so, occasionally, I took
an extra day to rest (and sightsee) if I was feeling tired - and then stayed
in a small hotel so I had a little more comfort as well.

As to the refugios - only twice in six weeks did I find them full when I
arrived but there were other pension-type places available at reasonable
cost in those towns. However, I started on the 4th of May, arriving in
Santiago in mid June. It does get much busier in June and July so if you
could go a little earlier you would probably find it less crowded.

I do encourage you to go - it is a great experience!

Pam Forsyth