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<P>In 1998 I began my walk at St. Jean, and it was a most foolish decision, even though I was in reasonably good shape for the trek, if a bit jet lagged. At the time, I did not know there were alternatives, and I made it across only a little bit sore and very tired, but in Roncesvalles I met several who quit the Camino soon thereafter, thinking the rest of the route was as difficult as that from St. Jean to Ronceveaux. Today I found a comment on a website in French expressing my feelings exactly:</P>
<P class=MsoBodyText>"80 % des pèlerins passant à Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port commencent là leur pèlerinage, ce qui est une aberration, l’étape de Roncevaux par la montagne étant la plus difficile du chemin. On en parle peu, mais le mauvais temps y est fréquent, on peut y errer pendant des heures, voire même y mourir."</P>
<P class=MsoBodyText>St. Jean is the worst possible place to begin, especially for jet lagged North Americans trying to begin their pilgrimage a day or two after landing in Paris or Madrid from an overnight trans-Atlantic flight and 2-3 days of forced inactivity. The best advice is to begin at Roncesvalles or at Pamplona, most Spaniards do, or else start a few days before St. Jean in France and get in shape for climbing 1100 meters before walking to the summit. To hike 25 or so kms and climb 1100 meters on the first day of a month of hiking is foolish in the extreme for someone who is out of shape and tired, a recipe for injury. </P>
<P class=MsoBodyText>Why there is this perverse passion for starting at St. Jean, I do not know. Medieval pilgrims would have been walking for many days before arriving there, and they would have been in good physical condition long before. St. Jean was <EM>not </EM>a starting point for them, merely a point enroute. If one insists on starting at the summit of the Pyrenees, then starrt at Somport. That route provides a downhill first day to Jaca and much more spectacular mountain scenery in the bargain. I began there in 2001, and the week of hiking on the ruta Aragones was a highlight of my trip, a week of solitude in beautiful scenery before meeting the Camino Frances and continuing to Santiago.<BR><BR>E. O. Pederson</P></DIV>
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<DIV>Seattle, WA</DIV>
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