Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña

Today was an interesting day. The night before when we arrived in Roncevalles over dinner and after a few glasses of wine we made arrangements with our pilgrim friends for breakfast. Our group was later named by a fellow pilgrim down the way as "The Breakfast Club" a reference to one of his favorite movies.

None of the restaurants near our Alberque were open so after starting a bit late our group moved out in the drizzling rain to the next town. Our aching feet and the poor weather could not dampen our spirits. We shared stories and laughter all the way as the time seemed to fly by.

Upon arriving to town Jenni noticed an almost full bottle of vodka sitting outside. This was our first clue that there was a party the night before. Our suspicions were confirmed a few short steps later when we stumbled upon the party still in progress.

The young men with blood shot eyes and drinks in there hands were still shouting at one another and having a good time. As we maneuvered our way to the one open cafe it was packed with patrons from the party in town and fellow pilgrims.

Jenni used her amazing skills in Spanish to learn they were celebrating their towns Saints Day. While Jenni was learning about the towns founding Saint we were welcomed with our first spanish hello that consisted of kisses on the cheeks. I was not to excited about a drunk guy kissing Jenni on the cheek but with alcohol on his breath he asked permission and then greeted me the same way. In all the chaos of a crowded cafe that had people tripping over one another the locals and pilgrims still mixed well and enjoyed the atmosphere.

The rest of the walk for the day was over rolling hills that had stunning views of the valley below.

The late start combined with our love of the view put us in a position where we were almost the last ones left on the pilgrimage between the two towns.

Being in the back if the pack has its advantages in that we felt like we were the only ones on the trails. The problem was that when there was no one to follow and it is easy to lose your way.

Jenni and I came to a point on the trail where there was a sign in Spanish that stated pilgrims need to exit. There were three big stones blocking the road in front of us and to the right we could see that there looked to be an old Camino sign that was decommissioned. There was a green arrow pointing a way but all Camino arrows were yellow so we didn't pay any attention to it. To the left of the trail was what looked to be the way so Jenni and I took that. It was a bit more rustic than any other Camino trails and after about 100 meters Jenni suggested we look at the map. While I was pulling our the map and looking at it she went ahead and kept walking.

I determined we went the wrong way, but Jenni was so far ahead that I had to run down the so called trail and through the thistle brush to catch her. She was so far up that we thought we saw a road and decided to go to it. After bush whacking for about an hour it turned out it was part of an access road to the sludge pond for an industrial plant. We were a bit tired so we trespassed on the plants service road and made our way back.

When we made it to where we took the so called trail we looked ahead and found that had we turned our necks just a little more by the blocked road we would have seen the way.

Now even further back from everyone we walked on. Eventually coming across a young boy running from his grandpa and yelling, "no" with the grandpa close behind him. We also saw a couple waking there dog by having the dog run in front of the van. They would get to the end of the road and the dog would turn around come back. It was very hilarious!

We eventually made it to town and they were out of bunks at the Alberque. The lady working there wasn't all that helpful as we left to find a place to sleep. We saw a German group that passed us early on calling for a taxi to the next town. They offered to share with us but both Jenni and I thought that would be cheating the Camino and resolved to sleep outside.

Thankfully we learned of the local racket ball court from a member of our Camino family. The court was open to us for free and with a roof over our heads and we liked the idea of having a quiet place to sleep.

We were taken out of our comfort zone as the doors of the court did not lock. While we were setting up our sleeping pads a guy came in the building to hang out. Shortly after he left Jenni and I settled in with a bottle of wine.

We fell fast asleep only to be awoken by the local teenagers that used the court as a hangout after dark. The gym echoed and magnified sounds from outside. The kids were shadowed in the transparent walls by the full moon. We could see them circling the building. Between the fireworks, screams, and running around the building it felt like a scene from Children of the Corn. To top it of the changing temperature caused the walls to expand but it sounded like they were hitting the walls in an attempt to let scare us.

Then they started to come into the building and rode their bikes in circles around the court.

We weren't sure what to expect so I manned up and went to talk to them. It turned out they were actually very nice and after a short conversation said "Buen Camino" and left.