Day 21 Orisson Refuge to Espinal (Spain) 24.5kms 975m (400.6kms 10,504m)

I have used my exclamations to early
OMG!
Oo la la!
What the heck!
This day was huge. Endless up then endless down, then when we were too tired to notice, a nice soft forest trail😀.
In the beginning
An amazing morning greated us!
We turned from this view to meet our Danish friend in tears. "I can't go on, my back is just to sore". "It will be 80 euros for a taxi and that is too much for me"
Inside at breakfast our Brazilian friend could not go on because " I am not ready for another day like yesterday" "I have no accommodation booked"
We listen to each of them then suggested they share a solution. They put their heads together and started to plan. When we left they were sharing a taxi to the camp ground the Danish lady recommended. They both thanked us over and over.
Up we went
Looking back on Orisson, an outpost for people ready for a challenge.
The horses roamed free but wore bells
Signposts kept us from straying dangerously, and showed us when we entered Spain into Navarra...we did it!
The view from the pass, France down to Roncevaux Spain, was amazing and a bit daunting.
Roncevaux has a huge Monastery boarding lodge for overnight pilgrims.
Sane people stop here!
We went on
and should have enjoyed walking on soft, mulchy paths, in shady forest.
But we were just to tired.
Our dinner in Espinal turned out to be a treat. We had the pilgrims menu
De salad 
De meat and 
De pudding - delicious
Washed down with local vino tinto.
Our table mates were a couple from Ontario Canada, a lady from Boston USA, a man from Italy (who had no English and spoke French to the Bostonian), a young German and a middle aged German.
We discussed world politics, walking speeds, reasons for walking, who we had left at home and others we had seen on the trail.
The Bostonian and the young German were walking 35kms!!!!!!!!!! per day.
We were joined by a couple in their 70's who had bounced down past us during our final descent. They started in Saint Jean so did nearly double our day and they finished an hour before us. They weren't a couple he was from Germany and she was from USA. They met on an earlier Camino and try to walk two long distance walks somewhere in the world together each year.
What is your secret we ask -no secret- but we do do a lot of walking and live at high altitude...lots of extra red blood cells!

I think they both have good knees!
Good night

Comments

  1. Melanie23 April 2026 at 00:30

    What a day, one too remember! Well done again… do you get a rest day?

    ReplyDelete

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