Saint Jean Pied De Port

We have arrived at the starting point of the Camino Frances. Saint Jean has a population of just 1500 but serves the needs of over 50,000 pilgrims per year. In 2022 , a little over 52,000 pilgrims began their pilgrimage here. While France had the highest number of pilgrims, the US was second with about 7200. The town is known for its narrow streets and was the ancient capital of the Basque region of Basse-Navarre.
We checked in at the pilgrims office , registered and received our official pilgrimage passports. This will be used throughout the trip. A pilgrim needs to have their passport stamped throughout their journey as evidence of their pilgrimage. In Santiago , pilgrims present their passport to the office to receive the official Compostela !

We are staying at a hostel , Gite Compostella just a few clicks out of the city center.
At 700 am tomorrow we will begin. As Saint Jean sits at the base of the Pyrenees , our first day will be up the Pyrenees (highest elevation is about 4500 feet) and then about a third of the way down where we will pass into Spain and arrive at our destination, Roncesvalles. About a 16 mile trip for the day . The first two days of the pilgrimage are said to be the most challenging so excited to get started!
Cj and I will debate tomorrow ‘s starting point at dinner tonight. The official starting point is a little past the pilgrims office and our hostel is further down the Camino path. Since we have technically already traveled that part of the path shall we go back to the starting point again or shall we just go forward from our hostel…hmmmm….Les mer