Day 0 Roncesvalles

Another long travel day today. It started at 4 AM where I traveled back to the Madrid airport and flew to Pamplona. I had a 6 hour wait before my bus boarded so I was able to walk and explore the city. I found the city plaza and also the bull fighting arena. Next week begins the festival of San Fermin which includes the famous running of the bulls. I was able to enter the arena and found a large number of youth teams competing in something that looked like an inflatable gladiator games. I sat in the shade, enjoyed another cerveza and laughed hard. Finally I headed back to the bus and traveled up the Pyrenees mountains to a small village near the French/Spanish border named Roncesvalles. This will be my starting point tomorrow. It is a beautiful old facade of a monastery with nice new renovations. There are lots of people here and it is the first time I have heard native English speakers. I have found it very interesting to be alone and surrounded by a spoken and written language that makes no sense to me. I naturally ignore all of the things that are everyday distractions like signs and people nearby talking. It is both freeing and isolating at the same time. I very much look forward to the start of walking tomorrow!!!! Lastly I was fortunate to be a part of a mass that blessed us on our journey. Here are some pictures of today’s trip. All is well and keep on smiling.Read more