Day Three - Roncesvalles to Urdaniz

We were woken at 6:00 at the Monastery albergue with Gregorian chants played softly over the speakers. The lights went on and people were instantly rattling around gathering their gear and packing their backpacks. The pilgrim exodus began. It’s an interesting part of staying in a municipal albergue…. Many people are eager to get up and get going very early.
I, on the other hand, am the “wait until everyone has left and then calmly pack my stuff” kind of pilgrim.
We started off past 7:30, to Lee’s disapproval, but it was raining and cold so why rush?

It was a good day, more rain than I expected. Once in a while the sun would come out and I would think our day was about to get warm and sunny! But no, within a few minutes the clouds covered the sun again and more raindrops pelted us. This made for some very muddy conditions! Luckily when we reached Zubiri there was a bike washing station that doubled beautifully as a boot wash!

I’m coming down with something, signaled by a sore throat. Ugh.
Tomorrow we make our way to Pamplona. The forecast looks dry, and I’ll be glad for an opportunity to do some washing once we get to a bigger city.Read more