Auritz/Burguete

Today has been an extremely long and eventful one. It began with another glorious breakfast at the Nervion Hotel followed by a meeting with our local guide. She introduced herself as Ann and then explained that her main responsibility was to take us on a tour of the inside of the Guggenheim Museum.

Our group formed itself into a walking peloton and followed her along the riverbank as she explained how Bilbao had indeed been a city with a lot of problems and all too little beauty. The building of the Guggenheim had transformed an especially ugly area of disused shipyards into a work of art that thousands come from all over the world every day to admire. I was especially amazed that such a building could have been made for only 90,000,000 Euro. Considering the money it now attracts to the city, that must have been one of the biggest bargains of all time.

The interior of the building is just as stunning as the exterior, although some of the displayed works by Picasso, Van Gogh and others left me a little underwhelmed. Maybe I am just a Philistine after all.

After a couple of hours inside the building I joined Allan for a ride up the funicular railway to the top of one of the mountains overlooking the city. It not only provided a sensational view of the city, but the air was cooler and fresher as well. Although the hilltop location was obviously a tourist mecca, the price for the delicious hamburger I ate at the restaurant was a very reasonable 7 Euro (about $10).

By 3.30 pm it was time to return to our hotel to meet Carlos, the young guide who will be accompanying us for the next two weeks on our Camino walk. He explained that he had actually been brought up by Spanish parents in Germany, thus giving him the ability to speak both Spanish and German without an accent. He later learnt English at school and spoke that very well also. I guess that is one advantage that kids raised in Europe have.

It was time then to load our gear on to our bus, driven by a young, baby faced Spaniard called Raoul.W e then set out on the long drive into the Pyrenees to our starting point at Roncesvalles, just 5 km from the French border. It was a wonderfully scenic drive, especially the section from Pamplona onward. In the winter this whole region is blanketed with snow, but at this time it consists of green steeply sloping hills, interspersed with a succession of small alpine villages.

At around 7 pm we finally pulled up outside the ancient Beneficiados that was to be our home for the evening. This city dates back over 1400 years and you can feel the antiquity seeping from every ancient chapel and monastery here. We also caught our first sight of other pilgrims on their own personal journeys to Santiago. Tomorrow morning we will be taking our first steps along this ancient path. Our first day's walk will be a very hilly 19 km, so I wonder just how well our feet and legs will rise to the challenge.

Although our building dates back hundreds of years, the rooms have been extensively modernised for accommodation. My room was actually quite enormous and the evening meal we were given was almost as big as the room. I think that must have tried to fuel us up for the entire walk to Santiago in just one meal. The only dark shadow hanging over the start of our walk is the forecast for long temperatures and steady rain. Oh well, I guess it was not (always) meant to be easy.

As for me, I am exhausted already after the very long day, and since the hour is late I am heading for bed. The internet connection here is very slow so the pictures will have to wait till I get a better connection. Good night all.Read more