Roncesvalles
Wake up at 5:30. That’s not nice. It takes a while for the sound of the alarm clock to break through the barrier of wax earplugs, one of the most important elements that allow you to sleep even when the conditions are not really comfortable. You can buy it in any pharmacy, I suppose. I was the first one to jump out of bed this day. When others saw what was going on, they only pushed deeper into their sleeping bags. I took a shower in the evening, so I only needed a quick toilet break and breakfast. Unfortunately during the bath I realized that the shampoo I bought in French Lidl was in fact a hair conditioner. Almond scented. Shit happens. I had a Knorr soup from the microwave for breakfast. Yummy as hell. I packed my backpack and checked the route. I glanced into the room to see my companions for the last time. 6:40 a.m.
Day 2. First crisis
It was completely empty and dark outside. I walked first kilometers along the road, lighting up the route with my headlight. Rarely a passing car illuminated the road ahead of me.
Peace and silence. At about 8:00 a.m. it began to dawn and it was beautiful. Impressions spoiled only by the left achilles, which hurt more and more each kilometer. In the end, the pain became so strong that I had to take a break. I walked for just 6 kilometers. I still had about 40 ahead of me this day. And about 750 in total. Although I did not think about it too much. Unfortunately it was not so easy to forget about the pain in my leg. I sat down and smoked a cigarette. After quite difficult 15 minutes, I took out the headphones from my backpack and from this day on I started every morning with a dedicated Spotify playlist. I moved. Thanks to the music and really nice landscape I forgot about my achilles. At about 10:30 a.m. I arrived to Viscarret-Guerendiain, where I could finally eat a normal breakfast. Un café con leche e un bocadillo con chorizo. That was the level of my Spanish. There were 8 men in the bar, except from me. They played cards spontaneously arguing and completely ignoring me.
After half an hour I decided to gather my stuff and go. The route was exceptionally pleasant and picturesque that day. However, I can not say the same about its length.
Pamplona
After 12 hours of walking, I finally reached Pamplona. But Hemingway Hostel, which I chose as my accommodation, was about 3 kilometers from the suburbs. What are 3 kilometers after all that? Well, that night it was definitely a lot for me. I sat on the bench and felt that I had no power to go on. After 30 minutes I was in the hostel. The first thing I noticed was Agenda ocio y cultura and a concert of Neil Young’s songs. Well, leisure and culture. Perfect. I quickly went to the nearby supermarket for something to eat and a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, it turned out that I had to walk about 2.5 kilometers to the concert, and that day it was too much for me. In addition, I wore red nylon trousers that Balmas and Doris bought for me for one of the costume parties. I did not look too good. I decided to eat dinner and go to bed. I ate two huge sandwiches and drank a bottle of wine. I slept like a child that night.
Day 3
Probably that is why I started at 11:40 a.m. the next day. Not very wise, but I had only 24 kilometers and one big hill to go. Yeah, but after walking for 45 kilometers my legs did now want to cooperate. In addition, at the descents, my right knee began to tease. I remember clearly that this day I just wanted to survive 😉
I finished the end of the way after dark. I arrived to albergue at about 7 p.m. Attempts to get inside were ineffective, so I decided to use the phone number provided on the website. I used my perfect Spanish (just kidding) and after 10 minutes a friendly friar appeared and invited me in. Seeing that I’m tired, he also made an heroic attempt to carry my backpack. However, he quickly resigned from this help. In Albergue I met several Spanish people and Koreans who became my companions in the next days. I decided that until I regenerated, I’ll go strictly by the guidebook. No crazy things.
