Camino Frances | Day 2

Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña, 26.8 km

On the second day, I made my way from Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña. A pleasant day filled with close encounters with many farm animals. I take a short break by a stream to dip my feet in the water and tend to hot spots and blisters on my feet.

Woke up this morning the sweet sounds of the guy next to me snoring like there was no tomorrow. Oh boy, I better get used to this. Out of the blue, the hospitalero came playing his guitar down the hallway singing a good morning song in different languages. I wasn’t quick enough to grab my camera, but it was quite the surprise.

I took my time gathering my belongings and was one of the last ones to leave the Albuergue. I took the obligatory selfie at the 790 km to Santiago road sign. It was a cold morning, and I wasn’t looking forward to freezing my ass off like I did yesterday, so it was time to put on my down jacket. I’m still regretting the decision not to bring my trekking poles as today is a downhill kind of day.

I made my way cutting through an ancient witch hunted forest and out into “la cruz blanca” a statue on the forest edge. I had breakfast at a bar and went to a market across the street. I was looking for a battery for the microphone but no luck.

I kept walking down the main road to the village of Burgete where I completely miss the turn and kept on walking for a couple of blocks before realizing I was all alone and probably lost. I backtrack and found a bunch of yellow arrows pointing in the right direction. It is hard to believe I could miss it but it happens, especially when you drift off into daydream territory.

Walked over a wooden bridge on my way out of town and I was taken aback by the sound of the stream and the shipping birds. A few meters down the path I came across my first cow crossing. The will become a recurrent theme as I get closer to Galicia.

It got so cold and windy I had to put on the buff and used my down jacket as a blanket.

Saw a group of horses gracing on the side of the path and took a moment to catch my breath.

Saw the first sign to Zubiri the intended destination had I not read on the guidebook complaints about noise coming from a factory adjacent to the town. I plan to keep on walking to Larrasoaña and shortening tomorrows walk to Pamplona.

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The next village up ahead was the village of Espinal. No pilgrim support but a nice-looking church, at least from the air, as I flew the drone to get a few beauty shots.

It was an apple for a snack as I made my way through cattle fences and a forest. I took a five-minute break after crossing the most peculiar of bridges. In essence, the bridge is a bunch of concrete pillars you hop over to cross the stream. I took off my shoes and dipped my feet into the cold water. I let them air dry before applying Vaseline and covering up hot spots with band-aids.

The village of Bizkarreta had a restaurant where I had lunch, and most importantly, I found a store where I got a battery for the microphone.

Zubiri is a pilgrim’s town with everything you may want or need. I bumped into the Spaniards and Amin from Germany and shared a beer with them before moving on. From now on I did not see another pilgrim on the road. I had, you might say, El Camino all to myself.

Walked by the infamous factory and realized it wasn’t as bad as they had made it look on the guidebook. Larrasoaña is only 5.5 km away on flat terrain.

I found a stick by a waterfall and decided to give it a try for the remaining of the day. It helps redistribute some of the weight, but as I made it to town, I decided to part ways and threw in the river ala Wilson from Castaway.

The Municipal Albergue was full, but they had extra room in a two-story house a couple of blocks away. I settled into my new routine, washed my clothes and hanged out to dry as the sun was slipping away. The only restaurant in town closes on Wednesday and you guessed it, it's Wednesday. Luckily, the supermarket was serving microwave food, and that’s what I had for dinner.

I decided to fly the drone, and a local approached me. The guy was curious, and after talking a bit, he asked me if I could film his house and send him the clip once I made it back home which I did.

As soon as the sun went down, I headed inside and dug myself into my sleeping bag. It was freezing cold and tomorrow is another day.