We got up at 6:45 am and ate breakfast at Pensión Errecaldia: ham, sheep cheese, bread, and jam with orange juice; MT also had coffee and asked for an apricot. Tim took our backpacks and gave us a daypack, which we were supposed to leave at Casa Sabina in Roncesvalles to be returned to him.
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From St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles, we had two options. The lower, less scenic option is the Valcarlos Route, which parallels the highway (D-933 in France and N-135 in Spain) through Valcarlos to a high point at the Ibañeta Pass (1,055 m [3,461 ft]) before descending into Roncesvalles. We chose the recommended Route de Napoléon, which has a more strenuous uphill climb from St. Jean (200 m [656 ft] elevation) to Col de Lepoeder (1,450 m [4,757 ft]) but is known for stunning views in all directions (provided you avoid the hill fog). This harder, higher, and more spectacular route is not recommended in bad weather. We were fortunate to have rather good weather. It only sprinkled on us a few times, so light that we didn’t bother to put on our rain jackets. In a few places, we were higher than the fog.
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Route de Napoléon Elevation Chart (Les Amis du Chemin de Saint Jacques).
We started walking at 9 am and on the way to Orisson, we met 3 women from near St. Jean who were walking only to Roncesvalles, which they do 3 times a year; they had to go back to work Saturday. We also met a young couple from Pittsburg, PA (he was originally from Canada, but now working in Spain) and a couple from Romania. We saw several Germans this day.
9:36 AM – MT and Don (with daypack) on path (taken by lady in group who asked us to take their photo).
MT 9:38 AM – MT and Don on path (taken by lady in group who asked us to take their photo).
MT 10:36 AM – yellow arrow and GR (red and white) symbol on rock.
The GR is a network of long-distance footpaths in Europe, mpostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. It is called the Grande Randonnée (French), Grote Routepaden or Lange-afstand-wandelpaden (Dutch), Grande Rota (Portuguese), or Gran Recorrido (Spain). The markers for these trails consist of a white stripe above a red stripe. At times the Camino route coincided with a GR path.
MT 10:38 AM – Don on grass shoulder of rock path.
10:42 AM – View back toward St. Jean Pied de Port; Camino path along mountain ridge.
10:50 AM – View back toward St. Jean Pied de Port (village of Huntto in foreground).
10:58 AM – Tabel d’ Orientation (orientation table) that identified places in that view to St. Jean.
We reached the albergue at Orisson at around 11:20 am, where we ate 2 apples brought from home and 2 bananas bought in St. Jean.
11:22 AM – MT at Albergue d’Orisson.
Most of the day’s walk was along narrow paved roads, often with short, sturdy green grass on the shoulders.
12:07 PM – MT on paved road after Orisson.
12:32 PM – MT on paved road after Orisson, with foggy mountains.
At Pic d’Orisson, around 12:52, we thought we saw 3 people on a rock formation; it turned out that 2 were pilgrims who came down, but the third was actually the statue of the Virgen—Verge d’ Orisson i Vierge de Biakorri.
12:52 PM – Pic d’Orisson: MT and Virgen d’Orisson/Biakorri.
MT 12:55 PM – Pic d’Orisson: virgin statue.
MT 12:56 PM – Pic d’Orisson: virgin statue closer up.
MT 12:56 PM – Pic d’Orisson: Don with virgin statue.
12:57 PM – Pic d’Orisson: MT and virgin statue.
12:53 PM – Pic d’Orisson: Closeup of virgin statue (telephoto).
12:56 PM – Pic d’Orisson: virgin statue from higher up.
About an hour after Pic d’Orisson, we saw a stone cross near where the Camino path departed from the road.
MT 1:57 PM – stone cross.
MT 1:57 PM – Inscription at base of cross: “Ni Naiz bideci … de sais lo chemin …”.
1:58 PM – Sign and yellow arrow where Camino departed road, over grass path.
1:59 PM – Placard showing ascent on that path, with warning to “Be careful” in Spanish, Basque, French, English, and German. Text next to the red dot on the trail say “You are here” in the same 5 languages.
2:11 PM – MT on path where it changed to rocks.
Shortly before reaching the Spanish border, we saw the Fontaine de Roland.
2:35 PM – Fontaine de Roland.
Around 2:35, we crossed the border from France into the Spanish province of Navarra. At the border, there was a flag and a grate to keep cows from crossing, but there was no marker. However, shortly after that we saw a stone marker for Navarra.
Navarra (Navarre in English, Nafarroa in Basque), a fiercely independent mountainous region. Pilgrims on their way to Santiago from France were obliged to travel through Navarra, with the result that many Romanesque churches abound. Its fine cuisine is one of the things that make Navarra a Basque province. The semiautonomous Basque Country, with its steady drizzle (onomatopoetically called the siri-miri), damp verdant landscape, and rugged coastline, is a distinct national and cultural entity within the Spanish state. Navarra is considered Basque in the Pyrenees and merely Navarran in its southern reaches, along the Ebro River. In the Basque country, tapas tend to be more expensive and inventive; Basques call them pintxos (or pinchos in Spanish) rather than tapas. Gildas, probably the most ordered pintxo, is a simple toothpick skewer with a special green pepper (called guindilla vascas), an anchovy (which must be marinated in the best olive oil and not too salty), and a pitted olive. Pimientos rellenos de bacalao (roasted bright red peppers [pimientos de piquillo] stuffed with cod) is also popular. Pork products find their way into most menus with chorizo (pork sausage marinated in various local spices, especially paprika) dominating, often found in stews and soups. Another typical fare is the ubiquitous Spanish omelette tortilla de patatas, made with thinly sliced potatoes and onions.
MT 2:35 PM – Flag, gate and grate for cows at border.
2:37 PM – MT at Spanish border with grate for cows.
2:41 PM - Don at stone marker for entering Navarra.
We passed through the Irate Forest, one of Europe’s densest and largest beech forests, supplier of masts for the “invincible” Spanish Armada.
2:49 PM – beech forest.
We climbed (on grassy and stone path) to Col de Lepoeder (1,450 m), the highest spot on the Route de Napoleon. From there, we got our first glimpse of Roncesvalles in the distance.
MT 3:50 PM – “Lepoeder: marker post for GR 12 and GR 17.
At the option, MT chose the “fácil” (easy) path that added 1.5 km to our walk. Most of it was winding asphalt with switchbacks, but a few places had (apparently approved, with signs) shortcuts across grass.
4:01 PM – Roncesvalles from distance, on “fácil” path.
4:24 PM – Roncesvalles from distance, on “fácil” path (closer, through fog) with marker post.
4:24 PM – Roncesvalles closer in.
MT 4:53 PM – Sign of pedestrian and Camino shell.
Near Ibañeta, we saw a herd of horses grazing and crossing out path, just before we entered N-135 to walk the last 1.5 km on the shoulder of the highway.
MT 4:58 PM – horses grazing by path (one had a bell like a cow).
At the last switchback, we finally took the shortcut (not approved, no sign) over grass to the monastery in Roncesvalles (pop 30).
Roncesvalles (Roncevaux in French or Orreaga in Basque) is famous in history and legend for the defeat of Charlemagne and the death of Roland in 788, during the Battle of Roncesvalles Pass, where Charlemagne’s rear guard was ambushed and destroyed by Basque guerrillas. The battle is the basis for the legend of the hero Roland recounted in the 11th-century French epic Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland), in which the attackers are the Moors. Indeed, Charlemagne’s army had been campaigning against the Moors in Spain, but during their retreat back toward France, they had destroyed the city of Pamplona whose safety they had guaranteed, angering the local Basques. The battle is said to have been fought in the picturesque valley known as Varcarlos, which is now occupied by a village of the same name, and in the adjoining pass Puerto de Ibañeta (Roncevaux Pass). The area was also the site of the 1813 Battle of Roncesvalles between French and Anglo-Portuguese forces during the Peninsular War.
We went past the monastery to Casa Sabina, where we had reserved a room for 55€; there we signed up for the 7 pm menu del peregrino (9€ each). We got their sello “Hosteria Casa Sabina.”
Saturday, August 16, 2014, 808 AM – Roncesvalles: Casa Sabina exterior.
Then we cleaned up and went to the Pilgrim Mass at the 13th-century Real Collegiata de Santa María (Royal Collegiate Church of Saint Mary) at 6 pm. The collegiate church of the monastery, consecrated in 1219, is a fine example of French Gothic (others call it an over-restored Gothic construction).
A collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or “secular” community of clergy. In its governance and religious observance, a collegiate church is similar to a cathedral, although it is not the seat of a bishop and has no diocesan responsibilities.
6:01 PM Roncesvalles: Pilgrim Mass at Collegiata church.
Then we went back to Casa Sabina for dinner. We shared a table with Pascale and Arnaud from France (he did a marathon in New York). We had pureed legume soup, all except Pascale had canard (French for duck) and potatoes (she had trout); and shared a bottle of local Navarra wine; we had blueberry yogurt for dessert.
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