Slow and steady....

Advice from our hostel owner was to walk slowly and steadily, drink lots of water and leave our boots looslely laced around our ankles.  So we followed his advice and got to Orisson fairly easily feeling like that was easier than we expected because it wasn't like the Long Trail.  However the elevation was challenging.  We climbed 1450 meters in 29 kilometers which is about 18 miles.  We walked all day, 10  and 1/2 hours to be exact.  We really began to suffer the last 10 or so kilometers.  We had to decide it was important to stop thinking about how far we had to go and when we would get there and just enjoy the place and the experience.  That was easy to do because it was it was spectacular.  The air was clear, the bells on the sheep and cows made a wonderful symphony and the clouds blew over sometimes obscuring the view and sometimes cleared to reveal a spectacular scene.

I'm really aching right now, but we are very proud of ourselves that we walked all the way.  We didn't get into Roncesvalles until 5:30 so there were only beds in the overflow municipal hostel -- a huge room with probably 200 beds ( maybe 125 buck beds).  Interesting experience:  cold shower, lights out at 10:00 and we have to be out by 8:00 am.