To Orisson, France

Today we had breakfast at Gite Makila, then walked to Orisson.

Leaving in the early morning, I was again struck by the beauty of this village. 

The girls in my group are in much better shape than I am. They were down the hill and ready to go way ahead of me!

and they smoked me on the road!  

At the crossroads, Linda and I took the road. I had a much more difficult time walking this year than ever before, having not had time for any training (and the spare tire around my middle!)

I arrived at Orisson some time after them. We had hours to spare before the taxi arrived and spent the morning no and early afternoon eating soup and drinking beers!

At 2 pm the taxi FINALLY arrived - and we shuttled down the mountain. 2.5 hours up and 8 minutes down!

We had an hour to wait for our Gite to open. 

Tomorrow we will shuttle up to Orisson and continue our walk to Roncesvalles. 

Tomorrow We Walk!

Tomorrow we walk the 8 kilometers from Hell straight up the mountain to Orisson. Tonight we celebrated in the gorgeous garden of our Gite then hit the beds early. We rise at 6:30 am. Breakfast is at 7 am and we must vacate the Gite by 8:30. The weather is looking good!  It should be a glorious day!

Bishop’s Prison 2018

Being Bad Gurls at Gite Makila 2018

St John Pied de Port - 2018

Just arrived and time for lunch!

I saw many such signs on the doors indicating the lodgings were full, and felt lucky to have reservations!

Jenny had to decide between a neck job and this trip - so she is holding up the turkey neck behind her head. :::laughing::::

The salads were wonderful!  I had a salad with honey glazed goat cheese.  YUM!

After lunch we went to the Pilgrim Office to pick up our shells and register. Here are Jenny, Karen, and Linda. 

Pamplona Cathedral and Museum 2018

Worth seeing. 

3 Euros for pilgrims with credentials.

You must ASK to see the bellringer’s house. 

They will unlock it for you. 

Take time to watch the sit-down movie. 

Even though it is in Spanish 

you will get to see how the bellringers 

rang those big bells on old video. 

Pretty cool. 

Also, take time to ‘play’ the bells 

on the computer screen filled with ropes. 

Confessional

My 2 Euro Lunch 2018

Potatoes in garlic mayo and cherry tomatoes at 1 Euro each provided a yummy, inexpensive lunch.  Shopping was done at the local Carrefour Market in Pamplona.

Church of San Lorenzo

For those who are interested, there is a mass every morning at 8:30 at the church of San Lorenzo. Is the church is on the corner right at the edge of the old town Pamplona, and on the Camino as you are leaving and crossing the street to the park.

It’s a beautiful little church and worth exploring for the art if you are not religious.  Even if you are not Catholic, the mass is worth attending to put you in a spiritual mood for your walk.

On July 7 every year, a procession in honor of San Fermín sarts from this church.  An effigy of the saint is kept in a chapel inside.  

Here are some photos I took this morning.

Sorrowful Mother