Anniesantiago13: Roncesvalles to Zubiri. 23 kilometers

This will be a photo heavy blog today. Most of the walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri is not extremely difficult but I also wouldn’t call it easy. There are a few sections where you’re going up a hill. But the trail on those sections is very good and it’s just a matter of taking your time. If you need to walk five steps and rest, then walk five steps and rest. Don’t give yourself a heart attack.

After leaving Roncesvalles you walk through a little forest and on the other side of that forest you come to a coffee shop. I believe the name of this is Pension ITURRIALDEA. That is how it is listed in Brierley. It was open and that was where we had breakfast. Well that is where we had breakfast number one. Ha ha Ha. Directly across the street from that is a supermarket and it was open at 7:30 this morning so we stopped in for food to put in our pack.

None of the restaurants that are usually open in Burguete were open. Marcia was able to fill her water bottle at the church where there is a very good fountain. We continued walking until we got to Espinal. There we found an awesome restaurant on the right hand side. He was serving a beautiful array of breakfast tapas and was quite busy, being the only place open in town. So we had breakfast number two.

I’ve just some hill walking another 5.3 km we entered Viskarret. Right at the entrance to the village there is a bar and restaurant and supermarket. That I seemed to remember another one farther into the village and so I took my chances and we did find Bar Juan open. Several people were just walking right by because I think they thought it was closed but we peeked in the window, saw they were open, and sat down for a nice rest and refreshment.

The climb to the top of Alto de Erro was steady and steep. Again I had to stop and rest every little bit but if I can do it anybody can do it.

At the point where the trail crosses the N – 135 Highway, there is a food truck - he has tables where you can sit and rest and have a snack. If you are planning on attempting the 4 km walk down into Zubiri, I strongly suggest you stop here for at least 15 or 20 minutes to rest, to eat, to drink, before attempting the descent. That 4 kilometers is very steep and very rocky and the trail is rough. But again if I can do it anybody can do it.

I would only suggest you doing it if the weather is dry. If it is raining I highly recommend you call a taxi at Viskarret and Taxi into Zubiri. It is not worth risking breaking a leg or an arm to walk this 4 km and there’s no shame in calling a Taxi as far as I’m concerned.

We arrived in Zubiri about 3 PM. I would say it took a good six hours to walk the stage.

Finding food here is not as easy as it used to be. The roast chicken place is closed. The restaurant where we wanted to eat was full and we cannot get a table. My suggestion is you book your pilgrim menu at Palo Avalleno. She was serving what looks like a really nice dinner. I managed to walk to the sports center where I got a good Pilgrim menu for €12.50. I had a Russian salad, pork cheeks and potatoes in Port followed by yogurt with berries for dessert.

I am now in my bed reading my email after a nice shower. I am at Casa Suseia. There were not enough beds at Pension Amets for me since all of my people wanted a private room. This is a very nice place however and I’m sure to have a good sleep here.

Tomorrow I may walk part of the way to Pamplona. However I need to arrive there before 2 PM and that’s impossible at the rate I walk and so I will probably either bus or Taxi part of the way. Now I will post some photos from the day.

I apologize that these are not an order but this blogger app easy to use and I haven’t figured it out yet so I will label each photo.