Slept really bad. Awake from 3-530 am bc french lady kept snoring

Finally fell asleep and then my alarm went off

Got ready and headed to community breakfast

It’s serve yourself style so it was a bunch of hard boiled eggs, baguette with jams, and coffee

After, I headed to get my Camino passport stamped. You have to stamp it in every town. The guy giving me directions to the trail didn’t speak a lick of English so naturally I got lost for 15 min and went back to the hostel to have the lady there help me where to go.

And then I was on my way! The Napoleon route through the Pyrénées

Boy was it pretty and boy was it steep… and frickin freezing. The French country side is über pretty with red and white cottages and farms with Moos everywhere. It reminded me a lot of Switzerland.

I decided to wear shorts bc I thought the weight of the rain soaking pants might be colder… and my jacket wasn’t as water proof as I thought so after four hours I was literally shivering. It was so windy too. With two hours left to go, I saw a shelter on the side on the trail. Thank GOD

I couldn’t feel my hands and thus, couldn’t get into my bag on the side of the road in the pouring rain with wind. So in the shelter a nice French man helped me unbuckle my bag bc my hands were too numb and then I got out a wool shirt and my down jacket and changed in there with like 15 other people. Classy. Made A WORLD of difference. Then I ate some grapes and headed back out. Also thank god for audio books bc that really got me through.

Finally made it to Roncesvalles, Spain 5hr and 40min later! There’s only one giant hostel and one hotel. It was so busy you had to wait 15 min to get your room assignment so everyone’s sitting dirty and wet shivering till we went up.

There’s 3 levels to the hostel about 36 bunks per side. 2 sides per level

The showers were empty and HOT. So happy. After showering, I overheard that you could drop laundry to them to do for €3.50 and they return it to your bed folded later that night

How sick is that? 

Post shower- ventured off to get some food. Only two restaurants. Went to Cafe Sabrina and two Dutch people let me sit with them. They were colleagues. He was 48 and she was 34. We definitely covered the gamut of topics. He’s poligamous but had his first son two weeks ago. I guess only 25% of people in the Netherlands actually marry? And he buys and distributed reclaimed wood and this threw a festival for his company called “Woodstock” with techno DJs

Dinner was just what I needed- pork loin and two eggs with red wine. 

Tomorrow will be 14 miles. Hostels in Zubiri were sold out so I have to go 30 min past to stay at the next small town over.

Buenas Noches!