Posted on by Margaret Caffyn

They say you are what you eat-I don’t remember eating a frigging legend!                                         Today I walked nearly 18 kms through rain, hail, SNOW and fog so thick there was only 10 meters visibility!!! At times it was really scary as the path is so close to the edges. I thought someone was joking when he warned me to be careful not to fall over the edge along the ridge. Probably not normally a problem but the fog was so thick it was difficult to see the path. The snow was hard going and quite deep in places and I actually thought I was getting frostbite on my fingers from the icy wind. To conquer the mountains are a feat, but the conditions today were quite challenging. I was really glad to be walking with someone else because it gave us extra courage. So chuffed that the worst two days are over, but it was strangely exhilarating. Having been told many stories of the hungry birds  and pilgrims, I  saw some really huge vultures (the size of a small pterodactyl) circling above, so I was a little worried about slipping and injuring myself! Strangely enough, I absolutely loved today -everything about it. It was so exciting. (Sorry about the random flower picture -nothing to do with the mountain but I can’t get rid of it!            The walk down was difficult because of the snow, the mud and the rocks, and it was very steep, but I MADE IT, walked through lots of birch forests but they were a bit spooky as they are still barren from the winter. Spring was more evident  on the descent and leaves and little wild flowers were appearing. Now at Roncesvalles, in the Albergue. Went to the pilgrim mass and had a blessing, the trotted over to the restaurant for the pilgrim meal (pasta in tomato sauce with chorizo, trout chips and salad, and rice pudding with free red wine-really nice by the way) food and lodging $10!Bron – you HAVE to do this! You would absolutely love it! Although you might like to do it a bit later than April. 

                    

4 Replies to “They say you are what you eat-I don’t remember eating a frigging legend!                                         Today I walked nearly 18 kms through rain, hail, SNOW and fog so thick there was only 10 meters visibility!!! At times it was really scary as the path is so close to the edges. I thought someone was joking when he warned me to be careful not to fall over the edge along the ridge. Probably not normally a problem but the fog was so thick it was difficult to see the path. The snow was hard going and quite deep in places and I actually thought I was getting frostbite on my fingers from the icy wind. To conquer the mountains are a feat, but the conditions today were quite challenging. I was really glad to be walking with someone else because it gave us extra courage. So chuffed that the worst two days are over, but it was strangely exhilarating. Having been told many stories of the hungry birds  and pilgrims, I  saw some really huge vultures (the size of a small pterodactyl) circling above, so I was a little worried about slipping and injuring myself! Strangely enough, I absolutely loved today -everything about it. It was so exciting. (Sorry about the random flower picture -nothing to do with the mountain but I can’t get rid of it!            The walk down was difficult because of the snow, the mud and the rocks, and it was very steep, but I MADE IT, walked through lots of birch forests but they were a bit spooky as they are still barren from the winter. Spring was more evident  on the descent and leaves and little wild flowers were appearing. Now at Roncesvalles, in the Albergue. Went to the pilgrim mass and had a blessing, the trotted over to the restaurant for the pilgrim meal (pasta in tomato sauce with chorizo, trout chips and salad, and rice pudding with free red wine-really nice by the way) food and lodging $10!Bron – you HAVE to do this! You would absolutely love it! Although you might like to do it a bit later than April. ”

  2. Marg, your trip sounds amazing, beautiful and a bit scary too !! You are being very adventurous and wow walking all those Klm each day. Doubt I could manage that. Enjoy your dream. Lots love , Georgie xx

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