Day 2 Borda to Roncesvalles 10 miles
Waking up at 5’Oclock I checked my weather app and it seemed the forecast had improved from what I was told last night. Stepping outside the clouds were thick and low. It was very dark and cold but I was cautiously optimistic things would be improving. Some of the other guests were just waking so I took that time to get my pack ready. Breakfast was at 7 and our planned start was no later than 8:30. The owner prepared our breakfast and we talked weather. He was confidant that at 8:00 or 10 it would rain. It wasn’t raining when we left so I put my raincoat in the pack but accessible. Sometimes raincoats, which are waterproof can make you sweat profusely. In the end you end up just as wet. On the other hand they can keep you warm. Being wet but warm is much better than cold and wet.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a misty rain began to fall. I put off the urge to stop and retrieve the raincoat hoping the wind which had picked up as well, would push the clouds away. Soon the mist turned to steady drops forcing us to stop, take off our packs and retrieve the coats. A process that didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. We were damp but not wet and with raincoats on much warmer and protected from what now could be called a gusting wind. Just minutes before many hikers were chatting as they walked. The wind and rain dampened all that and the serious business of getting off this mountain began. Each of us would deal with the elements on our own terms. It was going to be a long day.

A few things did happen though that brightened the day and eventually the rain did stop but not before we climbed to the top and headed down a very long, steep, rocky and wet trail to Roncesvalles. I didn’t take pictures during the worst downpours but along the way we were stopped by a herd of sheep crossing the road. One of the oddest things happened at a good time for me. I had started to shiver which is a bad sign and up ahead was a crowd of hikers. A local farmer had a food truck parked with an awning no less. He was selling coffee, hot chocolate,croissants ,bananas and more. I stopped and got coffee which helped warm me but standing still was not an option. Then finally at the top we found an emergency shelter full of other hikers and we too took advantage to get some warmth before heading down. Four people had spent the night there. Two of them Brian and Sean we had met the night before at the church in Saint Jean. They are on a journey that is deserving of a movie. More on them in a later post. At breakfast our host at Borda had given us directions to get down the mountain safely. He said “ When you come to the fork in the road RIGHT is LIFE and LEFT is DEATH.

We got confused by the option of two trails to the right and ended up choosing DEATH, at least we think!

We survived but at times we weren’t sure we would. All in all it was an eventful day and we met even more Pilgrims. It seems the first two weeks is testing our bodies but so many interactions with fellow travelers keeps us excited about what the next day brings.

This journey continues on to Zubiri, Spain tomorrow…