Valcarlos to Roncesvalles

When I woke up it wasn’t actually raining, but it soon started again. I made myself a big bowl of porridge with banana in the microwave and then tried to understand the 8.00 o’clock news on TV. After Ukraine, the big news was the unseasonal snow in various parts of Spain, including the Madrid Segovia road, and I think I recognised the castle in Ponferrada.

I was on the road as the church clock struck 9.00 am. I had a tough walk ahead, made worse by the wet conditions. After we left the road, the forest tracks were very muddy. Everybody overtook me and eventually started asking if I was OK as my pace got slower and slower. It was uphill all the way. Who said this route was easier? It’s a long time since I walked all day in the pouring rain: maybe in North Wales? On such a day, the damp eventually penetrates even waterproof clothing and then acts like a diver’s wetsuit, warmed up by your body heat. Or so it seemed. It’s also hard to sit down to eat your lunch. There’s nowhere to rest anyway: just keep going!

On arrival at Roncesvalles, there was a terrific queue to check in. It took over an hour! All the hospitaleros in this albergue are Dutch volunteers, but they seemed unprepared for such a crowd.