I walked the Aragones from Oloron Ste Marie as my second camino. It was well worth doing, but quite challenging to get to from Canada: flight to CDG, bus to Orly (five hours total time needed for the airport change), flight to Pau, wait for the once an hour bus into town, next train to Oloron Ste Marie. I could have flown from CDG, but the flight from Orly was cheaper. Between when I booked my flight and when I travelled, the free bus to Orly was sold by Air France and so I had to figure it out after landing. The albergue in Oloron Ste Marie was closed, for some silly reason (can't remember why; it may just have been the weekend). And I arrived in the midst of a major storm: no electricity in Oloron Ste Marie, so everything was closed, nowhere to get a meal, and rain bucketing down. In lieu of an albergue, I had booked private accommodation for the night, breakfast included. But the first day's walk was extremely challenging and I finally had to hitch a ride to Sarrance, where I was told that I did not have a booking. I had copies of the emails from the hospitalero who booked me and a monk who had contacted me, so I was given a bed for the night, although neither hospitalero nor monk was there when I arrived. I enjoyed the walk from there up to Somport: easier than the Napoleon and absent the crowds. From there on, it was fairly easy going and San Juan de la Pena was worth any possible challenge. I hope to see it again some day. But I would never recommend this route for a first camino, unless for someone who was an experienced mountain walker, with good rain gear. I knew in advance, from my research, that the Valee d'Aspe has frequent major storms. Still, whatever access route I take, I shall certainly walk the Aragones again. I knew of the buses available to the albergue at the pass, but I wanted to walk up to Somport. It was an adventure.