SJPP to Roncesvalles

[davidcfrank]

Hi

I'm starting out from SJPP on the 9th Sep. My train arrives at 9:30 am, and the plan was to take a liesurely stroll to the refuge at Orisson. BUT.. its full - I can't book a place there!

I don't really want to walk all the way to Roscesvalles in one day, especially as I am not starting as early as I'd like to, but do want to walk the Route Napoleon - is it feasible to take a bus or taxi part way??

DAvid

 

[Ulysse]

There are several alternatives as you get in SJpdeP at 9:30:

1. spend the day in SJPdeP, it's a nice place to visit; then leave early to Roncevaux;
2. check the refuge/B&B in Hunto; it's before Orisson but at least you could have a little part of the road done; you could also leave early the next morning;
3. you sure could get a taxi to Orisson or even to the point where the trail leaves the asphalt road; I am not aware of a bus service as all you meet after Hunto is sheep keepers, sheeps, vultures... and a breathtaking landscape.

Buen camino

 

[davidcfrank]

Thanks Ulysse

Thanks for those suggestions - they all seem do-able, and I don't have to decide which one until I arrive at St Jean.

#3 seems the favourite - after a couple of months planning this trip I am keen to get on to the Camino. Also, a rest day would be more welcome later on in the trip.

Presumably I can collect a credential on arrival at Roncesvalles.

David

 

[Ulysse]

David, you should pick up your credential in StJPdeP as you have time to spare.

L’Association des Amis du Chemin de Saint-Jacques / Pyrénées-Atlantiques l’Accueil Saint-Jacques, 39 Rue de la Citadelle à Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port can give you this document.

 

[John Newell]

Starting in SJPD

David,

My plan is to get to SJPD in the morning buy my walking stick and register at teh Camino office. If the weather is good I will get a taxi up the Route de Napoleon to where the road ends and walk into Ronceveles about 6 miles and then another 3kms to Burguete.

I walked the whole 26KM Route de Napoleon in 1999 and paid a price on my body for the next three days. It was hard to recover.

I will be behind you this year. I am leaving SJPD on October 5th.

Bon Camino,

 

[davidcfrank]

Juan and Ulysse, that seems a good idea.

Breakfast in SJPP, then getting my credencial, then a taxi up the hill, leaving myself about 6 hours walking to Roncesvalles, which should be just about enough for the first day.

I have guilt pangs about starting my camino this way. When one imagines a pilgrim, we think of a stick, a shell, maybe a donkey and a floppy hat. But a taxi? It is sensible, but it just doesn't feel right!!

David

 

[WolverineDG]

David, I think it is the intent that matters the most. If you can't walk that part of the route (either because of time or physical limitations), so be it. No need to feel guilty! You know what walking the Camino means to you. Even if you do take a taxi the first few kilometers, you will still be walking a lot further distance than those who start their Camino later along the Route.

Buen Camino!

dg

 

[peregrina2000]

I stayed at the gite in Orisson this past summer and had reservations for the night. Soon after we got there, a woman who thought she had reservations arrived, but there was some kind of mix-up. The owners just took her out back to where there are several (6 or 8, but I'm really not sure on the number) small tents with sleeping pads for two inside each one. They don't reserve these, but make them available to people who arrive without a reservation. We heard at breakfast that they were very comfortable.

I also heard about someone who walked up to Orisson and walked back down to St. Jean the same day (that would be perfectly do-able, I think), spent another night in St. Jean, and then took a taxi up to Orisson on the next day to finish the crossing to Roncesvalles. It's such a beautiful walk, I would hate to miss it.

 

[davidcfrank]

Roncesvalles

Hello - me again.

I would like to go straight to Roncevalles from SJPP, without waiting for the Pilgim's office to open at 11:00 (my train arrives at 9:40.

Would it me ok to turn up at Roncesvalles, obtain a credencial and get a bed in the refugio?. If so are there restrictions on the times one can do this??

Once again, many thanks to posters on this board for all your advice.

David