caminodharmabum
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- St Jean to Pamplona (2018), Sarria to Santiago (2016), Ambasmestas to Santiago (2014).
This is a long, tough walk. We did it in July 2018. I benefited from an old thread on this forum so wanted to update the question for others. My wife, 14 year old daughter and I were walking St. Jean to Pamplona in July. Wasn't sure if we should try to do the St Jean to Roncesvalles leg in one day or two? Read various opinions on this. We opted for two days. For us it was a great decision. The walk was one of the most beautiful experiences of our lives. The weather was beautiful: sunny, cool (65F / 18C at midday). The scenery is ridiculously awesome--green, green hills, blue sky, white puffy clouds. We were slowed down by taking hundreds of pictures. We departed St Jean around 9 am. Walked to Hunto, about 5 km. Dismal people there. Wouldn't even let us stamp our passports. Got some coffee and water; pushed on soon. Walked to lunch at Orisson. Great food, lovely people, beautiful scenery. It's a steep walk to Orisson. Signposts say 2 hours from St Jean--that's very ambitious. Took us about 3 hours. IF YOU PLAN TO WALK ALL THE WAY TO RONCESVALLES, GAS UP WITH WATER AND FOOD AT ORISSON. THERE ARE NO OTHER CAFES, ALBERGUES, ETC. DIRECTLY ON THE NAPOLEAN ROUTE UNTIL YOU REACH RONCESVALLES. There was a food truck just before the Spanish border, I think at Croix Thibault, that had drinks and snacks. But I don't know if the truck is there everyday. It's a long way from Orisson to Roncesvalles. After lunch we walked up to Vierge Orisson--this is a beautiful ridge top with a large statue of the Virgin Mary. The day before I had arranged to get picked up at Vierge Orisson by a transportation company in St Jean named Express Bouricott. http://www.expressbourricot.com/persons-transport/. This company's office is located on the main street in St Jean. Very nice people. Brought us back to St Jean for 10 euros per person. It was great to drive back the road we had walked up earlier in the day. That night we had another wonderful meal in St Jean at the Michelin-starred restaurant at Hotel Des Pyrenees, then took a taxi the next morning back up to Vierge Orisson, where we had stopped the previous afternoon. From there we walked to Roncesvalles. Steep climb up from 1,100 meters to about 1,457 meters. Lunch at the peak with many other pilgrims, then we walked down to Roncesvalles. There are two options for walking down to Roncesvalles from the high point of the Camino. We chose the more direct and steep trail. It was brutal--steep, tough on my shins, slippery. The alternative road route appears to be about 1 km longer, and not quite as steep. Not sure how steep the alternative road is but if I do this again I will try that. In Roncesvalles, we stayed in the Hotel Roncesvalles, not the Albergue. It was clean and nice. The restaurant meal was ridiculously delicious and a total bargain at 19 euros. Overall, breaking this walk up into two days was right for us. We got to enjoy the amazing scenery at a slow pace and not feel rushed to march on in one day. If you plan to do the St Jean to Roncesvalles walk in one day, prepare for a difficult walk and get some provisions in Orisson before you move on. Been camino!