Camino Frances Winter 2025 Day 2 Roncesvalles to Zubiri

A Slow Beginning To the Day

After much tossing and turning in the bunk room at the Albergue the lights finally came on around 8 AM. Everyone had packed and left, and a few of us went up to the restaurant to have breakfast. I wandered around the ground for a little bit, trying to take in some of the history of the church and Alburgue along with the military history attached to Rosencevalles. The morning was pleasant with a little bit of sun shining through, and as I walked into the farm land and pasture, setting a quickly stop to admire the horses in the field. As a horse owner, it always seems strange to me to see the mares with a leather collar and bells attached to them. There was one of this year‘s foals out in the pasture, surrounded by a few mayors that were very protective of them as I looked over the fence.

I stopped at a small store near Auritz Burguete for a  mid morning snack and came across Jan and Noah, pilgrims from Germany who I had met the night before. We met up again later in the day as all were assessing aches and pains.

There were the occasional clear views of snow capped mountains of the Camino route that is taken in better weather. Coming from Montana everything seems so green here. Not used to this during the winter. Long stretches about and farmland with very little in between. My thoughts kept drifting towards “what is my purpose for this journey?“ I have no answers other than to accept what each day brings. The fear of the pilgrims I’ve met already have inquired about the spiritual portion of my journey. I have no answers for that right now if you have done this or other Camino‘s before and it is primarily a spiritual walk. In a way I envy them as they know their complete purpose for this. As for now I’ll keep walking and time will tell.

The small villages on hillside are so peaceful looking. When you walk through them, though you realize there are no businesses in some of these places or if there are they have real different operating hours than some of us are used to. The Siesta is real! This could explained why every day at 2:30 PM. I get tired and I now realize this baby genetically imposed upon me. My wife goes if we on a road trip approximately 2 PM it is time for her to drive. THT saw this once on the Appalachian Trail. I believe the village was Viscarette-Guerengiain where I stopped for a sandwich and soda. The experience of getting high quality Iberian ham at a great price at any small establishment you run across there is very appealing to me.

Moving forward there were long sections of cobblestone path with the light rain or rather slippery and with a heavier rain would be hazardous. Further on towards Zuberi much of the path had sitting water, and there were some sheets of sharp edges along it. I made to make sure to take my time as I remember some of the knife edges on the AT that would do you a serious mischief if you fell. Not much in elevation gain for the day and I found myself looking downward at the final approach to Zubiri and the stone bridge over the Rio Arga.

The alburgue at the bridge is excellent and the rain began pouring down as I entered. Not much was open that time of night except for the bar at the sports complex. Pretty decent sandwiches. After turning in for the night in a four person room I came to the conclusion I don’t like sleeping around other people. There will be a need to readjust my budget and go for single rooms or hotels. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Final Thoughts
We’re all pilgrims on the same journey-but some pilgrims have better road maps. — Nelson Demille