Camino de Santiago – Day 3: Roncesvalles to Zubiri

Day 3: Roncesvalles → Zubiri (21.34 km)

I awakened to the low sound of monks singing exactly the kind of music you would expect monks to sing. At first I couldn’t tell if it was a recording or the sound of real live monks. I imagined monks in robes with shaved heads singing their morning prayers and the sound wafting through the corridors and reverberating through the ducts. Actually, it was a recording used to gently warn us before the lights came on and it was time to get out of the monastery so that they could clean and prepare for the next night’s wave of pilgrims.

Breakfast was mostly bread and jam again plus some yummy little cakes. I met up with Eunseok, Michelle, and Kim Kimmy and we all set out together. It rained during the beginning of the morning, which made the path muddy, but the terrain wasn’t steep.

I have Kim Kimmy to thank for a lot of the good photos. Most of mine are awkward selfies, which I’m sorry to say didn’t improve much in quality the more I took.

We walked at a leisurely pace, stopping to look at the farm animals. We watched a dog herd cows from a barn to a nearby paddock. It was impressive. There was a person there, but all they had to do was open and close the gate. The dog did everything else without instruction, keeping the cows in line and quickly responding to any that tried to stray or lagged too far behind. There were also many paddocks with horses and adorable foals. A big discussion about the difference between a foal and a colt ensued. We were like kids at the zoo.

The trail passed through a couple of cute little towns. At the second one, there was a great cafe where we found many other friends. Alexa was having fresas con zumo de naranja and I had to try some for myself. It was fantastic! One of my favorite things about the Camino/Spain is that there is fresh orange juice available in almost every cafe/bar. Most of the time they squeeze it right in front of you with a really cool juicer that even cuts the oranges automatically.

By the time we arrived at the next town, which I have since looked up to learn it is called Viscarret-Guerendiain (good luck pronouncing that), it was lunch time. At the entrance to the town there was a sign strongly encouraging everyone to go to the second bar, so we did. It was a pizza place called El Dragón Peregrino. I’m not what you might call a “foody”, but I still dream about their four cheese pizza. It’s literally, no exaggeration, the best pizza I’ve ever had. (Keep in mind I’ve never been to Italy.) Every pizza I’ve had since then has been a disappointment.

It was a good thing we fueled ourselves up with pizza because the trail got more difficult after that. We went uphill and then into the forest where it was extremely muddy. My shoes and socks got soggy. I changed my socks which felt great but didn’t last because the mud kept going for miles—I mean kilometers. I found myself a new staff to help me get over the mud puddles without falling in.

Then came the treacherous downhill. At this point Michelle shot ahead. She got such good momentum that we didn’t see her again until Zubiri. I don’t know how she could go so fast because the descent was gnarly. As she disappeared in the distance, I remember Eunseok remarking, with deep earnestness in his voice and expression, “That is a strong woman.” A little while later, we found her umbrella mysteriously hanging from a tree and took turns carrying it.

The thing that makes this downshill section so treacherous isn’t just the mud and the steep decline—it’s also the Dragon’s Teeth. Photographs do not do justice to the uneven rows of rocks sticking up from the earth. A certain member of the group (who shall remain nameless to preserve her/his dignity) expressed a melodramatic desire to give up, but at this point the only other options were hiking all the way back or spending the night in the mud. Needless to say everyone kept moving forward.

When we finally arrived in Zubiri we found Michelle waiting for us. She had been so completely in the zone going down the Dragon’s Teeth that she was surprised when we returned her umbrella to her—she hadn’t even noticed it was gone. Apparently she had gotten tangled in a tree at one point which is probably how it ended up hanging without a single drop of mud on it.

Alexa had a reservation in the next town, which meant another 5 km of walking for her. I wouldn’t have done it, but she’s a hardcore hiker. She already had plans to take a detour from the Camino later on to peak an extra mountain. I strongly suspect that she could have sped past us long before this point if she had wanted to, but I’m glad she decided to stick with us through the muddy Dragon’s Teeth. As she set off along the river, the rest of us wished her good luck and a flat trail and went to find our own beds for the night.

We started at the first albergue in town which was full. They pointed us to the next one which was also full. Rinse and repeat, and four albergues later, we ended up at the municipal. Municipal albergues are usually the cheapest option and you get what you pay for. The woman at the desk was rude, the bunk beds rickety, and the bathrooms were inadequate for the number of people. But, hey, anything is better than being on a muddy trail in the dark woods at night.

I put my disposable sheets on my top bunk and took another cold shower in which I had to press the button every 5 seconds. There was a restaurant only a block or so away, which was the maximum distance anyone was willing to walk for food at this point. We had a mediocre pilgrim meal of steak, pasta, and flan, if I remember correctly.

This is when I first really noticed how late the sun stays up in northern Spain. I’m used to living closer to the equator where the latest sunset is 8 pm on the summer solstice. This was still only April but the sun was still up at 9 pm. My brain was a little confused by the light, but I was so tired that it didn’t prevent me from (finally) getting a solid night’s sleep.