Allison Cowie

Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña / 17.2 miles

Day 2 began at 7:45am, leaving Roncesvalles after a pilgrim’s breakfast of ham, cheese, bread and cake. My pilgrim friend Ariana from Croatia joined me for a selfie at the start of the day (only 790km to Santiago!). I walked alone and rather quickly all day, slightly anxious about finding a place to stay. At the pilgrim’s office in SJPDP, the volunteers implored us to make reservations days in advance for places to stay, because the trail was more crowded than usual. I’ve met a number of folks who are walking now after postponing their Caminos due to Covid, so this could be why. Regardless, my plan to stop at Zubiri – the typical end to Day 2 – felt risky, as every private albergue was booked up. To avoid the crowd, I walked an extra 5km to get to LarrasoaNa by 2pm, where there was a first come, first serve municipal albergue. I got the 13th bed out of 26 – well worth pushing ahead.

Around 10am I stopped at a cafe/bar buzzing with pilgrims, where I had a massive piece of tortilla, una tostada con tomate y aceite, and un cafE solo. So tasty and much needed at that point in the hike! I’m finding that if I hike anything strenuous, I get ravenous a couple hours in. Another good reminder to bring snacks, but also to stop whenever I pass a cafe as they can be few and far between, at least so far on the Camino.

Larrasoaña is a tiny village with one open minimarket that also serves a pilgrim’s menu. For a belated minimarket lunch I ate a surprisingly tasty croissant, pre-packaged chocolate-coated mini belgian waffle, a banana, and a yogurt drink, accompanied by a lemon Radler – the perfect recovery meal. Dinner was the pilgrim’s menu of veggie soap and roasted chicken, also tasty.

Other thoughts:

• Most people I’ve come across on the trail are at least 50, many 65+. I’m sure there would be a greater share of younger people during the summer months when school’s out, but I’m still surprised at a) how few people my age are on the trail, and b) how many retirees are out walking.
• The Camino is generally very well marked. At least every ten minutes and often every two, I pass by a yellow arrow pointing me in the right direction. So far, the path has been 95% dedicated hiking trail, making it easy to stay on track.
• I’m not drinking nearly enough and need to do a better job of hydrating. Water fountains seem to be available at least every couple of hours, so I don’t need to worry about running out of water… all the more reason to drink more as I go. I chose not to bring my camelbak because I didn’t want to deal with cleaning it on the trail, opting instead for water bottles. The one downside is that to get to my water bottles, I have to take off my pack. And I like to walk without stopping, making me less likely to stop for a break. I should slow down a bit and take more breaks. 

*** weirdly placed capital letters are in lieu of accents, which my keyboard sadly cannot make