Walking the Camino – Days 5-8

The second chapter of my 2023 Basque trip consists of walking the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James). For centuries Pilgrims have been taking this walk from various points in Europe to Santiago de Compastella, a town tucked away in Northwestern Spain, where St. James’s remains are thought to be buried. My good friend Pete Keane and I would spend three days walking the French Camino or the “French Way”, which starts in the small village of Saint Jean Pie-de-Port. Our destination – Pamplona. 

Before starting our hike we met in the seaside village of Biarritz, France for a day. Biarritz is known as the “queen of beaches and the beach of kings” after Empress Eugenie de Montijo and her husband Emperor Napoleon III made Biarritz the favorite resort of the European aristocracy.

The next day Tuesday, June 20th, we took a taxi from Biarritz to Saint Jean Pied de Port, where we picked up our official Pilgrim Passports. These get stamped by hotels, hostels and cafes along the Way.  

The small town of Saint Jean Pied de Port, is featured in the movie, “The Way”, staring Martin Sheen. As the movie illustrates, it is common while hiking to meet fellow pilgrims and to strike up conversations. Using our short time on The Camino – most Pilgrims were hiking the full 33 days it takes to get to the end – we met hikers from England, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Lithuania, France, Germany, Switzerland, Oregon, Virginia, Massachusetts and California. 

On day one we hiked the first leg of the Camino (16 miles) from Saint Jean in France to Reconcesvalles, Spain. We knew it would be a tough day. We ascended over 7,000 feet into the Pyrenees. Although a long and almost entirely uphill hike, the natural beauty made it worth it. We stopped in the village of Orisson for a rest and early lunch.  After 7 hours of hiking, we finally reached our destination in Reconcesvalles. We had a satisfying meal of goat cheese salad and tenderloin medallions. After dinner I fell into a catatonic state, and fell into bed. 

After a solid 8 hours of sleep in our lodging – a converted Abbey – we started our second day on the Camino in heavy fog and light rain. We would be hiking 15 miles from Reconcesvalles to Urdaniz.  We hiked mostly through forests and beautiful countryside. Unlike the first leg over the sparsely populated mountains, there were more small villages and places to stop.  We stopped several times,  including spending some time in a church to pray and reflect. After a photo at the small medieval bridge in Zubiri, we marched to our final destination for the day, the small village of Urdaniz, where we slept in a hostel. We were fortunate that four other pilgrims that we had met during our previous two days on the trail were staying there. We had a wonderful meal and then played cards. 

Our final trek from Urdaniz to Pamplona was by far the flattest and easiest, meanderingh along the Ardo River to the city famous for “The Running of the Bulls,” and featured significantly in Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises.” We arrived in Pamplona early enough to enjoy our hotel, the Grand Hotel La Perla right on the Plaza del Castillo, the main plaza in Pamplona. The hotel and plaza was Ernest Hemingway’s favorite destination in the city. I thoroughly enjoyed the city of Pamplona. 

The next day we would leave Pamplona and The Camino and start our next chapter of this trip – a long weekend in the seaside resort city of San Sebastián.