It felt like I hadn't slept a wink all night, I was laying in bed looking at the phone waiting for my alarm to go off so I could just get going!! As I left the hotel it was still dark and a light mist fell over the the town. As I walked down the cobble streets I was nervous but happy to be starting off with three lovely Irish girls that I had met the day before. As we all left Saint Jean I had this erage to just rush off and walk as fast I could just to get to the first stop to have a coffee and a little breakfast but something was telling me to take my time , I was soon to realise that the first 8k to Orisson was going to be one of the steepest inclines I would have to walk.

We walked slow and just chatted about random day to day things I was keen to stick at this pace but as I walked on a bit to pass some other pilgrims I had this sudden push and as I turned the sharp corner there it was, the climb I would never forget. I thought to myself
this the moment I have to walk ahead and go alone so off I went, as I walked up the rain began to come down harder, I couldn't see anything In front of me yet as I walked the fog and mist just seemed to lift as I approached. It was a very difficult stage of the walk but when I finally reached Orisson I was soaking wet all I wanted was a coffee and something to eat, so I ordered and sat down. As I looked around there was only about five other people there, three Germans that had just walked in before me and down the back were two guys sitting playing cards, Frence music played in the back ground and as I looked out at the rain two of the girls I had been with appeared at the door, we all had the biggest smiles on our face it was like seeing a long lost friend even tho we'd just met the day before it was the warmest I'd felt all morning and I was so pleased to see firmilar faces. We sat and ate food and as we went to leave the shop I realised the place had become packed with pilgrims arriving all stocking up before the next incline.

When we left I had decided I would do the same again start off with people and see what happens but as we walked up the Pyrenees I realised I'd be with the girls till we reached Roncesvalles, and I was right. We all seemed to be walking the same pace, we were making good time and to be honest it made that part of the walk feel a little easier knowing there were people there with me. We continued to walk and it just felt like all we were doing was going up and up then suddenly the fog lifted and there was a man in white van selling hot chocolate and some fruits...... I don't think Iv ever truely cherished the feeling of a hot drink until that moment, It was just what we needed to give us that little kick for the next section.

As we walked on I realised I didnt even noticed that it was raining anymore even tho it was pouring and I could feel water running down my back, It felt like we'd been walking for hours and it had only been another 40 minutes or so. As we reached the last incline there was a small shed that people were stopping in for some shelter and there was a fire inside too but we all looked at each other and agreed if we went in we wouldn't want to come back out so we continued on and finally started the decent back down. It was nearly just as hard as going up but with even more concentration as it was so wet and slippy you really had to be carful where you stood, we all laughed later at the fact that when we were going down hill no one would speak for fear you'd slip or fall. It was so quite at one point you couldn't even hear the birds there was just silence, so peaceful.

Eventually we could see a building in the distance and began to hear the birds and some traffic, we'd done it we were finally at Roncesvalls. I thought I'd never get the bag off my back, my shoulders were so sore and i just wanted to wash the mud off my boots and check into the Albergue. I was so surprised that the hostel was rather modern and so clean I honestly had no idea what to expect but was plesently surprised when I got to where I'd be sleeping and went and had a nice hot shower it was just heaven I can't explain it but I was starting to appreciate the most simple thing. A few of us decided to meet and have a walk around the town, turns out there wasn't much to it and had a population of only 30 people, hello like! We managed to find a little bar and had some Spanish wine, for €1 a glass we couldn't believe our luck!! Are pilgrim dinner that we had paid for with hostel was at 7pm at that stage we were all starving and would have ate anything! It was soup to start chicken and chips for main and let me tell you the chicken was pink so you can imagine me trying to eat around it lol and then there was a little ice cream for desert, small and simple! After dinner I headed straight back to my bed to organise myself for tomorrow's walk and get a good nights sleep.