Day 1

The "wild bunch" (comprised of Lynn and Sue Larson, Bill and Diane Kellogg and our old friend Mark Eaton as well as Susan and I) met on Saturday night in Pamplona at the Hotel Europa. After dinner on the square we took a short tour of town. We managed to lose Mark within 20 minutes!

The next day October 1st, We met Judy and Sally (our guides) at the Pamplona train station at 1PM and drove up to Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees. Our pilgrimage began in the

medieval kingdom of Navarra and we walked 8 kilometers out to Alto de Mezkiritz to get ourselves warmed up for the days to come.

We joined other pilgrims from around the world at an evening Mass in the church of the 11th century monastery of Roncesvalles. This monastery is one of the earliest examples of gothic church architecture in Spain. After Mass, pilgrims received the blessing by the canons of the monastery, a rite dating from the 12th century.

We had a welcome dinner at the monastery with the other 9 members of our group. A great group, and we look forward to getting to know everyone better.