Oh The Hills Are Alive But I Might Not Be!
August 24, 2015 – Day 3
It was a very cool and overcast day and I knew we had to walk at least 17.5 Km and 12 Km of that was uphill! Hill? Pure Mountain! Every time I thought ” I must be there, another turn revealed another mountain straight uphill for 8 Km. Honestly, All of us thought it would never end! I say “All of Us” because overnight at the Albergue, I met 7 other people. There were the 3 Australian women, George from Florida, Kathy from California, Dieter and Ann from Germany. We started this day off together.
What did I and the others do to help us keep our minds focused and positive? We started to sing The Sound of Music Soundtrack! We each took turns twirling near the top (one of the peaks we thought was the top)! I have a video too but no singing . I could barely breathe!
All along the mountain tops were various religious symbols where Pilgrims could leave things in memory of others.
I left a photo of myself asking for help climbing that mountain! At one point we were exhausted but got out backsides in gear because the vultures were circling!
I finally reached the border crossing into Spain (Navarra is what it is called in Basque).
I finally reached Roncesvalles, my body was battered but I was SO PROUD of myself! The Pyrenees had been a fear of mine for months! I learned a valuable lesson on the Pyrenees – perseverance counts and the rewards of it are fantastic. I have never seen any scenery like I did over the past 2 days!
They had a small tiny church that offered a Pilgrims Mass. We were all called up for a blessing for a safe journey to Santiago. The church also had a crypt with the remains of St. Augustine (my father’s name was Augustine/Agostino).
Tonight, I will celebrate with my new found hiking friends and sleep well for Zubiri tomorrow!
I am LOVING this!
KEEP WALKING!
