2. Tag - Roncesvalles nach Larrasoaña

First dormitory. Sleeping in a room with 40 other people. I thought it was going to be hell. But no, I slept really well and only woke up twice. The wooden buildings somehow protected me from the noise and I think that if anything, it was me who was preventing others from sleeping 😅 I woke up at 6:20 a.m. because there were already quite a few people bustling around. Breakfast isn't until 7 a.m., but it feels like a race. After yesterday's exertions (I don't have any sore muscles 🙏), I decide to take it easy today and just walk from place to place and slow down the day a bit. In the first place I have a leisurely coffee before I decide: OK, I'm feeling really amazingly good after yesterday, then I'll carry on walking to Zubiri, which is the actual intended destination for my second stage. In the bar (in Spain, bars are often small places that also offer snacks) I meet Yujun & Hati from Taiwan. They are doing the Camino to meet lots of people from different countries and learn something about their cultures.
It's freezing cold, by the way. It's 6 degrees at the moment and today it will be 9 degrees at most and it's very windy. So I sit down in a bar in the next town and warm myself up with a coffee.
The rest of the path is peppered with many streams, some of which have very interesting "bridges" for pilgrims. A woman from Venezuela, however, is afraid of heights and does not dare to cross the "pillar bridge" (see photos) and walks through the stream. Of course, the current flooded her shoes. But at least she was still in a good mood enough to take a photo of me on this bridge.
After another short stop at a bar in "Bizkaretta-Gerendian", where I also had something to eat, we continued on the last 9 kilometers for today. These were quite full of pilgrims and were particularly challenging. The path ran for quite a long time over long rocky passages, with some of the rocks being sharp and slippery and with large steps. On this stretch there were suddenly Brazilians on mountain bikes, but the path was definitely too dangerous for them. They overtook me on easy sections and blocked me on the rocky sections. This went back and forth several times and was really annoying.
Having arrived in Zubiri at 2:45 p.m., the day still feels somehow unfinished to me because the last part was really annoying. Since I want to arrive in Pamplona tomorrow and the city certainly has some sights, I decide to have another, well, what do you think? A coffee and then continue along the path. I want to sleep at the nearest possible accommodation and then save myself a few meters tomorrow so that I can arrive in Pamplona earlier and see as much of the city as possible. It also goes along the river, so that's probably it for today with the elevation gain 🙏Directly at the village exit there is of course a nice steep climb, followed by a long valley. After 1.3 km I reach a house that has very good reviews on Google Maps. However, nobody answers the doorbell and I can't reach anyone on the number given on the house either. So I carry on. Although my feet would like to call it a day by now. Of course, the path doesn't go directly along the river, but winds up and down. I reach the next town after another 2.3km. There are 3 hostels listed here, but they are all full. So, really exhausted by now, I continue on to the next town, which is 2.7km away. Of course, it's just up and down and up and down again. When I arrive in "Larrasoaña" I'm in good spirits. There are 2 hostels, 2 guesthouses and a municipal hostel. The first four were all full, but the municipal hostel still had a bed for me. Finally 🙏🙏🙏
I just put my things down and went looking for something to eat. In this village of 100 inhabitants there is a bar (closed), a braserie (closed) and a "supermarket". In the supermarket, which had two whole shelves of unnecessary little things, I was at least able to eat something. But it is lovingly run by "Pep" from Belgium and his wife. There was a pilgrim menu consisting of patatas bravas, meatballs and a mini waffle, including a drink for €13. But I didn't care. I would have eaten everything. Frozen through, I then went back to the hostel, showered and chatted a bit with the "neighbors". Two Japanese, two Brazilians and I don't know, 5 people who were already asleep.
Tomorrow, thanks to the extra kilometers today, I only have 17km to go to Pamplona. I definitely want to stay there in the "Casa Paderborn". A hostel with 8 beds, run by the Paderborn Jacob's Association. It is said to be one of the best and most welcoming hostels on the entire Camino, so the beds are always snapped up early.

Quick fun fact: yesterday's sunburn is really bad.

Through back: 1. Coffee in the Roncesvalles Monastery2. Coffee at the village church in Burguete3. Coffee in the village square in Espinal4. Coffee at the entrance to Bizkaretta-Gerendian5. Coffee in Zubiri
Cost of the day:
Accommodation: 15€ without breakfast Food on the way: 19€ Dinner 17€ (pilgrim menu and 2 other drinks)