Day 2 Roncesvalles – Larrasoana 26.9km
For photos on day 2 see this link and for details on getting to Roncesvalles
For me leaving Roncesvalles is a dream, it is downhill for a while, the route follows the side of the N135 for most of the day – which is a quiet country road that weaves down the hills towards Pamplona. The route initially is tree lined and most of the day is easy underfoot.
Two km after leaving Roncesvalles the track turns towards and passes through some farm buildings. This was my first experience of barking Spanish dogs; it encouraged me to purchase a walking stick shortly thereafter. I don’t like dogs much and try to avoid the barking ones, though over a four week period it was only an issue three times.
The first small town is Burguete, with nothing to see. The next town, Espinal (6.5km from start), has a café that is open from early in the morning and caters to the passing pilgrims, providing breakfast and coffee, in the midst of the quaint narrow one street village.
The day starts at about 950 metres and descends to about 500 metres. It is not all downhill though. The route after Espinal is hilly, with many ups and downs for the rest of the day, some of them quite steep.
The route passes near Mezquiriz , through Viscarret, then near Linzoain. You will get used to sign posts along the Camino encouraging you to leave the route to have lunch in one of these villages or to stay there – this is common along the whole Camino except in areas near large cities.
The Camino goes downhill towards Zubiri, however the actual Camino does not cross the River Arga into the town, though most pilgrims do. It is a good sized town with a few bars and cafes, it also has pilgrims hostels, (there is also an outdoor swimming pool near the main Albergue). Many pilgrims stop here rather than continuing to Larrasoana, I would rather carry on. The worst part of today’s route is the remainder, passing some garish factories and climbing out of Zubiri.
Next day Larrasoana to Pamplona
What to see and do:
- St James church in Larronasa
http://www.alberguezaldiko.com/ingles/informacion.htm Albergue Zaldiko – Zubiri