Day 1 - St Jean Pied de Port > Huntto

My day started out with trains and more trains. From Bordeaux to Bayonne, then from Bayonne to St Jean Pied de Port (SJPP) where I arrived at 1:30 pm. There were many pilgrims on this last train and the Pilgrims office is about a 10 minute walk from the station. We had to walk up such a steep hill to get there that I felt like I was having cardiac arrest, which is a bit unsettling when you're about to climb a mountain. Here is a picture of me at the pilgrim office, registering and picking up my scalloped shell; sign of the pilgrimage. Either the scalloped shell symbol or a yellow arrow can be seen throughout the route, painter on walls, rocks and trees, to let you know that you are on the right path.

When I left the pilgrim office I wasn't sure which way to start walking, but thought it only make sense to walk uphill. Uphill turned out to be the wrong way which I figured out after finding myself all along at the edge of town. So I made inquiries and had to walk back down the hill to get myself walking in the direction of the mountain. This start in the wrong direction taught me that I'd better not make any more assumption unless I like doing extra walking. SJPP is about the quaintest and prettiest town I've ever seen and if it weren't so darn hard to get to I'd recommend it as a must see.

Since I had such a late start, I made my way to the first Refugio that is only 5 km up the mountain. It was a very steep walk, but 5 km was manageable and I was in pretty good spirits when i got there. Made Friends with 3 wonderful people from Prince George BC and a fabulous woman from South Africa. about 40 people were staying at the Refugio and we were served a delicious dinner, breakfast and given a lunch for the road; including lodging cost was 39€.

I was in a room with 6 people (on the Camino men and women are never given separate quarters) The snoring was pretty intense and I was very grateful to have earplugs! All in all a good day; feeling positive and excited about tomorrow.