Today is the day! Up at 6:00 am, breakfast at 7:00 and out the door at 7:30 for our first day on the Camino. We had planned on a leisurely morning, but the forecast called for rain, so we pushed for an earlier start.
And so the rains came, within minutes of our leaving the albergue. On go the ponchos. We decided on a short first day, only about six miles, but it was steep, climbing up into the Pyranees! We walked up hill for close to four hours – mostly in the rain. On the bright side, however, we learned to use and appreciate our rain gear. No doubt we will need it again.
Despite rain and a tough climb, there were wonderful gifts today. We saw the most vivid, gorgeous rainbow any of us had ever seen, and enjoyed absolutely stunning views of the Pyranees. We actually walked above the clouds looking down among he mountains!
As with the image of the rainbow, these pictures just cannot fully convey the beauty of these scenes.
We were surprised to arrive at Orrison at 10:45 am. After a cold and wet morning, we were happy to spend a few hours drinking tea, hot chocolate and then wine until our rooms were assigned. Tonight we bunked with two other couples in a small room. To our pleasant surprise one of our “bunkmate couples” was Greg and Jody, from Boston, who we had met the night before. The other couple, Grant and Carena, were from New Zealand. We shared two toilets and two showers with about 16-20 people! There were at least 50 people staying in the same Albergue (like a hostel) this evening.
Tonight we had our first “Pilgrims’ Meal,” usually soup, bread, pasta or potatoes and chicken – and unlimited local wine. It was quite delicious.
The tradition at Orisson is to meet your fellow pilgrims and share your stories. So after the meal, we were each asked to introduce ourselves to the group: who are you? where from? and why are you walking the Camino? We are Sara & Evan Rivers, we’re from Florida, and we’ll enjoy sharing our Camino with people from all over the world!
