Day 3 – Roncesvalles to Zubiri

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It was raining so hard last night that we did not get a chance to venture outside the hotel into the town of Roncesvalles. After a very nice breakfast (and dinner the night before) we took a little bit of a look around and discovered how small the town really was!

Very nice walking along good pathways – some woodland, some rural but mostly flat and easy walking past a couple of small villages. A nice cup of coffee at Espinal, then a bit of a climb up to today’s peak at Alto de Mezqueriz, 955m but not much change from Roncesvalles at 950m.

From the peak it was a steady descent into Viskarret – a lot of work had been put into making the trail passable with slate paving and textured concrete, so very nice! We had lunch at a small bar in Viskarret, then a steady walk to Linzoain. After a step ascent out of Linzoain,we had another stretch of relatively flat and good paths up to Alto Erro.

Unfortunately the last section from Alto Erro, at 810m, down to Zubiri at 400m was very difficult and steep, taking the gloss off what was otherwise a nice days walk!

Anyway, the clouds have lifted and tomorrow we reach Pamplona with a day off to follow. 23.1km today for a total of 50.8km! Finally produced the route – check it out here.

Looking back at our hotel and the Church of St Mary
One of three hostels in Roncesvalles
Heading south out of Roncesvalles
The third and last hostel in Roncesvalles – we think the southern entrance (next photo) was used on the movie “The Way”
Still heading south with Burguete in the background
The Main Street of Burguete
Heading towards Espinal from Burguete
Morning tea at Cafe Keler in Espinal
Espinal’s Main Street
Looking south west at Alto de Mezquiriz, today’s peak
Climbing down from the Alto towards Viskarret
Bar Juan in Viskarret – everyone else stopped at the first cafe, so we had the place to ourselves!
The steep ascent out of Linzoain
The sun coming out between Linzoain and Alto de Erro
Alison later regretted this beer at Alto de Erro – balance was important going down the hill!
A relatively good section of track between the Alto and Zubiri
Some parts of the Grand Canyon are smaller than the washed sections of the track!

Published by steelewalking

One Reply to “Day 3 – Roncesvalles to Zubiri”

  1. So exciting. Weather doesn’t sound too flash. If it’s any consolation it is rubbish here too. Lots of rain and wind. Sorry we missed you before you left. Would have loved to hear the plans for the whole trip. 50 days of walking?? How is your Spanish coming along?

    xxL

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