Climbing Mountains- Pt. 2

So, when we last met, I was on the top of a mountain...

Some of the locals...

Trying to make new friends...

Stunning sweeping vista's, from basically the highest peak of our travels today. . Will have done well over 1500 feet in elevation is the best guess so far...

Vista from same location, looking forward...

Okay, THIS was actually the highest peak of the day... Even though I was huffing and puffing, and by this point had experienced cramps in three different areas of my legs, I was still able to rub them out, and was feeling pretty good about how things were going... then the descent happened..

How hard can it be to get to the bottom?

The answer is... pretty f'ing hard! My legs were on fire, my toes were squished into the front of my shoes and rubbing hard, I had run out of water a short while ago, and what I thought was going to be a short descent straight into the town, ended up being almost another 2 hours of downhill walking, with knees and ankles screaming...

This is when I realized I wasn't yet done for the day... pretty sure I let out a long, miserable sigh...

One of numerous lookout towers that were used to protect Spanish lands from sea attacks, controlled at different t times by the Spanish, the French, and the Moors...

More of the descent from hell...

The road is guarded by Spanish locals... BTW, the couple you see in numerous of these videos are from Canada... I met them leaving Irun, and while initially thought I wanted to travel by myself, I was happy to have their company on this first day, as ot distracted from some of the pain..

First view of Passaies de St. Jean...

A better view of the area...

My thoughts on the day....

Grilled octopus.. OUTSTANDING!... This was soooo good... served on a bed of salicornia, a green that is not quite veg, not quite seaweed, and tastes like a combination of asparagus and olives! This was a dish I'd come back for!

The bed race is real! When I got back yo the albergue at 330pm, I counted me as the 13th person with only 14 beds. I definitely saw people turned away later in the day...

A walk through town...

The main plaza on the water...

The front of the old hermitage turned albergue...

The pilgrim entrance... We were led inside, given instructions by the hospitalier, and then proceeded to wash clothes, get beds settled, and enjoy the last few hours of the day.. As I had already eaten a main course, I ended up grabbing a small tray of Iberian ham, a local beer, and a giant nectarine, and ate them in front of the albergue, overlooking the town... Lights out at 10pm sharp!

Officially 850km to Santiago from Irun

Albergue sign says 825km to go... my phone shut down early and I probably walked st least another 3km in the evening... so...

TOTAL DISTANCE WALKED SO FAR-25KM