Saint Joan Pied de Port - Roncesvalles

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 – 2nd day

Pyrenees and Navarra

Saint Joan Pied de Port - Roncesvalles

24.40 km

At 6:15 we were both nervous, awake, and ready. We had some extra time until Mikel arrived with his taxi to pick us up 😄. 

Last year I completed the last one hundred and ten kilometers of the Camino, so I am somewhat familiar with the topic, yet this morning we were both a bit anxious about what was going to happen and whether we would handle it well 💪.

Getting to Saint Joan Pied de Port by car was a breeze 😂 😂😂 and the village is beautiful. 

Since we arrived so early, the Pilgrim's Office wasn't open yet, so we had a coffee while watching the souls emerging from the various hostels, just like us, starting their pilgrimage today.

Once we passed by the office and picked up the Pilgrim's Passport and some instructions for leaving the village on the correct path, we looked at each other, gave a little kiss, and started walking through those cobbled streets, leaving behind the first and only French village we will pass through on this journey… They call it the French Way, but it mostly runs through Spanish lands 🤷‍♀️.

The first stage is considered the toughest, a baptism by fire for the pilgrim who barely makes it to the destination, unless they abandon before (I call it asking for extraction 😂😂😂).

This stage goes from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles and crosses the Pyrenees over about twenty-five kilometers with a positive elevation gain of 1,258 meters. The estimated time to complete it is eight to nine hours. There are two variants: the Napoleon Route, which reaches a height of 1,430 meters at its highest point and offers spectacular views (it is prohibited in winter), and the Valcarlos variant, which is the one we chose because it is somewhat easier, and as I mentioned yesterday, we intended to do only half a stage and spend the night in Valcarlos to continue tomorrow to Roncesvalles.

We started with enthusiasm, of course. Up to Valcarlos, the route was smooth and pleasant, about twelve kilometers parallel to the Nive River with only one village along the way where we crossed the border (Arnéguy). What we didn't like too much was that stretch had too much asphalt for our taste. The second stretch ascends through Atlantic forests before crossing a pedestrian bridge that takes you directly to the village.

Since we arrived relatively quickly, Thorsten insisted on continuing to Roncesvalles, not quite believing how difficult that stretch is said to be and not considering that on the first day of the route, it would have been ideal to take it easy.

The second part starts on asphalt before entering a beautiful mountain route that reaches an altitude of almost nine hundred meters… 🤦‍♀️. The climb to Alto de Ibañeta almost finished us off. That wonderful path turned into an endless hell where it was all about going up and up to the point that I sat down on the side and decided I wouldn't move from there until someone came to get me 🫩.

At one point where the road crossed the forest, just two kilometers from the destination, I started hitchhiking, and a van with a very funny French family picked me up and took me back to Valcarlos to get Thorqui.

When you arrive in Roncesvalles, the first thing you encounter is a monolith commemorating the site where Roland, the famous paladin of Emperor Charlemagne, was killed during an ambush by the Vascones in the year 778. Next, the small Church of Santiago (or Church of the Pilgrims) with a large cross marking the place where there was once a "rest and help" spot for pilgrims.

Thorsten arrived at the first bar almost gasping 😂 until he had his first beer and revived a bit. There, Thorqui and I picked him up on our way to Zuribi, where we went straight to the municipal pool to eat, take a shower, and also have a little swim in the pool.

You can imagine, we barely had time to go to sleep 🙄. Thorqui is parked at the door of the sports center, and we are going to spend the night here. Tomorrow they will pick us up at 6:15.

Good night… I’ll keep you updated 😘