29.05.24

Blog finally arrived here in the beautiful St.Jean Pied de Port. Fabulous bus ride from Bilbao to Bayonne and train here. Absolute fantastic scenery. St Jean is a wonderful old town that dates back to Richard the Lionheart, who besieged it on his war to one of the Crusades. Still has the old city wall and Citadel. It has been the traditional starting point for the Camino for many centuries. The gates of the old town are now UNESCO heritage protected and now symbolise true starting points, i.e only 780 K to go !! We have already had a great time chatting to other pilgrims who are of all ages and race. Tomorrow is the hardest day, 25k up the steepest climb over the Roncesvalles Pass into Spain passing over the highest peak, Col de Lepoeder at 1450m! Weather forecast is not so good so we took a hike up  this afternoon to get pictures in the sun!