Being Idle

[Al the optimist]

I had already decided to walk the Valcarlos route as I have not been that way. Now I have just decided to use the baggage service from Express Bourricot to have a nice easy start on the first day. Really, really looking forward to a relatively easy walk for a change. I have never used a transfer service before and it will be an interesting change for me.

 

[KinkyOne]

I had already decided to walk the Valcarlos route as I have not been that way. Now I have just decided to use the baggage service from Express Bourricot to have a nice easy start on the first day. Really, really looking forward to a relatively easy walk for a change. I have never used a transfer service before and it will be an interesting change for me.

Feeling even more optimistic now, don't you?

Ultreia!

 

[mspath]

Glad that you are taking the Valcarlos route up to Roncesvalles; it's the only one that I have followed. Do go prepared with plenty of water and snacks, however. After leaving Valcarlos you cover 16 k without any shop or bar until the monastery complex. There is just one trail-side water spigot next to the N 135 road on a switchback near the Ibaneta summit.

Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[wayfarer]

This is a lovely route Allan. After Valcarlos the Camino arrows take you off the road on the left side in a few places. This is to avoid long bends in the road, the path plunges down to ravines and then back up very steeply. If I walk this route again I will stick to the road as the effort is huge to avoid an extra half kilometer or so. Have a great Camino.

 

[Felipe]

Good call, Al!
At Arneguy pay attention to signs. The right way (after the huge Benta Española resto/market) is to the village of Ondarolle, going past a former border station, a fronton (ball game) and a little church. It is a steep climbing, actually the hardest of this way, but the landscape is worthwhile. A funny thing is that you cross the national borders three times in half an hour....
There are many very good Basque restaurants at Valcarlos, but it is up to you to spend some time there, or not. Some bar/minimarkets are also available, a short distance from the church, going back a few steps by the only street of the village.
Btw, this water spigot mentioned by mspath is marked as "no potable", I suppose because it is not chlorinated, so not up the stringent EU standards. But on the other side, it has a nice and friendly scallop/vieira....
Buen camino!

 

[Al the optimist]

Thanks for the advice people.
Yup Kinkyone, that's me - always looking on the bright side. Well it makes life more pleasant doesn't it? My mother has not been too well recently and I am waiting on her test results this week, but hopefully she is ok and I can go as planned. She feels better and is behaving more like her normal self so fingers crossed.

 

[KinkyOne]

Thanks for the advice people.
Yup Kinkyone, that's me - always looking on the bright side. Well it makes life more pleasant doesn't it? My mother has not been too well recently and I am waiting on her test results this week, but hopefully she is ok and I can go as planned. She feels better and is behaving more like her normal self so fingers crossed.

I'll keep fingers crossed for good news!

I took Valcarlos route in 2009 because of twisted ankle. It was easier than Napoleon, of course, but all those looong curves on the asphalt (as recommended by wayfarer), those really could give you an insight on what Einstein was talking about For the mentioned spigot, I've drank from it the same year and everything was OK. But it's up to you whether to use it or not. Anyway, I hope everything goes well!

K1

 

[Felipe]

This is a lovely route Allan. After Valcarlos the Camino arrows take you off the road on the left side in a few places. This is to avoid long bends in the road, the path plunges down to ravines and then back up very steeply. If I walk this route again I will stick to the road as the effort is huge to avoid an extra half kilometer or so. Have a great Camino.

A note about the forest path/road. After Valcarlos I walked with a fellow pilgrim more or less my age. We parted ways where the Camino goes off to the left, because he preferred to continue on the road, and I really like wood paths very much. The interesting thing is that we arrived to Ibañeta chapel exactly at the same time. It was quite funny. He told me it had been quite easy, with great mountain landscapes, and not too much traffic. On the other side, the path goes by a Pyrinean forest, with chestnut, oak and poplar trees, little springs and many turns, with constant ups and downs. I think both options have their merits, but the combination distance/effort result in a similar walking time.

 

[Susan hopes]

I have also debated with myself whether or not to take the Valcarlos path. Somehow, the thought of crossing back and forth over the border appeals to me. I have also thought about using a baggage service until I get used to walking changing elevations (I'm from Chicago, IL, where EVERYTHING is flat.) Is this something I need to arrange for before I leave home, or can I make a decision when I arrive in St. Jean? How much does it cost to transport baggage ahead? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[mspath]

I have also debated with myself whether or not to take the Valcarlos path. Somehow, the thought of crossing back and forth over the border appeals to me. I have also thought about using a baggage service until I get used to walking changing elevations (I'm from Chicago, IL, where EVERYTHING is flat.) Is this something I need to arrange for before I leave home, or can I make a decision when I arrive in St. Jean? How much does it cost to transport baggage ahead? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Susan,

Check out this info page from Express Bourricot re transferring luggage from SJPdP to Roncesvalles. As you move along the Camino albergues usually have contact with other services to carry your bag. One very popular service is Jacotrans.

Today we so easily cross the old frontier between France and Spain in the Basque country, but these crossings are heavy with history.

At the beginning of WWII this southwest corner of France offered one of the major clandestine escape routes out of occupied France into Spain and the possibility of eventual freedom. See this Wikipedia map of the Ligne de démarcation. An American journalist, Varian Fry, helped immensely with refugee escapes from France into Spain. His real story has been told in the 2001 tv movie Varian's War. After the war he was awarded the Croix de Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur and in 1994 he was also honored by Yad Vashem as a "Righteous Among the Nations" for his rescue activities. His citation in the American Holocaust museum mentions "secret mountain passages". Those passages are these Basque trails we now easily cross in peace. .. May we all remember.

Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[JoanneK]

Susan we're paying €7 for one bag

 

[xin loi]

Is there a weight limit? At 7 euros a day, it's probably cheaper to take a big pack and use this service every day than to buy a light weight backpack with minimum gear.

 

[JoanneK]

They say there's a weight limit of 12kgs but our bag is more. We have one bag transported between us and carry a day pack each. Means you have to know where you're going each day