First day of walking completed and the beautiful sound of bells. Th 5 Sep '13

We are now stopped at Orisson for the night, a beautiful mountain hut approx 8 km from St Jean Pied de Port and 600 m above.   We wanted to break up the trip over the Pyrenees into Spain into two days (most people do it in one, or start their journey in Roncevalles in Spain) and are so glad we did.  Unseasonably hot for this region (31 today) so would have been quite a slog and we don't want to risk injury this early.

Orisson hut:

The day started with the sound of bells from the church a couple doors down, announcing it was 7 am. We'd slept like logs -- Jan didn't even hear the bells.  Both of us had earplugs in for our snoring roommates and they worked great, except for church bells and I love the sound and am glad to have heard them.

We next heard bells after hiking upwards for an hour or so, and it was the beautiful sound of cowbells from the cows grazing on the hills.  The sound of cowbells has a special meaning for us because it reminds of our time in Switzerland.  We lived and worked there for a couple of years when the kids were young.  When we went  for hikes in the Alps, it was common to hear cowbells.  Often you can get close enough to the cows to touch them.   This whole area reminds us of Switzerland: the endless views, the farm buildings, the sound of cowbells -- sweet memories of Switzerland, now linked to the Camino.

The climb started almost right from our hostel and we took many pix on the way up, but each view just seemed to get better and better.

A critter I wasn't expecting to see, but quite common here:

Orisson is a popular destination -- booked out months in advance and we were glad to have booked early. Many people arrived struggling with the heat and huge packs and looking to stay the night were heartbroken to have to push on.  Another five hours to the next hostel -- 16 km and 600 more metres up then 400 m down.  

The Orisson hut is located on a ridge with a spectacular view over the valley we walked up and neighbouring mountains.  So peaceful.

Orisson is the last spot we've booked for the remainder of our trip -- from here forward we plan to just walk till we feel like stopping and then look for a place.

Tonight we are in one of three rooms of three double bunks each and we'll all share a meal together tonight, as we are in an isolated place and nothing else nearby.  Sharing our room is Bob and Margie from Ottawa, who we took the bus with from Pamplona.  They are also flying back home out of Madrid on the same flight as us on Oct 23.  We also have a woman from Korea named Rosa (who's walking solo) and Theresa from Lynden, Wash, who's husband somehow ended up in a different room.

Rosa and Jan getting to know each other:

View from the patio:

Most of us arrived pretty early and are lounging around on the patio, or under a shade tree.  We've showered and changed into clean clothes, handwashed our other set and they are out on the line drying now.

Jan and I hung out under this shade tree on the property for a couple hours, enjoying the views and peaceful quiet:

A beautiful day, a beautiful start to our walk.