This is the post for day two of my pilgrimage along the Camino Frances route across the north of Spain towards Santiago de Compostela.  Enjoy!

Just the facts:

• Stage: 2
• Route: Roncesvalles, Burguete, Espinal, Alto de Mezquiriz, Gerendiain, Linzoain, Alto de Erro, Puente de la Rabia, Zubiri, to Larrasoana.
• Distance: 27.4 km (28.7 km adjusted for climb)
• Total distance to date: 52.5 km (57.6 km adjusted for climb)
• Accommodation: Municipal Albergue (73 beds in 4 rooms in main building, a bunch more on two floors in an outcrop building).  Horrific.  Stay in Zubiri – do NOT stay in Larrasoana under any circumstances!  This was by far my worst accommodation on the entire Camino.  While it is a lovely place to visit and there is a quaint bar there with free wifi, pass on through.  We were in the outcrop building, which was more like a large dingy shed with two floors.  There was one toilet and two showers for quite a large number of women.  One of the showers was only a hose.  It was gross.
• Food: the saving grace of this town was a lovely, quaint bar near the centre which offered free wifi.  We had a large communal dinner there, which was great.  Not a lot of other options in town.  There was one small supermarket in somebody’s house, but it was closed when we walked by.

Impressions:

Day 2 took us from Roncesvalles to Larrasoana – another 27 km or so.  It was deceiving, as it was touted as a fairly flat walk, so we thought it might be easy-going.  In fact, the morning portion was quite pleasant, and we had a nice lunch in Zubiri.  However, the last 5 km from Zubiri to Larrasoana was in the brutally hot afternoon sun, and was pure torture.  Not sure I would ever want to do that again.

When we arrived, our 6 Euro hostel was even shabbier, and yet a convivial atmosphere surrounded everyone there as we made our way to the only bar/restaurant in town (with free wifi!).  Misery truly does love company!  We sat and sipped on the terrace in the cool evening breeze.  The mere act of survival and glorious hot shower can do so much to revive the spirit.

We met some lovely folks from all over – the US, Austria, Ireland, Quebec, Germany and France, to name a few.  In the end, all was well, as our bodies acclimatized to the shocks we were inflicting upon them.

Nothing a little pilgrim menu complete with vino tinto can’t do to turn that frown upside down.  It’s all good!