Early the next morning we started on the route to the Cize pass. It was straight uphill. We had a little light rain. Anselmo agreed that we would stop at a hostel called Auberge de Orisson.
It took us about 3-4 hours to reach the Auberge. I had a sudden attack of Montezuma´s revenge and kept looking for a bathroom. We stopped at a cute cafe halfway there which fortunately had a bathroom. However, I flew up that mountainside like a rocket.
The Auberge Orisson was at an altitude of ... about 2500 feet. The view was spectacular. There was an outdoor terrace but it was much too cold to eat outside. We stayed in a room with three bunk beds. They gave us a token to take a shower. They had a dryer there which was fortunate since our clothes were wet and it was cold and humid. The shower was not hot. I didn´t wash my hair since I had no way of getting it dry. The toilet and sink were separate from the shower room.
Dinner was served at one big table. We sat with a guy named ¨"Crrl". He was Belgian, tall, scraggly beard, about 35. He had walked from Belgium. He claimed that his name ¨"had no vowels, only consonants". We also sat with a tall, thin, pretty Belgian woman named Regine. They were not together. He was alone and she was with two other women. We had a lively discussion about the differences of hiking in the US and in Europe. Europe doesn´t have animals, is the main difference, and Americans sleep in tents instead of inns. We met a mother and daughter from Norway who came in late.
There was nothing to do after dinner. Everyone tried to stand on the terrace and look at the view but it was too cold. I never got to sleep that night because of jet lag. Anselmo brought some TV shows on his Ipod. I watched 5 episodes of¨"Rescue Me".
The next morning we all had breakfast together. Breakfast was French bread, and BOWLS of coffee. Seriously. Bowls.
We started hiking up to the Cize pass. It was really beautiful but really cold and windy. I wore my nerdy hat and sunglasses. The wind blew so hard that I got some "lift" from my hat. The nerdy hat is a hat recommended by Helen. It is broad brimmed all around, with netting for ventilation, and white.
Oh, speaking of clothing, Michelle, you were right about the lined shorts. You don´t have to wear anything under them and you wash them out every night and they dry really fast. They are great.
Anyway, I rocketed up the mountain to the pass. We started last in our group but we got to the top first. The pass was at an altitude of 4500 feet.
Wildlife: we saw these huge soaring birds called Griffon Vultures. Wing span of up to 8 feet. They were soaring all around. It was a very windy day.
The only other animals we saw were HUGE SLUGS who kept crossing the road for some reason making me scream.
Plant life: there were millions of flowers.
At the high altitudes the pastures were carpeted withe beautiful pink heather.
At the middle altitudes there were deep pink spikes of Foxglove.
There were lots of smaller white, yellow, pink, blue and purple flowers. There were some pink flowers like very tiny hyacinths. There were huge Queen Anne´s Lace and lots of big ferns.
Soon we reached Roncesvalles, where I immediately ran for the bathroom. We did not stay at the hostel there. We got a gorgeous apartment. It had beautiful windows which opened to the flower meadows. The shower was really hot. Unlike the hostel, I could leave my bathroom things out and there was a hair dryer!
After we got cleaned up we went on a tour of Roncesvalles. It is the place where the legendary "Chanson de Roland" took place. It is the first great work of literature in the French language.
Oops, I am out of time on my computer! More tomorrow. I will explain the Chanson de Roland.
Mary
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