Day 5 – Dejavu

Col d’Lepeder to Col d’Roncevalles

Distance Forward: 18km

Today’s music: Mr. Blue Sky by ELO, Only Go Backwards by Tame Impala, The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, and Dogs by Pink Floyd

We woke up around 7am today, had some fresh coffee with some baked goods we got in Aldudes yesterday, dried out the tent (there were some big thunderstorms that rolled through last night!) and set out for the day around 9am.

Early on we met a hiker couple from Spain, with a cute border collie named Luna. “Bollo (Beautiful)” he said to me, making a rainbow gesture with his hands while pointing out to the view of the country. I had to agree with them!

Then, while getting water, we met an old man in his 70s, who, while he didn’t speak much English, was able to convey to me the love and passion he has for the Basque Country that he lives in. He asked if we were doing the Atlantic to the Mediterranean hike, which we are, and his reply was “ohhh, I just do this mountain” while gesturing an out-and-back signal with his hand. I thought that was a really good thing to do, especially being above the age of 70.

After a nice big climb of about 500m, we met another HRP thru-hiker! Finally! That makes two in the last two days. Proof of how remote and unknown this trail is. On the Pacific Crest Trail you would probably see 100 hikers every day! We both agreed that this is about as strenuous of a trail as you can get, and we probably wouldn’t see many other thru-hikers because everybody would generally be making the same pace. It’s pretty hard to move fast on this terrain.

Later, we had a gorgeous, easy walk along a one lane asphalt road, along a ridgeline that eventually led to the mountain named Lindus, which reminds me of a name for a cloud!

After that there was an easy hike down to the Col d’Roncevalles, where the Camino de Santiago crosses the Pyrénées! We found a nice place to make dinner and call home for the night and passed out pretty quick. Goodnight!