Albergues - Roncesvalles

The albergue at Roncesvalles ..... I knew that the old one with 200 beds to a room and only two showers was no longer in use before me and my sister went there in 2013 but I still wish that she could have seen it and experienced it. Mind you I was glad to stay at the new one - very nice!

(Sorry this is sideways - my computer doesn't seem to want to turn it around!)

Nice bunk beds here - quite wide ones as well and beyond them you can just see the lockers - taller than my bag was, plenty of space in them.

The showers were wonderful and warm after a day walking in the snow although talking about it now we're not sure that, had the place been full, there were quite enough for the initial rush.

Here's its entrance (complete with deep snow!).

There is a kitchen that I think was equipped but I must admit that we didn't really look as after all of that snow we ate out! There were vending machines with ready meals in but these would have cost about as much as going out did (about 10 euros) and there was no shop anywhere to buy anything else. There was a fairly big seating area attached with big wooden tables and benches.

I wish that I had a picture of the basement area as there were three or so medium sized rooms with seats just for pilgrims to sit in and talk. Really nice.

The place is run by volunteers who seemed to be nice and welcoming and there was a small 'shop' where socks were sold as well as sleeping bags!

It's worth going to the Pilgrim Mass if you can, I really enjoyed it both my first time when it was full and my second when there were only ten of us there, a good chance to be thankful for getting through your first day of walking (whether or not you had snow!).

The monastery has a small shop for souvenirs and postcards.

There are two bars which both do meals but you do need to book - I have eaten at both and they are both good meals, filling after a long day's walk.

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The Camino Primitivo

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On the Camino

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