One of our 4 bed sleeping cubicle ( bed buddies) from Roncesvalles is a French 81 yr old retired Catholic missionary. On the walk up the mountain the previous day, he passed us on the uphill. He just walks quite slowly, but consistently, never stops. Amazing. Both before bed, and early morning he goes through his exercise routine. Pretty sure we couldn't manage that either.
On the first day, where we only walked the first 8 km, we came across a woman plodding up the mountain with 2 walking sticks.... going all the way, 27km to Roncesvalles. Amazing.
But by far the most amazing group is the family who shared the meal with us at Orisson. 5 adults and 9 children ( looked to be aged 6 yrs to 14 yrs). The following morning, they all rocked up for breakfast, all carrying their own backpacks - with weight relative to their size. We next saw them that afternoon in Roncesvalles. They had walked it - just as we had. Sure takes the shine off our sense of achievement.
I would love to follow them sometime.
Lots of people are only walking for a week or two, because that's all the time they could get off. A couple from Ireland are walking with their teenage daughter because it was her dream to walk the camino. They only have one week.
We were passed by lots of seniors today, carrying only very light packs. Like day packs. You have to think they are getting the rest of their gear transported from town to town. Lots of people do that, particularly on the early mountain stages. To each his own. Everyone walks their own camino.
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