Journal Excerpt: Somport to Canfranc (day one on the trail)

After convincing a young Austrian guy that he really did want to start up at Somport Pass (Puerto de Somport), we caught the 8:30am bus up to the top, but not before getting lost in the city first. Within an hour (or less) we reached the crest of the Pyrenees peaks, home to the France/Spain border. Un-content to immediately start our way down again, we sat and had breakfast (literally croutons with jam) and sipped our cafe con leche while enjoying the view and the mountain air.

(the bus ride up)

(us at the pass)

Still un-content with an immediate descent, we hiked the mountain sides further up to gain some spectacular vantage points and explore a wee bit of France. After numerous photo-ops, we concede the fact that we must head down, and headed towards Canfranc.

(going up before having to go down)

(loving the mountain air!)

Alpine meadows, open fields, rocky slopes. Waterfall swims, strawberry fields and more breaks than necessary, we arrived in Canfranc Estacion just in time for some festival wine and Tim's lunch of fish and peas. I guess that's what happens when you order from a spanish menu with little grasp of the language. 

(enjoying the alpine meadows)

(our first official trail marker)

(we didn't really have that far to go)

(strawberries!)

(fantastic waterfalls!)

Final destination: Canfranc; although it took us a couple hours to believe we were actually there, which is what typically happens when you arrive at siesta time.

(Canfranc during siesta time)

Word of the day: Sandia; as in the half a watermelon a fellow perigrino was eating as Tim traded his fish and peas for anything my dad was willing to offer.

Definitely a good first day on the trail!

it's funny how the time scale you have in your head when thinking back on a trip changes so much from what actually took place. when reminiscing, all the events of that first day seem to be spread out over the first week! and when transcribing this from my journal i laughed out loud at Tim's fish and peas. I had completely forgotten the look on his face when his plate came. classic! A good bottle of wine and a swap with my dad however, seemed to make everything okay. 

this post is full of tiny details i had completely forgotten so while it may be a little mundane to those who weren't there, i hope for tim, allegra and my dad, that these details will bring back some of the memories that may have been glossed over...especially the part about Tim with his fish and peas!