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Orisson

I'd originally planned to spend some time in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port this morning, and start later, but it seemed right just to get on with it!
So after breakfast and a simple ceremony at the hostel for those setting off, I walked down through the town, pausing at the Church for a few minutes and leaving a candle burning, then headed off along the Way. 
It was cloudy but not raining, not too hot, more or less ideal!  Not far along the way I met Toby, who's planning to reach Santiago well before I do, and we walked together as we seem to have a similar natural pace.  On the way up there were ever changing views, and some apparently wild ponies.  It's a stretching walk, steep almost all the way, but satisfying.
We reached Orisson in a bit under 3 hours - 9km and 700m of ascent, and sat down with a couple of beers.
We'd passed Robert, whom I'd met yesterday and who'd started before me this morning, and he arrived shortly before Toby went on towards Roncesvalles.   We checked in and had lunch - then time for siesta, a shower, and a blog post!

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