Day 11 : the toughest challenge (?)

Day 11 : the toughest challenge (?), originally uploaded by raoul_dewinne.

On our way to Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port we met a historic cemetery with very old graves of pilgrims who didn't make it to their intended destination. Being a pilgrim in those days long gone was apparently a pretty risky job - actually many never made it back home. Since reaching Santiago was not such a sure thing the prize when you got there was quite rewarding: a free ticket to go straight to heaven - all sins forgiven. As one witty Time journalist once explained it, in medieval times it worked more or less like our modern frequent flyer miles: the farther you got, the more sins were forgiven.



Before telling you about my plan B, I should mention that my honey joined me on this trip simply to be with me since this Santiago thing was rather my own dream. When I saw her so tired yesterday, I couldn't imagine how she would ever make it to the top of this upcoming 25 km climb with an 894 m height difference. My cunning plan was to have her taking a taxi and have a whole day rest. Surprise, surprise, when she woke up after a good night's sleep, she felt that if she would skip this mountain pass, she would no longer be entitled to a free ticket to heaven upon arrival at Santiago :-))

No more plan B, but that didn't mean that my worries were over. Two on the bike plus the weight of the tandem and all the luggage and a temperature of 29 C would definitely slow our speed terribly down on such a long and steep climb. One should understand that as soon as you start to bike slower than 6km/hr it becomes very hard to keep the tandem stable, you start zigzagging and the front wheel bags make the zigging and the zagging even worse, till you fall over or get overrun by the cars or trucks on this busy mountain pass. Consequently, I was quite convinced that we would never make it to the top or we'd end up as a future historic grave of pilgrims who never made it to their intended destination...

But when the need is high, an unexpected solution is always near. When we went to get our pilgrim's stamp at the Saint James association we learned that, as a matter of fact, quite many hikers and bikers don't actually carry their heavy loads to the top but have them sent to the next refugio. Aha! This even seemed a lucrative business since there were several such services available. However, after we had called them all, it turned out that you had to make a reservation the night before and that, anyway, they already went up to deliver the cargo - in short, no more deliveries today; what a disappointment :-( Who cares... let's call a private taxi then! And so we did, and so we managed to bike up to the top... alive :-) But is was still TOUGH... If you want to know how tough, well book your next holiday in this area (it's really gorgeous here), rent a tandem and just do it.



Not only is the mountain scenery great, this pass and its surroundings is also a historic and legendary place. Two thousand years ago there was already a Roman route via here, but it's name of fame got acquired in the 8th century when Charlemagne used this route to cross the mountains on his way back from the siege of Sarragossa. According to some ancient chronicles, his rearguard was destroyed by the Basques at the top of this pass at Roncevaux (Roncesvalles in Spanish). Several monuments remember us today of this famous battle of August 15, 778.



This battle was the inspiration for The Song of Roland (in French: La Chanson de Roland), which is the oldest major work of French literature. The story told by this epic poem is based on historical events surrounding a relatively minor incident, the ambush or battle of Roncevaux Pass in which the rearguard of Charlemagne's retreating army was attacked by Basques, whose motive for the attack is unknown. In this engagement, recorded by a historian and biographer Einhard (written around 830), the trapped soldiers were slaughtered to a man; among them was Roland, or Roldán. Roland, badly wounded, blew his horn (the Olifante) to call his uncle, with such impetus, that the horn and the veins of the hero exploded. Over the years, this minor battle was romanticized by oral tradition into a major conflict between Christians and Muslims, when in fact both sides in the real battle were Christian; the Basques have been replaced by 400,000 Saracens. Charlemagne did fight the Saracens in Iberia itself, but not in the Pyrenees. The Song of Roland, which commemorates the battle, was written by an unknown troubadour of the 11th century. There is a tombstone near the Roncevaux Pass commemorating the area where it is traditionally held that Roland died.

In the 12th century the Great Hospital of Roncesvalles was founded where the monks of Saint Augustin have welcomed millions of pilgrims since.