Arrived at last

After a long flight, time change, metro to the train station, train to Pamplona, Spain, walk to the bus station and a bus ride to St Jean Pied du Port I have finally arrive. My hostesses name is Melanie. She greeted me at the bus station with Rob and Joanne two other guests from New York. We all went out for a much needed dinner and discussed the days ahead. After quite a hot spell they are experiencing a lot of rain and cooler temperatures which is going to make the first leg of the journey unpleasant. Melanie has offered to have our bags transported and us driven about 7 KM up the mountain so that our first day will be more bearable. She informed us that there are many more pilgrims hiking than typicality this time of year so it is harder to find accommodation in the smaller towns.