Day One-Orisson!

So we have survived the first day! We started out about 8am under fairly cloudy skies. The road rises up pretty steadily right outside of St Jean and I have to admit I was winded pretty quickly by the ( later to be revealed as "gentle" ) incline. Part of the problem was that being afraid of being too cold I had piled on several layers of clothes and topped off with my snazzy lime green poncho. Soon was sweltering and had to stop and take off my sweater and jacket. Sun peeked thru for a few minutes so loosened up the poncho ... Drizzle began again so back on. That was the last of the sun for today but did get to see some of the viewThings soon started going up at a steeper incline and it was kicking my butt!  My feet are doing great, no pain or blisters, but should have done some more cardio I guess!   Felt as if my heart was pounding!  I lost count of how many times I stopped to rest- a couple times for several minutes and when moving again felt my heart up to near maximum again after a few steps.  They say you must walk your own Camino, it is not a race or competition.   When I rested I looked back down the road and could see other walkers far back...before long they had all passed me : ) even a lady all dressed in red, with a red umbrella who appeared to be strolling... Andy went ahead, since the path is well marked I just had to keep going, so no need for him to keep my pace.  Anyway, long story...soon I saw another lime green poncho headed towards me--Andy came back to check on me and walk me in--it was quite foggy by this time.   Finally made it to our overnite refuge at Orrison.  Arrived at noon, a short day but have planned to go slowly and work up to a better pace.  A good call for today... I'm sure I could not have made it to Roncevalles today- another 15 km!  There is a restaurant here at Orisson and many people get a coffee or sandwich here as they power on-- red umbrella lady was headed out soon after I arrived : ) I had no desire to go further today and this refuge was full before1pm so there are others going slowly too.  The weather has been colder than usual for the last couple weeks and with the drizzle today it is quite damp.  We'll see how the weather is tomorrow and decide if we cross the rest of the mountain by the high road or the lower road.