FranceSpainEnglandIceland2015: Spain and Back Again

After an early start (early for us) and breakfast at a cafe, we set out from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port to cross the Pyrenees and ultimately end up in the Spanish town of Roncesvalles (Roncevaux in French), 27.1 Km (~17 miles) away on a mostly uphill route.
The first several kilometers brought us on a steep route up the mountains through sunny weather and past sheep spangled hills. Seven kilometers of this brought us to Orisson, the last resting place until Roncevaux, and roughly a third of the way along the route. We stopped here for drinks which were much welcomed after our sunny uphill climb. The remainder of the trip would not be sunny, due to low hanging clouds which we entered shortly after leaving Orisson; shrouding our view for the rest of the day, they deprived us of further long range vistas, turning the landscape into eerie fogginess inhabited by the clanging of cowbells, the baaing of sheep, and many large black slugs, which could be found along the path from Orisson to the peak of the trail at Lepoeder and beyond.
We passed much animal life, mostly sheep but also free ranging horses and cows (and one dog), and, at the outset of the trip (near Orisson), the large Pyrenean Griffon Vultures, which have a wingspan of 8 feet, making them easily identifiable from afar. At one point, one of these large birds flew beneath us (due to the contour of the mountainside), allowing us a rare glimpse of its back.
Our route also brought us near the site where Roland and the rest of Charlemagne's rear guard were slaughtered by rebellious Basques (or Saracens) at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.
The last 5 or 6 kilometers were downhill, which ironically proved to be the least comfortable leg of the journey. Around 1 mile from Roncevaux, we came upon a fork in the path, one route leading along the highway and the other through a wooded area. We took the latter route; after perhaps 10 minutes of walking we heard ahead the ominous clanging of cowbells, and, taking the next turn in the path, found ourselves staring down a menacing bovine. This was no cow but a bull, whose large curved horns drew our attention, and who was squarely blocking our path, with death in his eyes. Soon joined by additional beasts, including one with a clearly visible gash on it's side, the fearsome bull appeared to be a formidable obstacle. After some debate (and a failed attempt at waiting for the herd to pass, which it did not do), we decided to backtrack to the road and take that route to Roncevaux, which proved much less risky and soon brought us to our destination (Aiding in this decision was the observation of a cow pie on the little hill where we had perched to be out of reach of any attacking bovine).
Instead of staying overnight in a hostel, we took a bus back to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port where we found our car and drove to Salies-de-Bearn, moving into our airBnB house a day early. (TS)