Author: eathomson15

Today marked an important milestone. We have walked over a 100 kms and are one eighth through. Yay.

We left before sunrise and walked through the dawn up to a ridge with wind turbines along the ridge line. The pass was the Peak of Forgiveness . It was windy with 360 degree views.

And then the rest of the day was down hill to the Arga river and a an expansive medieval bridge. We then headed back up hill to our planned stop at Cirauqui. Along the way we took a detour of about an hour to visit a Romanesque church of the knights of the Templar where Pilgrims who died due to the harsh winter conditions were buried. We took a breather and stretched with some yoga. The weather has been kind with cool mornings and warm days. The food was great. The locals have huge veggie gardens and the local tapas are all made with local produce. We have a bit of a social group now and so we met up in the evening for a debrief on each of our days. Our hamlet for the night was in the midst of a seven day fiesta …. with music and dancing, singing and lots of noise. At first it was fantastic. It went non stop from the afternoon when we arrived around 3pm all night. It is now 4.11am and it is still in full swing. Impossible to sleep and add to that the church Bell chiming every 15minutes to announce that time has past. Doubly impossible to sleep.

Note to self: Spanish know how to party hard. I’m now listening to Tina Turner beat out a number. Medieval place with modern music, Simply the Best.

We headed off late in the morning for a shorter walk today, hoping my feet will hold up. And they did. We are feeling more and more adapted now. We walked strongly and with regular rests, food stops and stretching we got to Zariquiegui. On the way we walked through the university of Navarro and then back into the countryside . We walked past some ruins and lots of fields of sunflowers. 

My observations for the day:

1.Remember to look up. When you do , the scene  always rewards you… vistas, colors, sky.

2.The last couple of ks are always the hardest. As I get closer the last kms seem to take forever. Not sure if it’s because I’m tired, impatient to get there or I’m feeling the aches and pains. Probably all of the above! zariqui

Ah, Pamplona! The city of the Running of the Bulls!We weren’t there during ‘running’ season but we got to see the doll of the guy who started it – San Fermin – the guy who was engorged back in the 13th Century, and the starting line for the men.

Then, of course the bulls, encierros, need their path sign-posted just to be sure they find the men and their way to the bull ring for the afternoon bull fighting entertainment for the locals.  So, some observations: the old city of Pamplona sits centrally within a greater metropolis; the city streets make walking tough with all the hard surfaces; we should have entered the old city along the river; siesta time is best for sightseeing to avoid the crowds; we run into other pilgrims who we have come to know. We meet friends in news places. They say, the Camino provides, which indeed appears to be true.

Some reflections: what matters?

1. A lighter pack. We decided to shed 3kgs.

2. The kindness that the post office lady showed us. She had no English and we had no Spanish. Her patience and care was humbling. We sent our three kgs of gear ahead to Santiago.

3. A place to sleep. I had 12 hrs sleep in Pamplona. I was tired.

This was a great day. We left our hostel early in the dark with our head torches on. We walked through rural landscapes and followed a river for ages. So peaceful and beautiful. Our feet got very hot so we cooled them in the stream.

 

We met the local animals along the way! We walked past a ‘coffee cart’ next to a 700 yr old church. We had coffee, a boiled egg and a banana.  This is a typical Camino snack stop. As we arrived in Pamplona after 21kms, we walked through the centre of town towards the old original town centre. It was hard work. My feet burned and my pelvis ached. It was such a welcome site when we saw the old city wall. We had booked an Air BNBfor two nights with our new friends, Karen and Larry from Madison. Larry banters which makes Tony happy😉. We found our pad, and were delighted by our luxurious abode. We found a supermarket for supplies and settled in for a night of wine, cheese nibbles etc but not before hot showers and moans and groans. We slept for 12 hrs.