Onwards and upwards…
Saturday, September 3rd
Today we hiked from Roncesvalles to Zubiri, a lovely walk through mainly beech woods with beautiful views. All the pilgrims started early so the path was a bit crowded to begin with, but soon thinned out as people stopped and had a break. There are two coffee stops on the way (although I only made use of one of them!)
I met more new people today, including some time walking with a lady called Nicki from the Netherlands, and administering first aid to a chap with a sprained ankle: hopefully he’ll manage to last the trip!
It’s been a short day with lovely weather (less humid and about 21 degrees) so there’s been plenty of time for recovery, before the walk into Pamplona tomorrow.
Sunday, September 4th
Zubiri to Pamplona
Distance: 20.1km (13 miles)
The first part of the walk was through the industrial area of Zubiri which is clearly a mining town, producing aggregate from the limestone rock. However that quickly passed and we were into lovely countryside again, mainly on tracks apart from a small distance along the main road.
An interesting feature of this walk is that every now and again we come across a food truck selling drinks and snacks — very handy! In addition we get our Pilgrim’s Credential Card stamped each day, and it turns out the food trucks give out stamps too, so I’ve got a couple extra… I also met a retired teacher from from Seattle at one of the drink stops. She was a primary school teacher so we talked a little about Susan‘s work.
After refreshments we continued through small hamlets until approaching Pamplona. I decided to take the scenic route along the banks of the River Arga through a country park, and then into the city. After two days in the solitude of the countryside, to be suddenly immersed in the hustle and bustle of a major city was quite a rude awakening! However there is some beautiful architecture here which I’ve tried to capture in the photos below.
My hotel tonight is a grade higher than the hostel-type hotels that I have been staying in to date… there’s even a mini bar in the bedroom!
This evening I bumped into a couple that I had seen before, Dave and Jaki from Colorado. We had a meal together and then went to the cathedral for the evening service.
Tomorrow we go onto Puente la Reina: another stroll of 24km (15 miles) and 470 metres of ascent. Looking forward to it, although it promises to be a hot one (the forecast is for temperatures in the low 30s). More soon…
