Today we were all anxious to get back on the trail after an off day in Pamplona. Rob and Michele were the first up before 6. I managed to roll out of bed at 6:45. Pam stayed in bed until after 7. George was already up, packed, and ready to go before Pam got up. We had all agreed to meet Alena at 7:30 out front.
The walk through Pamplona was pleasant even if it was on concrete. There were lots of Pilgrims all heading out together. We flowed from one conversation to the next which made the walk fly by. We met a mother and daughter from Oregon hiking together to celebrate the 50th birthday of the dad who couldn’t be there because of a last minute business deal. We also talked to a couple of women from Barcelona starting today. They had never met each other before but already they seemed to be bonding. Another German woman was solo hiking and walked with us for a bit. It’s amazing how easy it is to talk to total strangers and have an instant bond.
I had time to talk with everyone that was walking in our group today. Alena from Romania and Richard from London (who found us the rooms we had in Pamplona) other than the usual George and Shaun.
When we got to Cizur Menor, we were getting a bit hungry from the 3 mile road walk on empty stomachs. Ahead, we saw a sign for a cafe 600m off the trail so we diverted over. When we got to the cafe, I noticed another young German man, Noah, had tagged along. My first impression was that he was very interested in Alena. As the time progressed, they started talking more and more between themselves in German.
The trail starts climbing out of Cizur Menor eventually rising to the “Monumento Peregrino” recognizable in “The Way”. Along the way, we passed through Zariquiegui which had a nice medieval church open to see as well as a little shop selling fresh fruit. We were already 6 miles in and George was falling a bit behind after a strong start–I was afraid the incline was getting to him. Just as everyone headed out of town, George strode in walking strong and looking happy. He had just stopped for a break to relax his feet. He grabbed a juice, downed it, and was ready to go. He was still going strong. I was very happy to see him finally start to get his hiker’s legs.
We had the final 150m rise to the Pilgrim’s Monument where we had already agreed to stop for lunch and a nice break. The trail was crowded and talk was easy. I met a couple of Canadians trying to understand the “Trump phenomenon”–I had no insights because I still don’t get it. I met another Aussie woman solo hiking. And Santiago buzzed on by going uphill–he’s in great shape at 76.
The downward side was steep with slightly loose scree. George and I took off first after lunch and I showed him how I like to run/dance down the steep areas to keep pressure off the knees. It was great to see him running down the trail. The first town was only about 2.5 miles down. When we got into town, we stopped for a beer in an Albergue to give everyone a chance to catch up and regroup.
Alena and Noah had taken off ahead of us so we assumed they were pushing on together. The consensus of those remaining was to go ahead and push to Puente La Reina. It was only another 4 miles and we were all feeling good from our rest day. George led the way out of town.
Rob passed us about the time we entered Muruzabal and said we should just keep going and not wait for everyone to catch up because we needed to make sure we got space in the Albergue. George saw a nice shady tree and decided to catch a short rest while everyone else caught up. Pam and I kept going.
When we got to Obanos, Shaun had caught up with us. He was having a little foot pain and wanted to just get the day over so he was pushing hard. We saw a little girl with great entrepreneurial instincts on the side of the trail selling fresh made lemonade. All of us managed to stop and get a glass.
Rob was probably already at the Puente La Reina Albergue in the monastery where we were shooting for. Needing 7 beds, we felt one of us should get there ASAP and he’s the fastest hiker of our group.
We all managed to straggle in by 5:20 and get our beds thanks to Rob. The beds aren’t assigned here so all 7 of us got top bunks. The cyclists are going to be sorry tonight having 4 old guys in top bunks that have to get up and pee multiple times. We’ve all agreed to snore openly and wear ear plugs. Maybe we’ll get up to pee or just roll over–that’ll teach them to grab all the bottom bunks.
Showers and laundry first priority with beer and food a close second. After dinner, Richard, Michele, Pam, and I went walking around town looking for a grocery store and sightseeing. We pass over a Medieval bridge over the rio Arga built specifically for the large numbers of pilgrims passing through the town. Heading back, we ran into Noah and Alena walking down the street. When we got back to the Albergue, the completely full sign was up.
