Good Friday
Pamplona, Spain
Why did I think this was going to be an easy hike? Arrogance, I guess. The Pyrenees were stunning and challenging. Switchbacks weren't invented yet:). The steepest uphills and downhills I've ever encountered!!
But I can see from my photo collection on my phone that I was too busy hiking to get any great shots.
First night out we had reservations at Kayola, the overflow cottage to Orrison Refuge, 6 miles out of St Jean. That was a good idea. And after walking 15 minutes uphill to the Albergue for dinner, we all decided we liked our little place better. Highly recommended!!
Dinners for pligrims (as we're called) are called a Pilgrim's Meal and have a fixed price of 9 to 13 euros. Soup, sometimes salad, entree of pork or chicken, desert. And always bread. Sometimes All You Can Eat. Communal dining. And lots of wine!!
The next night we went to Roncevalles and stayed in a converted monastery. Very modern with built in bunks on the center wall. It slept over 200 pilgrims. I promise to try and do better getting photos of these places. That town had only a couple of restaurants and hostels, but no shops.
Onward to Zubiri, about 14 miles. And now my memory is failing as to what the trail was like. We stayed in the public albergue there with 22 bunks in one room. Amazingly the snoring has been nonexistent. This village was a bit larger with a few shops, small grocery, and several albergues. The restaurants are usually in the private albergues where the Pilgrim Meals are served.
Phil is a very fast walker and gets into town around noon and then has to sweet talk the person at the albergue into letting him check in for all of us. It's always a bit of a game but so far he's winning. Usually he just has to be patient and they see he's not going away and they let him in.
Yesterday we hiked in to Pamplona. I've realized that I always said that name wrong, with a second "m" in it. Suburban hiking is a novelty:). Much more challenging to find the trail signs.
I brought a very small pack thinking there was little I needed to carry, but found it was crammed full and hard to close. So I decided to ship stuff like extra clothes and my iPad to Monica's. Probably took 5 lbs out. Most excited about the extra space!
The adventure was getting to an open PO since it was a holiday yesterday. I found out a PO in a shopping mall outside of town was open until 10 pm. An hour's walk. Then I was told I could get the bus. I'm not public transport savvy and always feel it's an adventure. The hostel owner wrote down where I was going in Spanish for me and put in Google Maps where to catch the bus. And off I went. It felt exciting to be on my own and challenged to get this done. At the bus stop some local girls with minimal English said they were going to the same place and told me the cost of the bus. On the bus a man spoke English to me about how long it would take and how to get the return bus. Important thing to know. I wrote down the name of the street where I got on so I could show it to the bus driver on the way back. My pronunciation is so poor I'm not ever understood!
When I got off I was in a modern, commercial area of town. Large blank wall buildings. Parking garage. McDonalds, of course. No sign of the Correos, PO. Lots of asking and pointing and nodding and finally someone shows me the building where it is inside...like a Walmart. Ahhhh! So proud of myself! Done.
On the return trip, the tattoo'd, nose and lip pierced, gum chewing, bubble popping bus driver helped me find the right place to get off!
Every Maundy Thursday at 17:30 the church of San AgustÃn is the scene of the renewal of the 'Voto de las Cinco Llagas' (literal translation: vow of the five wounds). The ceremony goes back to 1599 when the city pleaded for divine intervention to be freed of the plague, which devastated entire cities at the time. After passing through the streets of Pamplona in procession with the symbol of the five wounds of Christ and the crown of thorns, the plague fortunately disappeared.
And the people partied in the streets!! It was a wild night in Pamplona!
Livin' the life,
BagLady
