Day 4  Zubiri to Pamplona  September 25, 2022

Today’s walk was hard for me because I’ve developed a couple of blisters.  I’ve put blister bandages on them and the one on the right big toe is pretty good but I have one on my left little toe that may cause some difficulty tomorrow.

I walked most  of the day with Marjanne and we had a good visit. The sun shone but it was only about 18 so I never got too hot. We continually run into people we know – it is like one big family and everyone is ready to help everyone else out.

Our first stop was at the Abbey at Eskirotz and Ilarratz which was built in the 12th century as a fort, then converted to a fort in the 13th-

We carried on and stopped for a drink at a nice restaurant.  I had a beer and a baguette - (the bread is the best) with ham and cheese.  The bathroom signs were funny-

Along the way-

We made a slight detour to visit Saint Stephen’s church.  We could climb to the bell tower and ring the bell but only once or twice-

They provide an explanation sheet in many languages-

And they’ve altered The Lord’s Prayer for pilgrims-

We also received a couple of interesting readings-

Near Pamplona there are two ways to enter so I chose the city route over a bridge into the town of Trinidad de Arre-

Walking along I came across fencing still set up since the running of the bulls in July-

Across another bridge-

Soon, I came to the wall of the old city-

There’s even a draw bridge-

The streets were wild with live music and bars overflowing-

I’m staying at a very large albergue called Jesus y Maria.  It even has a shell on the outside wall-

I met Bernadette from Switzerland. Helle from Norway and Jennifer from Toronto at the main square called Plaza de Castillo.  Pampalonians call it their living room as that’s where they hang out.  The buildings are beautiful-

There’s a bandstand in the centre of the square-

Other streets have great architecture-

Renovations are happening.  What a procedure-

We walked down Saint Nicholas Street-  

 and marvelled at the tapas-

I had a soft poached egg with a bit of bacon and sautéed vegetables, kind of like salsa.  It cost $5 and was the best thing I’ve eaten since I got here.  Bernadette tried a fish dish-

Ham hangs in restaurants-

Unfortunately all the churches and the cathedral were closed this afternoon but while I was writing this, someone came into the hostel and said the cathedral was open.  Marjanne and I went to check it out but it wasn’t.  We did however find a great party happening in the street-

Spaniards know how to party!  Something like this could never happen at home. It would have to be fenced off, there would have to be security checking drinking ages and drinking in the street? Heaven forbid! 

I’m hoping tomorrow I won’t be quite as stiff and my blisters will be a little less painful. I’ve considered taking a rest day and that was my initial plan but if I stay back and everyone moves on, I’ll never catch up to them.  Your people are a huge part of the camino and I don’t want to lose them!