Day 6 Puente La Reina to Estella, Spain September 27, 2022

What a sleep!  No one moved in our room all night! I woke up on my own at 7!  That’s so rare as often someone starts rattling around sometimes as early as 5:30.  Then, breakfast included cereal and yogurt so I didn’t have to eat bread!  It was a win win kind of morning.

I was on the road by 8:10.  Today’s map didn’t seem that daunting but it was 21.6 km-

My intention for the day was the same as yesterday -  it’s the journey, not the destination!  I’m trying!

Along the way-

I took an alternate route which according to John Brierly’s camino bible looked shorter.  I walked along a narrow cow path up and down and through some beautiful spots but the couple in red ponchos who were so far behind me as to be out of sight were ahead of me when I got back to the real route.  Note to self….

Beautiful doors are everywhere-

Approaching Cirauqui-

One of the few moments when the sun came out-

Remnants of a Roman road-

Unfortunately a man from The Netherlands fell on slippery cobblestones - (it was raining off and on most of the walk) and broke his ankle and scraped his face pretty badly.  The ambulance came and took him to Pamplona.  That’s one of my biggest fears.  I’m a stumbler so I am super careful descending the slopes,  making sure I use my poles.  I keep my head down looking where I’m going all the time. I have to remind myself to look up every now and then!

Lunch was a delicious tortilla! They also served gluhwein but I didn’t try it-

Continuing on - there are inukshuks everywhere-

I had to stop a couple of times to put my rain gear on and to add blister bandages.  My little toe on my left foot hurts and so does my right knee.  Hopefully tomorrow both are a little better.  I’ve still got a long way to go!

Vending machines keep we pilgrims full-

Navarre is well known for its white asparagus-

Today didn’t seem as hard as yesterday and finally I arrived in Estella. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre’s Gothic portico was built in 1340.  Saint James and a bishop are on the bottom and the apostles are above-

The tympanum is divided into three horizontal sections.  On the top is the crucifixon with Mary and Saint John standing out as well as soldiers and thieves gathered around.  In the middle are the three Marys who visited Jesus’ tomb, his descent into hell and then his apparition in front of Mary Magdalene.  The bottom shows the Last Supper and it’s interesting to note the angle of the table which allows us to see the tableware.  Saint John is leaning on Jesus-

The Prison Bridge was built in The Middle Ages to connect the burgs on either side of the river.  It’s called the Prison Bridge because at one time the city’s prison was next to it.  In 1873 it was blown up during a war and this edition was built in the 1970s (how disappointing) based on the original plans-

I am in the municipal hostel which was a stupid idea.  It cost 8 Euro ($10.55) but the showers are luke warm and the top bunk is so close to the bottom one that I can’t sit up on my bed.  The problem In choosing a hostel is that when you get to your destination you are usually really tired and you also want to get a bed. It’s not fun to search and search after a long day’s walking. I could make a reservation but I never know for sure how far I’m going to get. I will not do this again as I do need a little bit, well I don’t think I would call it luxury, but a little bit of better than this.  At least they provide blankets which is great for me as I only have a silk liner which is not warm and an airplane blanket.  

Supper was a couple of tapas. The smaller one is a potato and cheese croquette. It’s like a Mexifry but very well blended and smooth. The second one is a fish pâté on a slice of bread. It’s a regional speciality-

Pet peeve of the day-  people, probably women, who pee wherever and leave their toilet paper!  Come on!  Carry a small ziplock bag and carry it out with you.  Seeing discarded toilet paper along the way and behind bushes is disgusting!

Hoping my feet are better tomorrow!

Day 5 Pamplona to Puente La Reina, Spain  September 26, 2022

I had a great sleep at Jesus y Maria and was ready to get exploring by about 7:30.  

Breakfast was a potato and cheese tortilla-

Unfortunately the cathedral-

was not open but I did find city hall-

and the library-

Leaving Pamplona-

Today’s assignment-

It was going to be a long day!

There are wind turbines on the top of the hill in the distance.  That’s where I was headed-

Along the way-

I love walking through paths through trees!

Berries grow in the ditches-

The views are lovely-

 

There are a lot of rocks in the fields.  Harvest is finished and just stubble remains-

Getting near the top-

There are a lot of monuments along the way-

Finally I came to Zariquiegui where I ran into Marjanne. I had a ham and tomato bocadillo - (a sandwich using a baguette) for lunch.  I needed a rest after the long hill.  I am trying to get used to my orthotics so I wore them for 35 minutes.  I should have stopped when I first felt the irritation but no, so I have a blister on my left heel.  The blister bandages work amazingly and I didn’t feel it the rest of the day.  I also taped a few toes to protect them and voilà, no problem.  Now if I could get rid of the stiffness in my legs, especially my calves I’d be laughing…well that’s a bit of an exaggeration but things would definitely be easier-

The church is nice-

Then it was upward and onward-

until Alto del Perón which is a monument to we pelegrinos up on top of the hill.  As I approached I could hear the wind turbines making noise like a not so silent dishwasher.  That sound would drive me crazy if I had to listen to it all day-

The view and from where I came-

Where I’m going-

And then the fun?? began - the descent-

Walking on the rocks was not easy, however it would have been a lot harder in the rain.

So my intention for today was the remembrance that it’s more about the journey than the destination.  I made sure I looked back often and took a lot of pictures.  I sat down more than ever - I don’t like doing that because the people I’ve recently passed walk by and then I have to make up for lost time.  I’m not in a race, I think I just use the speed of others to gauge my own.  6+ hours of walking is hard and I don’t want to waste a moment.

Stupid comments of the day-  Where are you from?  Saskatchewan.  Oh..

and

Where are you from?  Saskatchewan.  Oh, that’s Manitoba right?  That’s the capital?

or yesterday a fellow from Portland which according to google maps is about 900 miles away had no clue where Saskatchewan was.  

Another monument-

Finally some grapes-

Sunflowers-

and olives.  We had the most delicious olives for tapas in Pamplona-

Along the descent-

Yes I felt as knackered as I look but I had finally arrived in Puente La Reina - Queen’s Bridge-

It took awhile to find an albergue - the first one didn’t exist, the second one was closed on Mondays, the third one didn’t answer calls but finally I found a bed but on the top bunk.  Oh well…it’s the first time so far.

In Puente La Reina there’s a huge community garden-

And it’s the pepper harvest-

Supper was a burger with a fried egg on top-

Marjanne, Helle and Rebecca from Wisconsin came later.  I went sight seeing and stopped in at the Santiago church-

I love the narrow streets and architecture-

Then I finally found the puente-

I’m looking forward to a great sleep!