Pamplona to Torres del Rio

Pamplona was all that I had imagined and more. The old town with the Encierro (the way of the bulls) and Hemingway fascinated me as I knew it would.

We are not traveling as fast as we had thought,  so bussing ahead is working well for us. The busses are luxurious, frequent, and extremely cheap. They provide us a good way to get back on track while still seeing the country.

Two nights ago we stayed at an albergue in Ultegria (Camino del Perdon). It was very clean and new, but the advertised wifi did not work. The room was filled to capacity with 16 peregrinos. Although loud with people getting up,  slamming doors,  and moving about, we were able to sleep well. Fatigue will do that to you.

Last night we stayed in Estella.  We found a great little place (San Andres Pinson).  It was a private room with our own bathroom!  The lady who ran it was so nice we called her abulea (grandma).  We had hoped she would adopt us. 

We stayed in Estella. The day began at the wine fountain at Bodega Irache. The fountain flowed freely and it made us sleepy all day long. Definitely not a good thing to start with.   When we carried or packs later it made them seem much heavier. Although we just stayed in town we still walked 6 miles.   The monastery and the churches were fabulous.  We especially liked the simple beauty of the church at the Bodega Irache.

After a peregrinos dinner we were to bed early. 

Short of our goal, but it's our Camino

We got a late start out of Roncevalles and that was OK with us. We were both tired and slept in. We left alone and we didn't see many other peregrinos on the trail. The walk was more up and down rather than flat as suggested by our guide book by Dintaman and Landis. It was not strenuous like the Pyrenees. We had a small bite at a bar in Burguete. It was much better than expected.   We continued on to Espinal. Once in Espinal we had a sandwich at Bar Juan. It filled the need.  By this time it was 3 pm and we were not motivated to continue on. This was our second day of rain and we decided to stay.

We found a small pension with a private room and spent the night.

Once in the hostel we went outside to enjoy the cool, dry remains of the day and a bottle of vino. Much to our surprise or friend Fred showed up out of no where. We had been concerned about him because he fell on the way down from the Pyrenees.  It turned out he was fine.   We shared a small feast of cured meats, fine cheeses and vino with him.   What a nice guy.

The next morning we were out early and walked to Zuribi.

Once in Zuribi, we found out Sunday was Dia de Espana or Columbus Day so we wanted to spend it in Pamplona. We could join the festivities and go to mass at Santa Maria. 

Pamplona was great. I have always wanted to go there. Running with the bulls has always fascinated me. First we went to the cathedral for mass.  Next we visited the Museum of Navarra. After that we had pinchos y vino de tinto, of course, and walked the Encierro (way of the bulls).

Tonight we witness the church bells ringing and perhaps fireworks for the holiday.

Pyrenees: "In the howlin' wind comes the stingin' rain..."

You remember the old U2 song,  Rattle and Hum.  You might call my quote of the lyric dramatic or even trite, but it was one heck of a storm at the top of the Pyrenees today and the song ran through my head many times.   I am so glad that the temperature only got down into the 50s and not any lower, but sustained winds of  70 mph with gusts of more than I can estimate, it got chilly. At one point we could see our breath as we exhaled.   Although we both had rain gear on, we sweat so much from the exertion of the climb that we were wet from the inside out. I was very afraid of hypothermia, but we both put on our fleece and we were well insulated. I never thought of the value of a fleece jacket before. They are cheap to buy, extremely light, and insulate very well, even when wet. It saved us.

Sorry to report I have no pictures of the stormy time, we were just trying to get through the day, and pictures weren't a priority.

The descent from the mountain was just as interesting as the ascent. Thankfully we were out of the weather, but we descended about 3000 feet on a loose rocky path in the last two miles. Our legs were jello. It was the toughest 10.5 miles we have ever logged.

We arrived in Roncevalles around 1530 or so.  Needless to say, all of our gear was soaked, and we were spent. We went to the albergue, but 72 communal beds was more than we could handle at the that point so we opted for a room at the hotel. What a luxury. I never appreciated towels and privacy before in my life. I just expected it. The hotel was deliciously decadent and healing for us both.

We went to the restaurant for a pilgram's meal. Sorry but the Hungry Peregrino was starving and the roast duck was like our other pilgrim meals: cooked perfectly and delicious. No time for food pics!

We have made many friends from all over the world.   One of the standouts was our dinner partner, Jean Pierre. He is everyone's French cheerleader.   An extremely fit 55 year old, he would go off of the trail, visit with people, lag way  behind, and then pass us. I bet he did this 5 times during the day. He knows no stranger and is clearly happy to be alive and walking the Camino.

We met Francisco and his travel partner Juan Antonio at dinner. They are from Southern Spain. We sat down and being tired I was clumsy and knocked a whole glass of red wine on Francisco before we even had a chance to introduce ourselves.  He was kind and gracious and just laughed it off. He said in his country it was good luck and a sign of good things to come. What a gentleman.

I'm concerned about our friend Fred. He fell on the descent today with a heavy pack. I hope he's not too sore today and can continue on.

Tomorrow we go to Zuribi. It's about 13 miles or so. Our guide book says it's an easy, flat terrain day, but other sources say different.   We'll see for ourselves. It's supposed to rain again, but I'm glad no wind is in the forecast.

Stay hungry my friends.

The Road to Orisson

We were up at 0645, had breakfast, and checked out of our room in St Jean by 0800. We are finally on The Road. Leaving St Jean there was a double rainbow that made our final pictures look like they were photo shoped. Amazing. We started our ascent alone, but we were soon walking with Steve, an American from Idaho we met on the train from Pamplona. Tagging along with him was a younger Korean man who didn't speak much English. He was pleasant enough, but silent most of the morning.

The road was paved almost 50% of our journey. The off road part was rocky but dry, so not much of a problem.  The wind picked up and the gusts pushed us sideways the rest of the day.   It was tiring.  Like all of the guide books said we were climbing straight up the Pyrenees all morning. We were glad we had spent so much time hiking in Warner Park because although tough it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.

At 1135 we came around a corner and there was the albergue (hostel) in Orisson. We were relieved, but we both agreed that we could have gone twice as far.   They only problem with that is if you go further you are looking at ten additional miles straight up with no services or facilities available.   For us the walk was best broken down into 2 stages. After a break, Steve and Korean man continued on to Roncevalles.

Once at the albergue we showered, washed clothes, had lunch, and Lu napped while I blogged.

Our room mates are quiet and respectful. Fred is from New Mexico.   We gave him an extra European power adapter and he is our friend for life. Ron from California is a fisherman. I like to talk to him.  Jerome from Denmark likes the single ladies and apparently they like him. Frederica from Italy who's English is excellent is very involved with what I assume is her boyfriend on the phone.  He will meet her later on The Way.   

We all assembled for dinner at 1830.  We started with a pureed bean soup, then roast pork with a white bean dish, bread, and a traditional Basque cake for dessert.   All perfectly done.

Lights out at 2200.  After the bean feast at dinner I  dread to smell what comes out of all six of us overnight in this room.   It reminds me of the scene in Blazing Saddles when the cowboys ate beans around the campfire.

The wind is still howling now and it started raining about 1900.  It's supposed to start raining tomorrow pm.  I hope we don't have to walk in the rain, but it is inevitable.

Tomorrow we will cover 10-11 miles more that are all up the Pyrenees. Our destination is Roncevalles.

Travel day and St Jean Pied de Port

We left the hotel at Madrid, boarded the airport shuttle, and then got on the train that would take us to the next train that would take us to Pamplona.  In Pamplona we boarded the bus that would lead us to Roncevalles where we called a taxi that took us to St Jean in France.   Easy right? Needless to say,  it took quite a while. We got in just before curfew and had a nice pilgram's meal in a small French restaurant.   It's true when they say you want your chef to be French.   The simple meal of roasted chicken, vegetables,  soup and bread was perfect.

Since we got in so late we decided to stay an extra night in St. Jean.   We were glad we did.  St. Jean is a mideval town at the foot of the French Pyrenees.   In a word storybook.  The old town had walls dating from the 1200s. Our host told us the place we stayed was about 400 years old.   We were very comfortable.

Tonight Lu fixed a beautiful tomato and jamon ravoli pasta dinner including a crusty garlic bread and a local French Bordeaux wine. Delicious!  

Tomorrow morning we begin.   Our destination is Orisson.

Bimbos, Mayhem, and Art

Yesterday was a jet lag nightmare.   It's always worth the pain, but the jet lag hit me hard.   Last night until this am I had a screaming headache. Ibuprofen , rest, hydration were the cure.

Yesterday we walked from our hotel to the nearby mall for dinner. It was the first full meal we had since airport food.  We found a brazillian steak house. The food was just ok, but the service and staff were great. I was starving.   On the way to the mall we saw the Bimbo warehouse.   That is the best name, and that fruit is so low lying I'm not even going to comment. Insert jokes here.

After that we went downtown to the Plaza Mayor. We don't like to be in the crowd so we ventured off of the Plaza where the prices are usually better. My cheapness paid off in a couple of different ways. We drank an good tempranillo wine at a great price and we were out of the labor riot that ensued. As we were leaving the restaurant battalions of riot police in full riot gear appeared blocking every street. We found the first taxi and got out of there ASAP!

Today we spent the entire day at the Prado Museum.   As you'll see in the last picture,  I said,  "Prado", but Lu thought I said,  "Prada".  She was so disappointed.  Ok not really, I just like to get a rise out of her.  The Prado was indescribable. We saw originals from El Greco, Picasso, Thomas Hart Benton (for everyone in Kansas City) ,  Jackson Pollock, who I did not know was a student of Benton. 

Tomorrow we leave Madrid and take a train to Pamplona.  We're not sure how we will get to St. Jean Pied de Port but we have many choices (taxi, bus, hitchhike, ok not really hitchhiking, but it sounds funny to any of you who know us. )  we are ready to start our Camino! 

Ultreia!

The name Ultreïa is a mix from latin and an old french language. It used to be shouted between former pilgims of the Midle Age as a wish of an unfailing courage.

The true words seem to be ““E ultreïa, E susseïa” as : “Go upper, go farther".