Pamplona, Navarre, Spain and Canary Islands
Distance by the guide book - 20.9km
Total distance for the day according to my watch - 21.8km
The bain of my life is that as soon as my nose hits the cold air, it starts to run continuously. It’s so annoying. Everyday when we start walking the air is cool so I’m constantly sniffling until the air warms up. It is so irritating. Hence the hanky hanging from my backpack strap which you may have noticed in the pictures. Thanks Renee for the loan of your clipsta. It works a treat for keeping that handy in easy reach.
It was a nice change today to have undulating hills and a fair amount of level ground..Yay! There were still some hilly sections but they were short and manageable. Overall it was a lovely day of walking through forests, quaint villages and beside farm paddocks. There were lots of pretty wildflowers growing beside the paths and for a good section of the day we followed the Arga River as it meandered towards Pamplona.
Just outside Zubiri is a large industrial plant which luckily for the very pretty village is not visible from the town and can’t be heard either.
That was one not so pretty section of our walk today. The other was a brief walk on a narrow path beside a main highway with trucks and cars whizzing by us. That bit didn’t last long thankfully and was saved by the fact that there was a field of wildflowers on the other side of us. It was quite warm today at 28 degrees. Perhaps a sign of things to come as we head towards summer over here.
Walking into Pamplona we added a kilometre or so to our journey as we lost the way for a brief time. After a bit of back and forth a helpful local set us on the right path again. Once again we were following the River Arga. Once you get into the centre of the city you walk below the impressively high city walls into the city centre. Our hostel tonight is a pod hotel. There are 20 beds each with their own little pod and roller blind for privacy. Quite nice really.
It was about 4:30 by the time we’d gotten ourselves settled into our hostel. Then we went out to explore some of the streets and to try and find a sim card for Sheila’s phone. It was, of course, siesta so none of the shops were open and the town centre was quite dead. We found an open bar and had a drink while we waited for the shops to open up again at 5. Conversing with the phone shop man was fun. Thank goodness for Google translate. It came in handy there and at the cafe where we had some yummy tapas for dinner. I can see I’ll be quite proficient in using the app by the end of this trek. It’s really quite amazing how the town comes alive after 5pm. By the time we’d eaten dinner and wondered around for a while the streets were heaving with people enjoying the balmy evening. The town centre is lovely and we’re a little disappointed that we don’t have a bit more time to spend here. Another place to add to the return list.
We’ve just been checking the guide book for tomorrow’s adventure and guess what…another bloody big hill! Better have an early night to prepare for it.
Laurel
2023-04-27
You seem to be well into the rhythm of Camino life now. Good luck with the hill.
Chris.
2023-04-27
Really enjoying your entries Lan. Nothing but respect for you two. Onward. Xx.
Jackie
2023-04-28
What beautiful countryside. Don't' think I would have wanted to leave that town-looks so pretty.
Liz
2023-04-28
Another 20km done. Excellent work and great pictures.
Karry
2023-04-28
Love the wildflowers.
Suzanne
2023-04-29
Glad you had a fine day for walking. Hope the nose stops running as it gets warmer.
Claire
2023-04-29
What beautiful countryside - so green. Pamplona looks gorgeous : was waiting for the bulls to appear, luckily only stone ones to contend with. On onwards girls, a rest day coming up soon.
Tomasina
2023-04-29
Quite an impressive city wall! the wild flowers were pretty xoxo
Marl
2023-04-29
Thank goodness for locals! And I can sympathise about the sniffling.
Helen Leben
2023-05-01
Beautiful countryside to wander through - looks so green.
Rose Bagoly
2023-05-03
So impressive. Are you go going every day or will you stay for a few days somewhere along the track?