We had great weather the first four days of our pilgrimage; now we are not sure what is worse, a day with rain or an intense windy day. Today was challenging to walk due to the strong wind in El Camino.
Estella to Los Arcos
Category: El camino de Santiago
Puente la Reina a Estella
With today walk we completed about 113km (70miles). Today we walked through grain fields, olives trees and vineyards in this region of Navarra. We had some rain but that didn’t stop us from walking.
Pamplona a Puente la Reina
After a day off in Pamplona we headed to Puente la Reina. We walked 23km through grains and mustard fields.
Zubiri to Pamplona
Our third day of walking found us off to our usual 8am starts, leaving the village of Zubiri and heading towards the provincial capital of Pamplona. We had visited Pamplona prior, but we were eager to arrive as we had built a rest day into our stay. This was good planning on our end. But more on that later…
The day found us covering mostly level terrain with pretty hills and valleys and very few steep climbs or descents. The first seventy percent was mostly rural until we hit the outskirts of Pamplona. And with our entrance into the suburbs, we experienced our first significant pilgrim transition. Prior to entering the satellite towns of Pamplona, we were pilgrims amidst pilgrims. Everything revolved around the Camino, including all people who crossed our paths. However, entering back into everyday Spanish life, with the hustle and bustle of the city, we realize that we were invisible. Everyone was busy with their lives, their work, their family, and the distractions of living, and here we were, arriving, each of us with our own reasons for walking, but with only the immediate need to keep on walking, our every day lives very much in the background. For us, at least, it was a moment of appreciation to have this month to step back from our daily routine and do something of great introspection.
Roncesvalles to Zubiri.
Today was an easier hike than yesterday. We walked 22km with only a few uphill or downhill sections. The weather was fantastic for hiking this morning, and we ran into many people that we had seen on the trail yesterday or at the hotel. It feels like a kind of camaraderie since everyone has only one objective: to walk and reach the next town. As courteous pilgrims, we salute them with “hola” or “Buenos Dias,” followed by the official sentence “Buen Camino” (have a good way). In the past two days, we saw people from many different countries. It is like being in Silicon Valley, hearing different languages spoken on the streets.
St. Jean Pied-De-Port-Roncesvalles
We did it, we hiked through the Pyrenees! We had great weather today, so we took Route de Napoleon which was 25km through the most beautiful views and several microclimates in the mountains with an altitude of 1450m above sea level. We are very tired but happy that we did the most difficult part of El Camino in good time, in good weather, and without big surprises.
Border between France and Spain
Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port.
Today we arrived at Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port, located in the Pyrenees’ foothills. We spent a few hours walking around this medieval town. We visited the pilgrims’ office, where we got our pilgrim’s credential and shell and good information for our first day walking in the Pyrenees. We saw a lot of pilgrims arriving this afternoon, tomorrow we are going to be one of them.
Hostel
Almost ready.
I always procrastinate when it comes to packing.
#buencamino
20 Truths About El Camino de Santiago
While searching for more information on Saint James Way, I found a funny article with 20 truths about El Camino de Santiago. I thought I’d share the link to the article here.
