5 Trinidad de Arre to Muruzabal - 15 miles

 Don’t let the “15 miles” in the title fool you. 

It was actually a little longer than that. We left the old albergue and headed to Pamplona. Walking around the city added a few more miles, so my distance tracking app had us ending the day at 18.5 miles. Whatever distance we walked…it was a long day, but a day with some nice sights along the way. 

After a stop at the cathedral in Pamplona, we had breakfast at a little (and delicious) pastry shop. 

We then meandered around, seeing the cafe where Ernest Hemingway did a lot of his writing.

Unfortunately (maybe fortunately) we are about a month early for the running of the bulls. But, I got to get a picture with one of them (see for yourself). 

Then, it was time to get back in the Camino (after we figured out where to find it in downtown Pamplona.) Most of the Camino takes you through small, sleepy towns. You sometimes wonder if anyone actually lives there.  We are also now in a much more agricultural area.

The highlight of today was making it to Alto de Perdon. It is the top of a mountain where the views are breathtaking and there is a metal sculpture of pilgrims. It is famously in the movie “The Way”. 

The descent was steep but nit as bad as others. However, it was pretty hot. We had originally planned to go a but further but decided to stay in Muruzabal when the albergue had rooms for us. It worked out because dinner was paella which was quite delicious after a long day. 

Getting into the albergue was a little fun. We went inside and didn’t find anyone. I said, “Hola,” a couple times and finally another pilgrim showed up. After we both tried to speak in broken Spanish, we realized that we could both speak English because we are both Americans!  She said that the owner of the albergue also owned the bar around the corner. We could go there to find him. We went “around the corner” (which was really around and down the street - luckily it was the only show in town that night) and found him. Before taking us back to the hotel, he went to a back door, looked up a set of stairs and yelled, “Ma! Ma!”  After all, someone had to mind the bar while he took care of us. 

Buen Camino!

4 Zubiri to Trinidad de Arre - 11 miles

 Why did the chicken cross the Camino?

Unfortunately, I don’t really know the answer to that question. However chickens had a role to play in the Camino today. If this has sparked your interest then read on.

After yesterday‘s slog of a hike, we all slept in just a little bit today. We also knew that today’s walk would be a little easier because it would be a little shorter. We were hoping to make it to Pamplona today. However, news on the Camino is that Pamplona is all booked. There are no rooms available this weekend because of a few conferences that are in town. So we decided to stop at a town just before Pamplona where we were able to make a reservation for some beds. And fortunately today’s hike was a little easier. There was still a lot of up and down but it was much shorter ups and shorter downs and less steep ups and downs. It also became obvious that we were doing much less hiking in the mountains and for the most part stayed in a valley area.

Along the way, today, we met some interesting folks. There was the slug. At the rate he was going I’m not sure he will ever make it to Santiago.

Then, there was John who was along the side of the Camino handing out free coffee and free lemonade. He runs a nonprofit called Espiritu Pellegrino which means the pilgrim spirit. Evidently his mission is to take the spirit of the Camino and help others to experience it in daily life. He offers a series of podcasts and reflections and meditations online. He was a very interesting individual to talk to and I hope to follow up with this group.

No here’s where the chickens come in. We found a little Creekside bar (don’t worry mom a bar is what they call a café over here) for a midday snack. There are some resident chickens in a rooster that keep the clients entertained.

And then there is the Doctora Gallina. She is being escorted by Sarah, a fellow pilgrim who has joined our little group. Sarah is a Spanish teacher from Tennessee and is posting pictures of - yes it’s a rubber chicken - along the Camino for her students to follow on social media. 

We finally made it to our destination for the day, a little village called Trinidad de Arre. We stayed in and “albergue de peregrino” (which means pilgrims hotel) which some think is the oldest surviving such hotel. The building dates from the 13th century and may or may not have been built by the Knights Templar. There is a disagreement among the two hosts who were there.) because of its age the water pressure was horrible, but after a long day hiking anything will do. 

We were also able to attend mass at the parish church that is connected to it. 

Afterwords we shared in a pilgrims dinner where the other guests all came together and we shared a meal that was prepared by one of the hosts. It was probably the best meal I’ve had so far, and it was a lot of fun to meet new people and hear about their stories in Spanish, French, Flemish, English, and Italian. It’s pretty amazing what you can pick up even when you don’t understand the language.

That’s all for now. Tomorrow we walk again.

Buen Camino.

3 Burguete to Zubiri - 14 miles

 “Well, that was pretty much horrible.”

This phrase was uttered by more than one pilgrim today as they entered the village of Zubiri where our walk ended today. Because, after all, today’s walk was difficult. 

After a simple breakfast of toast and an apple, we departed Burguete and joined the long line of pilgrims on the Camino today. 

Many are saying that there are more pilgrims than normal this year, mostly because many weren’t able to travel the past few years due to covid, particularly Americans. In fact, at one point the trail was fairly narrow, and there were so many people, many walking fastly, that I had to step aside and let them pass. Maybe I was just tired and crabby, but it was too much for me. Once they passed, however, it was much nicer and afforded me two things. 

First, I was able to notice the beauty that was surrounding me, mostly in the many flowers. At a basic level, all we’re doing is walking - a fairly mundane and monotonous task. But if we slow down and look around, there is much beauty around us. 

Second, I had a wonderful conversation with a young woman from Maine (who now lives in Spain) named Kate. This is pretty normal in the Camino. You meet all sorts of people from all over. We happened to be walking side by side and just started talking…Where are you from? Is this your first Camino? How far are you planning to walk? We then talked about her interest in shepherding.  Yes, the animal kind (not the ministry kind.) It was wonderful and probably a future homily! Did you know that some shepherds are trying to figure out how to allow their heeds to live harmoniously with wolves?  There’s probably a lezson in there for our world today. 

Speaking of people you meet, I had a “second breakfast” today (that is a morning stop for a snack - I had Spanish tortilla which is basically an egg and potato omelette and fresh squeezed orange juuce) with a guy from Beligium who started in Le Puy France 800 kilometers away (new bucket list item?) and two guys from Australia via Brazil whom I met the first night. I had lunch with Saffi from Israel and at dinner we saw a nice couple from California who I met earlier. It’s pretty cool to walk past a cafe and have folks yell “hi” to you. 

So, these are the bright spots. But as I started with, there are also real difficulties. We are still in the Pyrenees and our descent into our destination of Zubiri was steep, rocky and seemed never-ending. In short, it was horrible!  And my body agrees…my hips and legs are screaming at me. 

But all the other good things make it worth it. And thank God for trekking polls that help you keep balance and take some if the stress off your joints.

As I write this in bed, I’m tired and sore but also grateful for another day of experiencing God’s grace in new and unexpected ways. Now, time for a good night’s rest. 

Buon camino!