In Pamplona

We found room at the Jesus and Mary Catedral Albergue in Pamplona. Private room, which is pretty okay considering we’re STILL jet lagged and sleep starved. No more sleeping in!
Pamplona is awesome! The old city is basically a big walled castle on a hill overlooking the new (1800’s) city. It has everything an old European city needs.
Huge stone walls, a drawbridge, a cathedral, narrow winding streets made of cobblestones…

The running of the bulls is happening all this week! And no Randy, I have no intention of getting anywhere near those 9 ft tall beasts of satan. The crowds are much smaller than a normal year (Covid), but the bars are packed with young people dressed in white with red bandannas and sashes, My brother and I ended up buying $2 souvenir shop red bandannas so we could fit in with the 18-30 year old crowd of runners. I’m sure we absolutely pulled it off.

Tomorrow we have time to look around Pamplona some more and then we take a bus to Irun in the evening. That’s the town on the coast where we will start walking from the next day. Met a guy from Norway today who told us the first 5 days are spectacular scenery but brutally physical. He looked a little wimpy, but we’re still considering forwarding our packs if there is a service there.Read more