Larrasoaña to Cizur Menor

Aided by an uncomfortable bed at the Larrasoaña municipal albergue, multiple snoring room mates, stuffy warm air and squeaking beds, I again woke early and unable to get back to sleep - only this morning I'd managed to be wide awake by 4am. Half an hour later I realised that any efforts to get back to sleep were futile, so it was better to get up and quietly exit the room to do some reading and send messages to home.

By 7.15am my walking partners from the previous day, Inga and Els, were packed and equipped with head lamps to guide the way before sunrise. We hit the trail, which though interesting wasn't nearly as magical as the scenery from the last two days.

Breakfast was postponed until we reached the town of Villava, 4km short of Pamplona. The egg, potato, ham and cheese tortilla offering was delicious, and with two cappuccinos only came to €4.70. By 11.00am we entered the Pamplona city gates, rejoined by Martin and Jenny, and together explored some of the sights of this historic city. This included a rest on the steps of the St Mary's Cathedral, a fruit smoothie in the Plaza Consistorial, walk by the Pamplona Bullfighting Plaza, a smile at the interesting bullfighting monument, and walk across the historic citadel.

We decided to push on another 5km to the town of Cizur Menor, and checked into the Albergue de Maribel Roncal. The grounds and buildings are absolutely charming, with the bedrooms clean and inviting at the end of the day. The typical end-of-day ritual of unpacking, showering and laundry was efficiently executed, before a walk to a local plaza for a well-earned drink.

A pilgrims menu at a local hotel was sufficient, though unspectacular, then back to the albergue courtyard for a chat before each person peeled themselves off to bed.

Hopefully a solid night's sleep, though it's already 10pm, so fingers crossed.

Steps: 36,860
Distance: 21km
Total Distance walked from St-Jean: 73.7kmRead more