Thank you feet, legs, and Garmin 🙏

This was the longest day walk of my whole life. I didn't expect to walk over 36k in a day at any stage, and especially not so early in the Camino.

Most people leaving Larrasoaña today, as well as those I left at Zubiri yesterday, were going to stay at Pamplona tonight. I already spent a night in Pamplona last week and didn't want to do it again. Plus, Pamplona was under 20k away and I was up for walking some more. My intention was to go 5k further to Cizur Menor, and stay at albergue Maribel Roncal, which was highly recommended. But last night I found out that the albergue is closed 🤷🏻‍♀️

The next recommended albergue was at Uterga, another 12k farther, including a long climb to, and long descent from, Alto del Perdón.

I kept my options open until I got to Pamplona. I was there at lunchtime. Walking to Uterga was another 17k from there. The down side was that I'd have to do that long hill in the afternoon sun, and the plus side was that if I got that out of the way today, tomorrow would be a piece of cake. I had nothing else to do but walk for the rest of the day, so I called albergue Camino del Perdón (Uterga) and booked a bed + dinner.

With the peace of mind of bed and food secured, I went very slowly, taking little breaks when there was some shade, and drinking water regularly. My feet and legs felt tired, but didn't let me down. I already told them not to worry, that this was an extraordinary day and not a new normal.

Still with a few ks to go, my Garmin watch gave me a low battery warning. I am very grateful that it lasted till the end. It was a record hike for me and I HAD to have it on Strava!Read more