Day 8. Puente La Rerna

The first five kms today, leaving Pamplona, was mostly city pavements and suburban roads until a place called Cizor Menor. Beyond Cizor Menor we followed pathways through a hill requiring a steep climb (750 m) to the summit roughly 10 kms further. At the summit, called Alto del Perdon, meaning Hill of Forgiveness, there is a sculpture depicting pilgrims either on foot or horseback. Also, there were many wind turbines. It was a bit of a tough climb , but the panoramic views of Pamplona made it worth the effort. At this place, I selected four stones, one for each member of the family, the walked another five kms before placing the stones at the foot of the statue to The Virgin of Irunbides praying for solace and happiness.
For the first part of today’s walk, I was accompanied by a mother-daughter duo from North Carolina who had connected with a Danish woman named Tina, Tina didn’t say much but looked and acted every bit the free spirit. Upon reaching the summit and looking back at the view, Tina exclaimed in eloquent English, “This is fucking beautiful!”
The daughter, Sarah, I found out, had spent a week in Yellowknife in 2018, during March when the snow castle was openLes mer