In Pamploma, another muddy day!

We are in Pamplona, a walk of 22 kms, but it was quite an effort. Today it wasn’t the slithery downhill, but the constant mud after 4 days of wetness…you just have to be so careful and slow. Yesterday we didn’t get to Zubiri till about 4.30-5, and today we arrived in Pamplona at about 3.30 having started at 8.30….long days, and we are both quite weary and happy to have a non walking day tomorrow.

We are having fun, but I hope the promised sunny weather starts tomorrow…it was supposed to clear up this afternoon, but it was still drizzling when we came back from eating just now. Anyway, the day started well and fairly easily, track ok and quite easy…but soon the narrow muddy paths became prevalent. We stopped for a break at about 11 and had a Spanish tortilla (sort of frittata, not Mexican tortilla) . At a chapel along the way a man was telling us of a better route into Pamplona where you deviated from the Camino and on to a wide concrete path along the river instead of going up the hills along yet another muddy path…sounded good, and we looked out for where to find it…Amr was a little nervous of going off the True Path and getting lost, but I was adamant that we should try, and we found it and were so happy! But sadly I think we left it a bit early - there was a camino looking sign that pointed to Santiago and we took that and found ourselves in some outer suburbs and boring industrial area…we persisted and finally Amr turned on Google maps to direct us…we knew there must be another 5 kms or so to go and there was. Funnily we ran into an English couple we had chatted to earlier and they had taken the conventional path and we found it had joined up with us. They said they had seen us from the high muddy path and were jealous and wondered how we got there!! Walked with them till they went into a shop for provisions, and Google took us another way, direct to the hotel, and we entered Pamplona a completely non camino way…we got to the walls - so high and daunting for our weary legs, and saw there was a glass lift to the top!! So we took that and found ourselves quite close to the bull ring which is not far at all from the hotel..so all was well and we have settled into this very comfy room, Amr took all our clothes to the laundromat, we have cleaned off the worst of the mud on our boots discreetly in the bath tub, but they still look dirty!

Then we ventured out, had a wine and pintxos, and more and a huge salad at another place where we have been before - everyone out on a Saturday night but I think we are hitting the sack. Not a lot of photos today, too busy watching our step, but the countryside is still so lovely, and we are seeing our crops of wheat about 6 inches tall and lovely green fields…just what we hoped to see on a spring camino!Read more