First day on the Camino Viejo

Last night looking at my options, I knew I had to make a choice. Either I would go to the Balcón de Los Buitres (balcony of the vultures) and sleep in Irurtzún, or I would skip the vultures and continue on further to Hiriberri so that I could visit the church of San Miguel de Aralar the next day. So since I had been up on cliffs with lots of raptors just two days ago, I decided to forgo the vultures. I know now that a 38 km day is no longer in my comfort zone — there’s a big difference between a challenging walk and one that’s just too hard!

That meant I walked 31 km to Hiriberri, and that was plenty.

The first day of the Camino Viejo was a bit underwhelming. Almost the entire way to Irurtzún was on a path that ran very close to one highway or another. Since today is Sunday, there were lots of cyclists out, and I almost got wiped out by two of them. But it was fun to see lots of people out and about, both walking and on bikes.

The Santiago church was one of the highlights, closed as I had assumed, but very pretty.

I am in a casa rural owned by Pilar. She has four rooms for rent upstairs and lives downstairs. She does not advertise, she is not on booking, yet she fills up during the months of July and August. She’s right in the middle of this valley, with mountains on both sides, and people in this part of the country really do a lot of hiking.

Soon after I showered and washed my clothes, I read my email and learned that Juanma, a good camino friend, was in the vicinity. We met at the church and brought each other up to date with our lives . I remembered that he had been the one to suggest Las Trillas for a meal when Clare and I met up with him last year in Burgos. It was thanks to him that I learned that morcilla is indeed delicious.

Thankfully, Pilar is making me supper, because this village has no café, no bar, no restaurant.Read more