Walk to Zubiri

14 miles (ish) today, with ascents and descents that were not nearly as steep but still hard because our muscles were a bit tired. A foggy start through charming towns, with plenty of farm animals (and farm poop) en route. Lots of paths through woods which meant fewer vistas but welcome shade. A cafe at the midpoint had an interesting blend of pilgrims and locals, some of whom were enjoying wine at 11 am!

Zubiri is small but has all the necessities (unlike Roncesvalles, which was a monastery converted to rooms and restaurants). Our hotel, Casa Txantxorena, is an ultra-charming Navarrese mountain home from the 17th century. Our room is where the animals used to stay-pretty nice digs for a cow! Met Belgians, Israelis, Canadians, Australians today, many in it just for the hiking and back-to-basics life.

Grateful that some of the locals speak English as I can't seem to muster a full sentence in Spanish without pulling out my Google Translate app. Soy una tonta monolingüe Americana!Read more