• ShaunLCCamino de Santiago - May 2025Traveler
    Route markers out of Pamplona, surprisingly easy to miss, had a local shout out and correct me
    I'm going to get fat with all this walking. No breakfast at guesthouse Escaray.The first poppies of the walkOut of Pamplona and approaching Alto del Perdon, wheat fieldsMore friendly localsAbout half way up Alto del Perdon1Iconic steel silhouettes at the top of Alro del Perdon, the line of pilgrims2Another hill summittedSpring wildflowersRacing the weather down the stony and rocky trailAfter Alto del Perdon we got heavy rain, thunder and lightning, and hail for the afternoonAfter the big stormPea fields.Hectares of pea fields. They were yum.Statue of the Pilgrim, at Obanos11A detour to the Church of Saint Mary of Eunate, an octagonal church from the 1100s. It was closed.Puente La Reina on a wet afternoon, a pretty medieval townToday took me over the 100km mark, to 103.2km, excluding evening walks

    Day 5 - Up up up, then wet wet wet

    May 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Pamplona to Puerte la Reina
    29.2km
    The day started out with a 25% chance of rain, so a reasonably early start to have a quick breakfast, then walk through the suburbs of Pamplona and university towards Alto del Perdon. It took a couple of hours to leave Pamplona and then about an hour to summit the hill with bad weather and thunderstorms threatening. The Alto del Perdon is iconic, so a thrill to get here. Then a race down the sometimes tricky decent with loose rocks underfoot. And then the heavens opened and we got drenched in rain, thunder, lightning, and hail. The walk through the fields of wheat, peas, and rapeseed was nice though. A well deserved hot lunch of tortilla and coffee at TJ e Nueva Apertura Gastrobar in Uterga, which was heaving with drenched pilgrims. Later bumped into Cas from Perth and Erica from California, and we walked the rest of the afternoon together in the rain. Saw the Statue of the Pilgrim in Obanos then took a detour to see the church of Saint Mary of Eunate in the countryside, which was closed. Eventually got in to Puente La Reina at 4pm after a big day, 29.2km.
    Moments of the day included the experience of getting drenched and seeing the hail falling. The big moment was that I have now walked further than ever, exceeding the 85km Old Ghost Road to a new personal best.    Read more