Mañeru

We made it through our first hike! It was quite long, about 26 K. We started yesterday at about 7 am and walked out of Pamplona to a large hill. It was a bit of a challenge but we were rewarded with an interesting sculpture at the top. The sculpture depicts pilgrims through the ages; I will post a photo below. After the climb, the walk we passed through beautiful rolling hills. The landscape is gorgeous! The mountain range is dotted with adorable little villages which feature narrow streets, wide wooden doors, and wrought iron balconies filled with pots of red geraniums. The stonework alone is enough to make you want to settle down there until your next journey! Along the walk we pass through about three or four of these villages. At each stop, we meet up with many different pilgrims for a cafe con leche, which far surpasses Starbucks! Even though it's only the first day, we have already met lifelong friends from around the globe. We met people from Ireland, a man from Germany, and man from Australia, a woman from Poland, and two from the U.S., along with many others. We even met a man from Verona Wisconsin, who owns the BEST chocolate company! What a small world. At the end of the day we stayed at an alburgue (not sure of the spelling) which is a hostel for hikers. Our alburgue, located at the top of a cliff, even had an ice cold pool which was an amazing way to end the day! For dinner, six of us had a pilgrims meal together (the alburgue was not very popular due to the steep climb). It was very interesting to eat with people of other cultures, and the conversation was very interesting. Today we will walk trough the valleys of the mountain, about 19k. For breakfast, we stopped at the most charming village in all of Spain! (Mom would like me to say that all of the villages are charming, but I like this one best so far!) We stopped at a cafe and found freshly made buttery croissants filled with chocolate cream and a savory pincho made with French bread, chorizo, and egg. And the cafe con leche was absolutely delightful ( for only 5 euros for the whole breakfast!)!The best part was we ordered only in Spanish (even mom!) which the older local running the counter appreciated. He was very kind and charming. Another interesting thing about breakfast was listen to old Spanish men sit with cafe and talk politics. Currently we are meandering through vineyards via a stone path. It is truly a buen Camino!Read more