Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra

(Due to my challenge with keeping up on my posts, I will try to shorten them for now as difficult as that is for me. I will add more detail, if warranted, at the completion of my Camino.)

Day 4: Larrosoaña - Pamplona ~15.2 km (9.5 miles)

Albergue San Nicolas provided us with breakfast to go this morning. A sandwich, a sweet bread, a croissant, an apple, and a boxed juice. We could also purchase a coffee from a machine in the lobby if we desired, and I didn’t miss out on that opportunity. Because I walked farther yesterday than the typical stage, todays walk was quite a bit shorter.

Paul and Brad from England, and Andrea from Germany were all heading out at the same time as me this morning, so we left together. You know you’re late to leave when there are very few pairs of shoes left on the outdoor racks where you’re required to leave them when you arrive. Albergue owners do not like dirty walking shoes indoors.

The air was cool and the sky was clear this morning, so we were provided with great weather for walking. Andrea and Brad ended up quite a ways ahead, so I walked most of the day with Paul. Paul has strong political opinions, so that was the topic du jour. We took on issues of both the US and England and pretty much solved a lot of both country’s problems, at least in our minds.

When we arrived in the town before Pamplona, we found a group of pilgrims, including Brad and Andrea, enjoying food and drinks at the outdoor seating area of a bar. I was happy to join them to take a break.

Just when it was time to walk on to Pamplona, it began to rain, so I donned my raincoat and ventured on. I ran into Jane from Denmark and I enjoyed getting to know her some, and walking into Pamplona with her.

Unfortunately, my phone died, as it has continuously been doing, so I missed getting shots of the wall at the entrance to the city and the draw bridge. Albergue Ibarrola, where I had a bed booked, was the first one on the right as we walked into town, so I bid Jane farewell and ventured inside.

I was disappointed to find that I’d already been assigned a top bunk and my pleading got me nowhere. Backpacks were hung downstairs near the bathrooms/showers and laundry room, the kitchen and lounge area were on the main floor and the bunks were upstairs. At least the bunks were railway car style with a shade for privacy, individual reading lights, a locker and a plug for charging devices. It’s amazing what becomes important on the Camino! I was happy to see that some of my new Camino buddies were also staying here including Kristin and Duncan.

After showering, I walked across town to an Apple authorized dealer to see about a new phone battery. Unfortunately, I was informed that my battery was fine, so the purchase of an external battery was going to have to suffice. I visited the beautiful Pamplona cathedral on my way back to my Albergue. It’s beautiful and huge, and even includes a museum.

When I was back in my Albergue I attempted to charge my new battery pack only to find that I did not have the correct connection to plug it in for charging. As they say, however, “the Camino will provide”, and another pilgrim loaned me what I needed.

Duncan and I enjoyed dinner at Cafe Iruña, an old Earnest Hemingway hang out that I’d previously read about. We also learned that it’s hard to get dinner at a reasonable hour in Spain. We opted to start with Pinchos and wine while we waited for 8:00 pm when we could order dinner, but the potatoes with spicy cheese sauce and the plate of cheese with walnuts filled us up so we decided to skip dinner.

While most Albergues have a 10:00 pm curfew, and you’ll be locked out (and turn into a pumpkin) if you’re not inside by then, tonight we were given a door code to let ourselves in. Morning comes early on the Camino, however, so we headed back early to call it a night. It has been a big fourth day on the Camino and we were just getting started! 😴Read more