Camino de Santiago Day Four

Day 4: Pamplona to Puente La Reina

We left Pamplona at 6:30 this morning. I’ve seen pictures of Pamplona–always with bulls and crazies in white with red scarves. But this time we are walking, and not running, all by ourselves through this beautiful walled city.

On our fourth day we sort of have a rhythm: wake up by five or 5:30 AM, breakfast and 6:30 AM begin walking. It sounds early, but it’s nice to begin walking first thing.

We say Northumbria Community morning prayer as we walk. 

“Who is it you seek? We seek the Lord our God...”

“Be in the heart of each to whom I speak and in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.”

“Christ as a light illumine and guide me.”

“May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us... guide us through the wilderness... protect us through the storm.”

“May he bring us home rejoicing...”

We take a break after a few hours with a café cortado and maybe a tortilla española.

We run into pilgrims we have met along the way. This morning we saw our 81-year-old friend from Kobe. He has the same thing every day: tortilla, orange juice, and a banana. I asked him if he thought this was healthy, and he said I hope so.

We get back on the road walking for a few more hours. This morning was overcast, with a few sprinkles. But the terrain is changing–we are coming down through the foothills of the Pyrenees. But it has been chilly in the 50s and 60s. 

The wheat fields waved in the wind and seemed to go on forever. Scattered along the way were flowers like brilliant poppies, purple thistles and herbs like anise.

At the top of the hill is a monument called El Perdón. It marks the spot where many were killed in the Civil War. It means forgiveness, and the Spanish people never want to forget the people who died and the cruelty they did to one another in the 1930s. The huge windmills are a modern version of Don Quixote’s giants.

Because Amy and I walk at different paces, we have time alone and together throughout the day. It’s nice to talk about what we see and who we meet, but’s also nice to have time alone, in silence, or singing into the wind at full voice.

Sometimes we walk or rest with others, like the brothers from Ireland. One lives in Galway and the other in Dublin. They have a rule that they only get two arguments a day, one each. Congratulations for walking as brothers, I said. Check with us at the end, Padraig said.

After about six hours of walking, we find our albergue. The last mile is the hardest, our feet and muscles aching. Today we are staying just outside of Puente La Reina. This is where the Camino routes from Aragón and France meet (and have for a thousand years).

We shower, change into our other clothes (i.e., the ones we didn’t walk in) and rest before dinner. As much as we like to explore a town for dinner, we have no desire or energy to walk further.

Conversation with other pilgrims, get ready for bed and sleep by 9:30.

12€ each gets a bed. 13.5€ for dinner and breakfast. For 3€ each we get an upgrade to a private bunk room with a view.

Buen Camino.