Stage Three – Zubiri to Pamplona

21 km

October 8, 2011

HEE HAW, HEE HAW, HEE HAW 

Oh my God... I had to get up at 4 in the morning to pee. This meant I had to get my sandals and jacket on, walk across the room full of sleeping pilgrims on a squeaky wood floor and go outside to another building where the bathroom, kitchen and showers were located. It had been raining but was now just a light mist. I managed to find my way as there was some street lighting and I didn’t want to dig in my bag for the flash light                                                                                                                                                       *Note to self..put the flashlight in your Keen’s (sandals) at night and make sure they are accessible just under the bed.

So on the way back to the dormitorio, I could see the silhouette of a donkey that was tied up in the yard. I had seen the donkey earlier that evening along with a dog that was tied up just out in the rain. When it would bark it’s owner would go over and smack it on the nose with a newspaper. I felt sorry for the scraggly thing. The owners were pilgrims I found out later, as they were staying at the albergue. Anyway, in the dark, at four in the morning, the donkey looked at me (perhaps I scared him) and just started hee hawing. I was saying shhhhh but he had already made his noise. I walked up to the door and as quietly as I could opened the creaky door and heard a number of pilgrims rolling over in their sleeping bags on the squeaky bunks. Hopefully I would get a couple more hours of sleep....

And, the routine continues....Wake up, get to the washroom to wash and dress, gather all your stuff, stuff it back in the bag, have a coffee from a machine or make some tea and perhaps a bite to eat if you had a chance to buy anything and start walking. This morning I had to gather my clothes that I had hung up in the kitchen out of the rain, over some chairs and a makeshift clothes line but they were not dry so had to pack them damp. As I was having a tea and an orange, I started conversation..well kind of conversation, with the three men who were travelling with the donkey, cart and dog. We could hardly communicate but what I did learn was they were from Basque Country , not Spain, but Basque Country, as they were very definite to point out. They were speaking Basque not Spanish and this was Basque Country. Their town was not too far away and the one fellow was a recreation director or supervisor of programs in his town. They had some days off so decided to walk with the donkey and cart along the camino. They offered to carry my pack on their cart but I declined. I wanted to carry the pack all The Way if possible. I came across this bit of graffiti (see pics)  during my walk that day, so I was starting to get the idea about the political mood of the area.




 


click to enlarge

Today  I walked alone all day with the path following and criss-crossing over the Arga River over medieval bridges for most of the day. There was a more than 10 km stretch that was a wide cement path that locals would also use and there were parks all long it. The walk was much easier today but I managed to get the start of a blister mid-day. I put a new type of bandage on it that could be washed and reused. It would remain sticky if you stuck it to a plastic bag to dry. It seemed to do the trick as the blister did not get worse.  



Puente de la Magdalena
Romam Bridge



Pamplona was an amazing city to enter.Over the Puente de la Magdalena to the old city walls, over a drawbridge and into the medieval city with it's narrow streets and 6 to 7 storey buildings. One could only see a strip of the sky at one time. It was Saturday night and a holiday to boot. There were so many people in the cobblestone streets, drinking, smoking, and socializing in and outside the bars. Children were running around too. 

The albergue was large but also very nice with good facilities, however, it took me 1 ½ hours to do my laundry. Lots of people lined up to use the washers and dryers and someone took my stuff out of the dryer soaking wet and put theirs in. It was very frustrating but I knew this was part of the experience and I better get used to it. When I finally got to go out and eat I found a tapas bar and filled up on a few of them and a beer.

St. James Cross
Welcoming pilgrims

On the way back to the albergue, I met a man with dark complexion, begging in the streets. He said he was from Madagascar. He was very outgoing and boisterous.  I gave him 1 euro and he thanked me very enthusiastically, grasping my head and kissing my forehead. It took me by surprise but it was all good.

Once back at the albergue I made some tea and met Min, of Korean descent but a Canadian from Vancouver and Jean from S. Korea. They had become friends with Kim and were drinking vodka and red bull in the kitchen area and were getting pretty smashed. Min’s knee was in bad shape so he was going to have to rest a couple of days before going on. He said he would take pictures of Pamplona for me and email them as my battery ran out in my camera on the way into the city. I haven’t received them yet and quite possibly won’t.  But that is ok.