Pamplona to Puente de la Reina.

 

K

It was a great day for walking!  The last few days we have been very focused on making to our destination, and felt like it was struggle to finish each day.  Last night we spent some time talking about our expectations for the trip, and decided we just need to slow down and enjoy the journey. Duh..

That is exactly what we did.  It was a glorious morning as we walked through the busy outskirts of Pamplona, which is a much larger city than I expected after our experience in the old walled city last night.  We climbed up a rather steep route to the top of Alto de Perdón, where the wind swept statues of pilgrims and the amazing views of the vast wheat fields were stunning.  The ridge is lined with giant windmills, which always look like aliens to me! 

On top of the ridge stands a group of statues of pilgrims on foot and horseback depicting the journey.  Very impressive. 

There is also a memorial of standing stones in tribute to all of the innocent Spanish villagers who were murdered and buried in mass graves by the Germans.  Thinking of the war in these mountains, and the people who fled from the Germans in the winter under terrible conditions is pretty horrifying.  Hard to believe humanity has not yet learned it’s lesson and there is another terrible war going on in our world, with thousands of people displaced from their homeland.  My prayer here was for all the people who are suffering as a result of war, what a broken world we live in!   

                                                      And yes, that is Dick reading a plaque!

The downward trek from the top of the ridge was rocky and steep, and pretty hard on those of us with knee issues (sorry to gloat, but thankfully mine are fine).  

There were wild poppies all along the roadside, and we also walked through fields of oats and grapes.  We found a few olive trees ( not yet ripe) and then an orchard of what we guessed to be almonds, or perhaps another type of olive?  Update - they are olives.  We passed a little roadside stand selling olive oil, and they stamped our Credencial with a lovely little olive tree. 

We made frequent stops along the way at a couple of cafes, and also on benches along the path to change socks and tend to tired feet.  We are also becoming friends with many pilgrims, as we frequently pass and the repass the same folks as we stop along the way.  The Irish Walking club ladies are a delight!  We met a group of new grads from Auburn, celebrating their graduation.  Maria from Brazil is a charming, even though she speaks not a word of English, she chatters happily away, and we nod and smile.  Met up with Daniel again today, and he shared some of his story with Lu.  He is walking with three shells on his pack, one for a friend who died recently, and one for his cousin who suffered a severe head injury in a motorcycle accident.  He says he feels them with him, and our prayer for him is that his cousin will recover.  We heard that Mark, another pilgrim who we greatly enjoyed also became severely dehydrated and ended up hospitalized. He did have some underlying health issues.  His Camino ( third time, he was walking it with his daughter) is finished.  We are praying for his recovery as well.Too many others to name, but what a great cosmopolitan group of pilgrims,  it is rare that a pilgrim passes by without at least a cheery “Buen Camino”!  

We walked for about 10 hours total today, and it was very relaxing and rewarding.  We are starting to find our groove!  Our hotel is lovely, and the bar was a great spot for beer and peanuts at the end of the walk.