Zubiri to Pamplona (Trip 6 / Camino 3)

I was surprised to feel as good as I did although my calves were so tight (they’re feeling like large golf balls) and anything resembling downhill was painful.

My breakfast is included in the price of the hotel and I’m not a big breakie person so I either grab some extra (if it’s a buffet) or take half of it with me it’s pre-laid out and have that for morning tea or lunch. It’s my take on being a cheap pilgrim. I steal toilet paper too (always handy to have in daypack) although it’s annoying when you go for that last pee before you leave and realise some bugger has pinched it…..namely me. The one I flogged yesterday had been a full roll when I arrived and I left an empty one in its place. Housekeeping probably thinks I have some chronic stomach issues…..well I am a Burton….bahahaha (Burton family insider joke).

It started out overcast….yay, after yesterday’s heat…. which soon turned to light rain which turned into a shower. Of course, it did that when I was walking along a road on the inside of a bend with nowhere to stop to put my backpack cover on or my jacket or cross the road, so had to get a bit wet. My raincoat was in my backpack as opposed to being with me in my daypack….doh….but my jacket is waterproof and it was all I needed anyway. Good thing the hair is uber short and it didn’t matter whether it got wet. But it was a jacket on, jacket off kind of day.

It was beautiful walking though, through woodlands and grazing farmland. We passed cows with bells, horses, appaloosa ponies (I only know that because the sign said), ducks, sheep, massive slugs that were about 2 inches long and just a wide…not really, but they were big. I saw robin red breasts and a couple of kites – feathered variety, not the ‘go fly one’ type.

Most of the villages were just off the path today –and I mean only just – but a detour is a detour, no matter how minor and it wasn’t on my radar.

Stopped in Zuriain for lunch and the local cat became my bestie. Again, this was the halfway point and I decided I was good to keep going. The afternoon walk was on a very pretty path alongside the rio (river) Arga. The path got a bit muddy in places with the rain but it was sheltered and lovely. I got the ‘oh, I’m actually on the Camino’ feeling at one point.

The guide book talks about walking alongside the highway as we come into Pamplona and I expected to be literally walking on the road but we were near the road (could see it and hear it) and were often much higher up but definitely not on it. Mostly we are on paths of varying surface types, on roads through the centre of villages or minor roads. There have been a couple of places on the highway but for a very short distance.

Walking through Villava, which is 4kms from Pamplona, there was a large crowd in the street and I wasn’t sure if it was a celebration or a demonstration, turns out it was just Saturday afternoon and that’s what you do in Spain.

That last 4kms hurt, it was all through suburbia and it was painful. My feet were so sore and my calves were killing me and every step hurt so much. I think the last 2kms took me close to an hour, although I still managed to stop and take photos. I figured I had to because there was no way I was going back.

The hotel in Pamplona was very nice and a bit lux. The towels were so big they should have their own postcode. Again, I crawled to my room and collapsed on the bed and didn’t move for a couple of hours. My feet were throbbing and my calves had seized.

Good thing tomorrow is a rest day.