The day started off beautifully.
Wild red poppies made me think of my friends attending the Georgetown festival.
Rain had been in the forecast but it was either ahead or behind me the whole day.
The landscapes were breathtaking.
The food at Bar Mundo in Estella was enjoyable. While the squid-in-ink croquetas competed with the salad (included in the pilgrims’ meal) for my favorite… it was the company that was the true winner.
Fields and fields of rapeseed plants spanned across my vision for most of the day.
From Alto de Perdón, the Mount of Forgiveness, they could be seen for miles.
The day was hot, with a high of 80. There was little shade along the way but there was also less mud to slog through.
Most of the day was spent following the Arga River.
I found it quite scenic.
I entered the city through the portal of Zumalacarregui.
Most famous for its running of the bulls, Pamplona does have a few other sites.
Hanging with new friends in the plaza and wrapping up the day at Bar Gaucho for pintxos made for a long but enjoyable day.
What a bright beautiful morning! The picture didn’t quite capture the frost… it was 37 degrees. You also can’t see the bells on the horses. I haven’t figured out why one would bell a horse.
Only 787 kilometers to go! Not the most inspiring message at the start of the day, which started far too early as the folks at the monastery began playing Gregorian chants at… 6am. I hope my first stay at an official albergue is not representative of those to come.
Most pilgrims opt to stay in Zubiri after leaving Roncesvalles but I read some reviews applauding the pilgrims’ meal at Acá y Allá so I went the extra mile (technically, 2.5 kilometers). Along the way I spotted this beautiful jacaranda tree.
There was rain in the forecast for about 5pm so I was relieved to see Urdániz up ahead as the sky grayed.
Dinner was both delicious and entertaining as we tried to determine the what and why to the picture on the Vina Igara wine label. I thought maybe it depicted a walker at the end of another 16 mile day.
I’m not going to lie, today was rough.
It wasn’t the nearly 16 miles nor was it the number of steps.
It was the elevation.
It was the rain and the fog. It was seeing just enough to know that the road continued up.
It was the creepy things.
It was the gloomy things.
It was the constant damp.
The highlights included random spots of color, crossing the border and the Pyrenees Mountains, and a lovely lunch of veg soup, Spanish tortilla, and fresh squeezed orange juice at Orisson.
Texas 