Running err walking with the bulls

The day started out a bit ominously with the retrieval of some wet underwear hanging on the line and staring at an approaching line of thunderstorms on my radar app. It was still dark and the night sky was illuminated by lightning in the distance. Unfortunately it was coming from the direction we were heading. It was also 10° colder than expected and a moderate wind was blowing. We put on two extra layers and rain gear and headed in the direction of Pamplona. The stage began with a climb and by the top we were all overheated and sweating. Over the next few hours we would get down to shorts and a t-shirt and the storm never materialized. Obviously our rain gear frightened it off. My Camino app recommended a nice breakfast stop complete with outdoor wood-fired oven. Unfortunately like all of the breakfast stops, it was not yet open at 9 am when we arrived. It really looked lovely.

Onward, and pass the corn nuts please. Just before Pamplona we stopped at a bakery and had a hold-me-over pastry and a café con leche.

Pintxos lay 3 miles ahead and we did not want to spoil our appetites. We entered Pamplona through an ancient gate, Portal de Francia just like millions of others before us.

Although the bulls were not running I could imagine the chaos of the event through these narrow cobbled streets with many overhanging balconies with screaming spectators. It feels like the buildings lean in over the roads giving the streets a canyon or tunnel-like feel.

Since we could not run with the bulls we ducked into a restaurant for pintxos. Wow! Pintxos are the perfect food when you don't know the language because all you need is a finger. Point to it and it is yours. I had a deep-fried stuffed pepper double decker which was very tasty but the winner was a soft square slice of bread with jamòn, tomato slice, goat cheese and a marmalade like coating. Pair with olives and a cerveza and try not to moan. It was a thing of beauty for the eyes and the taste buds.

We finished off our meal and wandered up to the plaza of the toros. Still no bulls but there was a guide to the Hemingway tour which seemed to involve most of the hotels and bars on the square. They were all places that he had stayed or drank. It is exceedingly easy to stay on route through Pamplona since metallic markers are inserted every 15 feet from one side of the city to the other. I'm talking for miles.

Eventually we exited Pamplona through the immaculate campus of the Universidad Navarre. We walked along a roadside path in the sun and climbed up to the hill town Cizur Menor, which was planned as our penultimate stop for the day. Several accommodations were open, as were several restaurants. Our intended target, Zariquiegui, 4 miles away, was nothing more than a hillside hamlet which we could not contact by phone. Morale was at an all time low and we were in various states of repose on park benches when an English speaker called out Buen Camino. He was living here and teaching English. He recommended that we stay here as he thought the next two albergues were closed. In fact when he tried to make reservations for us in Zariquiegui no one answered the phone. He sealed the deal when I asked if they had any cider houses. "Only three" he apologized. Rather than hike 4 miles ahead to find nothing open we took the bird in the hand. We checked in to the closer of the two albergues. It was just off from the city center and we had already passed it twice since we somehow managed to get off course coming into the center of town. Albergue de Maribel has 52 beds, 10 to a room and advertises wifi. You can connect to the box but there is no connection to the internet. Interesting. What it lacks in connection to the outside world it makes up for with a sprawling English garden. There is a sunlit courtyard and outdoor sinks for laundry. We have things on the line and are gathering our strength to partake in the basque cider tradition. I have left ankle pain, Clare has right knee pain and Amy has left shoulder pain. No skin breakdown yet, although Clare and I have rashes on our feet. All in all we are doing well. I hear cider has amazing powers of healing. We shall find out. Buen Camino!