Hitting Our Stride
This morning started in Pamplona. A slight chill in the air quickly turned to a very warm day. On our way out of the city we walked past the old fortifications and some idyllic parks.
As the path rose higher, we came through several fields exhibiting any number of colors. Maybe the most vivid were the fields of canola flowers. There were barley and wheat vineyards, and olive trees along the way.
Off in the distance we could see huge windmills on the ridgeline. It was difficult to measure their size until we got close. They are huge, and because of their size it is difficult to estimate how quickly the turbines were spinning. You can check out our YouTube Shorts to see some videos.
The views were incredible, and the footing up was considerably better than on the way down. The path carried through a wash that was littered with rocks the size of pellets to bowling balls, all stacked beside each other and in many places on top of one another. Footing was treacherous and we proceeded slowly out of that area.
The path finally evened out and we walked through many hours of fields. The easiest part of the day was how deserted the roads and villages were along the Camino. It’s a holiday weekend, and it appears that people in the city go to the country, and people in the country homes go to the city or beach. We could have walked down the center of a highway for 10 or 15 minutes and not seen a single car. In fact, I think we saw a total of five cars all day once we left Pamplona.
Sadly, we learned that Debbie has given up the Camino for at least a couple of days. Two women from South Dakota who go by Mork and Ork, pictured below, told us they ran into her at dinner. It's incredibly interesting how information is communicated along the Camino, like an old game of telephone. Debbie plans to continue further down the line after her body recovers.
We ran into a gentleman from Holland whose name is Gilliam, rhymes with helium. It was an interesting moment as we recalled the Camino movie with Martin Sheen, which had its own Dutch character. Unlike the character in the movie, Gilliam carried no illicit items on his person. He was jovial, energetic and a joy to converse with. He’s a professional musician who composes for video games and films in the Netherlands. He is also a chess player and challenged me, but I told him I would be no challenge at all.
As we arrived at our final destination for the day after almost 16 miles of hiking, Spence and I were fairly exhausted. My fashion selection during the day was less resplendent than functional. It protected the back of my neck, and I kept the cloth soaked with water to keep my body cool.
Measured by the Camelback pack I carried, I went through between three to four liters of water today. The beer at the end of the day tasted a little better.
As we arrived in town, we saw a couple of the travelers we had met along the way looking for accommodations. It seems all the albergues, or hostels, were booked for the night. Our room was barely big enough for two little beds and our baggage – We had no option to help everybody. I hope they found some place to rest their head. It would be a very sad situation to think they would have to walk several more hours with the hope of finding someplace they could spend the night.
Dinner was paella at a street café around the corner from our hotel. I don't know that I could identify all the ingredients, especially the meat, but it doesn't matter. It was delicious and filled the void.
It turns out they have a local parade here on Good Friday. I had returned to the room prior to its beginning, but Spence became an element in the procession as he followed it from the church where it originated, to its termination in front of our hotel.
We are both exhausted and preparing to trek another 15 miles tomorrow. Our room gets decorated every night as we clean our clothes for the next day. On a good note, our feet, knees, legs, and spirits are all operating fabulously. We will update that as well.
