Life's a Stitch

We said goodbye to the peaceful Pyrenees, with it's chalet style architecture and cowbells, and walked right into the urban bustle of a colourful city.

Many people take a rest day to explore Pamplona, famous for its bull run during the July festival of San Fermin. We decided to combine Camino walking (the trail goes by most of Pamplona's main points of interest) with sightseeing, plus a late start gave us a rest. We took advantage of the fact that we were staying in a hotel rather than an alburgue where you are tossed out onto the trail by 8:30 a.m. The hotel was basic but very comfortable with hot water and wonderful water pressure. Simple pleasures.

Saturday was a perfect time for our visit, coincidentally timed with a Medieval Festival. There were costumes and music in the streets.

We're experiencing difficulty adjusting our pilgrim activities with the eating schedule in Spain. It wasn't a problem when we were staying in El Vendrell as something was always open and we didn't have the opportunity to become "hangry" as the result of extreme activity. The afternoon siesta is taken seriously with stores closed from about 1-5:00. Restaurants don't open until 8:30pm and by that time we'd prefer to be snug in bed. We wonder how children handle that schedule with school.

Besides that glitch, support for pilgrims seems a regional goal. For days when you need a lighter load Jacotrans will transport your backpack to your next destination for 7e. The pharmacies have an excellent supply of foot care products and services for feet are available in the more populated areas.

When you walk down the street you'll be wished "Buen Camino" by perfect strangers. Crossing a road high in the mountains a driver came upon us honking his horn. I thought he was warning us not to cross as they had the right of way. Instead the car's occupants were cheering us on. It's amazing the boost that provides.