On to Pamplona - Day 4 (April 17th)

Our morning started out at 6:30 and went reasonably well until Fred went to get his Credencia and could not find it in it's usual place. He emptied his backpack. I emptied my backpack. Nothing. I mean really, how many places could a little booklet go when your entire belongings are relegated to a backpack? I went to breakfast while he continued to search. Still nothing. One more time through his backpack before we headed out resigned to it's loss and the need to search for a Camino office to obtain a new one. Low and behold it was taking refuge in his journal!

Feeling much relieved, we headed out on today's journey to Pamplona. The beginning of our trail was through open fields followed by pavement through an industrial section. It was here that we spotted a sandwich laying on the road. Some poor pilgrim lost their lunch! It reminded us that we did not purchase a thing to eat along the way and although tempted to pick it up in case we found ourselves perishing, we thought better of it and left it behind.

Missing Their Lunch

A little later, we came a couple of pilgrims with a plastic bag containing one sandwich and another empty wrapper dangling from their backpack, the obvious victims of the lost sandwich. We told them about it so they wouldn't lose the second one. They were going to head back to retrieve it until we said it was too far back. This event provided the lesson of the day.

It had rained during the night and the path was wet so there were several slugs making their own camino across the trail. A couple of deceased ones, as well as a mouse, had rocks places around their remains, tributes from peregrinos who had passed before us. We reached a spot where the path had actually given way creating a fairly steep embankment. It was at this location we came upon a Danish couple who had started the Camino with us in Orisson. Unfortunately, he had fallen and the wife was taping his foot up. She had been asking him to go with her on the Camino for many years and he finally relented. She jokingly commented to us as we walked by that she was going to have to kill him if this kept him from finishing the journey! Shows the passion of people walking this ancient path.

Slug Memorial

Again there were flowers to greet us all along the way. I have made it a point to photograph each different flower I find - there have been many.
After about 5 miles, we were ready to get something to eat. Luckily there was a little restaurant just ahead in Zuriaian where I had a mushroom omelet and a banana. Fred had ham and cheese on a baguette. Revived, we continued on the 8.4 miles to Pamplona. In Arre, a town along the way, there were some unique trees planted on each side of the sidewalk - they actually joined together in the middle like lives melded together, forming an arch that lined our path through and out of town.

Melded Together

We were pretty tired from walking on cement through towns when suddenly we were in Pamplona. We tried to get into the alberque that our friends were going to stay at but it was full. The hospitalero checked and said they were not there and sent us on to the municipal alberque - Jesus and Maria. This alberque is a literally a row of bunk beds with dividers between every four bunks - three floors of them!

Checked in and who did we see - Ayala and Jean Robert!! They were headed out to get a SIM card for their phone and we were going to get something to eat. Unfortunately we did not connect up until much later and it was time to call it a day. Not sure we will make it as far as they are planning to go tomorrow. They have a more agressive plan to complete the Camino than we do so it is possible that we may not be continuing this journey hand in hand with them.

We had some wonderful tapas for an appetizer and then found a place for a hamburger and fries to share. Pamplona is a neat old city that comes to life after 8:00 at night. Just our style, if we weren't tired peregrinos anyway.

Back at our wonderful bunks, we decided to use the washing machines and dryers to wash our clother rather than by hand. Fred is actually off doing that as I am writing this. Tomorrow is another day of ascents and descents, although nothing like the first couple of days. Looking forward to what we will see!

Lesson for the day: When you lose something, sometimes it really isn't worth going back for it.

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