Pamplona to Puente la Reina
Today’s hike was a little easier than anticipated. This leg was 15.8 miles with an elevation gain of 1,761 feet. We had been warned there is less shade on this section of the Camino. With the weather promising to be 81 degrees, we left our hotel in Pamplona at 6:00 am, hoping to get off the trail before it got too warm. But we lucked out. The skies were partly cloudy, and at 2:00 pm, it’s currently only 73 degrees. We completed the hike in 5 hours, 19 min.
Since we left so early, breakfast was not available at the hotel, which also means no coffee! Nothing was open as we walked through Pamplona. When we got to a suburb called Cizur Menor, we noticed a sign for a panaderia. It was just a short jog off the Camino and we got some coffee and croissants. Back on the trail, the sun was starting to rise and we could see that the landscape was much drier than what we experienced prior to Pamplona. There were rolling hills with dried grass and occasional stands of shrubs and trees. This part of Spain looks like California!
The climb started gently and then got a little more steep prior to reaching Alto de Perdon. At the top of the ridge are steel cutouts depicting pilgrims walking the Camino. If you saw the Martin Sheen movie, The Way, you may recognize them. I call this photo the money shot.
The trail coming down the other side of the ridge was very rocky. I’ve already described how the Spanish are not big fans of switchbacks, so the trail was pretty steep. With the loose rocks, it was a bit treacherous, but we made it down without incident.
Around 10:30 am we came across another town called Uterga, which had a restaurant where we stopped and had breakfast. We had fried eggs, ham, and potatoes. We also had a beer, so that is what I call “the breakfast of champions.” There were three Spanish guys doing the Camino on bikes. They had passed us on the trail, and they were already having breakfast when we arrived. They were also doing shots, which takes the breakfast of champions to a whole new level.
We are now sitting in a cafe in Puente la Reina. It is on a small, cobblestoned street with occasional locals and pilgrims passing by. There are baskets of fresh vegetables for sale: tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers which are all locally grown. The sky has grown cloudy and I heard someone say we could be getting some rain. We are prepared for rain, but would prefer partly cloudy skies with moderate temperatures. A light breeze would be nice. And maybe a sangria. And a foot massage.
Tomorrow we head to Estella. Total Camino Mileage To Date: 57.8
1 Comment
Rick Knight
9/5/2021 11:24:05 am
Beer for breakfast! Outstanding! Especially when you have been up for hours.
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AuthorsGreg and James live in Pleasanton in Northern California and are on a pilgrimage on the Camino De Santiago in Spain. Their adventures are captured in this blog. Archives
October 2021
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