- Starting Point: Pamplona
- Ending Point: Zariquegui
- Daily distance: 6.96 miles (11.2 km)
- Total distance: 49.3 miles (79.3 km)
After a good night of sleep, I wake up feeling refreshed and in good spirits. Laura and I have decided to take it easy today.
First, we visited the Cathedral in Pamplona for Mass. There were only a handful of parishioners for the morning service, giving it an intimate feel. One thing that I love about the Catholic faith is its consistent Mass throughout the world. Laura could follow along with what was going on even though it was all in Spanish. And although I’m unfamiliar with the details and steps of the liturgy, I enjoyed the serenity and offered my prayers.
After Mass, we went to the mobile phone store to get a Spanish SIM card to be able to place phone calls with the country. After yesterday’s difficulty in securing a room, we have decided to call ahead to ensure a room is available. Today we also made sure we had plenty of food and water to last to our day’s final destination.
Pamplona was a lovely city. It had a modern feel, but lots of history. I would really like to come back sometime and explore more. As we hiked out of the city, there was a stark contrast to previous terrain. Gone were the shade trees, greenery and rivers. The land was brown, rocky and fallow. Silhouettes of giant windmills stood out in the distance. The sun baked our skin. There was a slight elevation climb.
Our destination, Zariquegui, is a tiny country hamlet with only 2 albergues. The room in our albergue contained 5 bunk beds. We get settled into our bunks and head downstairs for dinner. Two other pilgrims join our table, a woman from San Francisco and a woman from Denmark. The lady from Denmark tells us about the dairy and pig farm she and her husband run. We also catch up with Sandra from Tampa, who we first met our second night in St Jean Pied de Port and have crisscrossed paths with all along the trail. There is a feeling of kinship and community building on the trail. A shared joy is felt when you see a familiar face. Trail stories are shared…where you stayed, how hard a certain section was, changes in plans, injuries, how mutual friends are doing, etc…
After dinner, we turn in for the night.
Note: I have been having internet connectivity issues so this post may appear out of order.
The Way to Land's End 