Pamplona

Here I am in Pamplona, with my walking companions Ingeborg (in red plaid) & Rita. I'm in the hat, and you can see the sunburn I got that first day walking up the mountain backwards. We left Trinidad de Arre in the morning, walking out from the church after eating our breakfast all together in the kitchen, and saying our good byes. Our walk was through city streets, as Trinidad is really almost a suburb of Pamplona. The ladies wanted to change out the SIM cards on their cell phones so that they could make calls in Spain without having to roam through Germany to do it, so we inquired at a few mobile phone stores until we found one that could do it. Our bartering arrangement of my better (though not by much) Spanish skills for use of their phones to make arrangements, etc. is working well. We have agreed to stay at a private alburgue in Pamplona, La Casa Paderborn, and have an easy, touristy day to recover from the longer day yesterday. It seems odd to be walking along sidewalks and crossing streets at traffic lights. As we look around for the yellow arrows that are our constant map to tell us we are on the Way, we get turned around for a moment, and then a couple of older women hail us down and lead us back to where we need to be. Truly, unless you are completely oblivious, there is no way to be lost on the Camino. Either other pilgrims or kind souls along the way will always be there to help you. I realize that it's a great way to approach life, as well. Walk your path, and just know that when you need it, guidance will be there, maybe in the form of a friend, maybe in the guise of someone you just meet for a day or even a few minutes who somehow gives you the advice, or the nudge, or maybe just the listening ear that you needed right at that moment. It's so amazing how life works out like that.

As we walk along, through park, along narrow roadways, we come shortly to a green park and another old bridge, Puente de la Magdalena. This is the bridge leading into Pamplona! We're here already, and it's still morning. This, I can handle. I walk up to the peak of the bridge and Ingeborg takes my picture, then we all head down. On the other side is a park, and we follow her guidebook to the left, and find the alburgue almost immediately. We knock on the door, knowing it's early, but the hosts come out. I start off in Spanish, but lo, and behold, these folks are German, a couple, so I am happy to let Ingeborg take over. Yes, there are beds, but we need to come back at 1:00 to line up, but till then, we can stash our backpacks in the basement. The husband shows us down to the back, which is right on the river we just crossed, and also has a clothesline for wash, along with the covered picnic table pictured above on a stone terrace. It's a very calm and relaxing place to sit.

Our loads lightened, we decide to head into Pamplona to see what we can see. We decide to continue along the road past the alburgue, and of course, it curves around and leads up a big hill. As we walk up, the road is under construction, and when we get to the top, we realize that we are just outside the Plaza de Toros, and the old city is just to the left. Rita decides she wants to find the church and Ingeborg and I decide to be tourists. First of all, since it's close to lunch time, we decide to look for more tapas and end up in a very good bar. We each try something different, and have a beer, too. I am trying to run down an Internet cafe, and she wants the post office as she has decided to send some of her things back home. Fourteen kilos is beginning to be just too much! We don't have a lot of luck finding either, and then it's time to head back to claim our beds. We will try later in the day after we're settled.

We get back to the alburgue just in time. There are already more folks lined up, and who do we see but Doro!! The 4 of us end up taking one small room with 2 bunk beds, and it's like a college slumber party. Doro has found a department store, and bought a new, lighter sleeping back, and is also planning to ship a package home. It ends up being nearly 10 pounds!! We tell her with 1o fewer pounds, she should fly now! Since we had such a short walk, we are not even very sweaty, so Doro and I agree to share the cost of washing a load of clothes (the alburgue has a washer), and then we hang out the clothes to dry, and then WE all hang out on the patio, writing in journals, writing letters, etc. There are 2 young German girls in the room across from ours, and upstairs are more people, two of whom are a young Australian woman who is walking with her father. It's good to speak in English for a while, and I find it interesting that the German folks do not really distinguish between an American accent, an Australian accent, or an Irish accent--for them, it's all English. But then, I guess I would not be able to distinguish between varied German regional accents either.

Pamplona ends up being just a restful, ordinary day. I enjoy just taking time to watch the river that runs behind the alburgue, walking in Pamplona's old town, being in the narrow, bricked streets that are naturally shaded by all the taller buildings. This is an old place, over 1,000 years, and these buildings are all probably several hundred years old, at least. I think of all the labor that went into building thise multi-storeyed buildings back before bulldozers, cranes, etc. I see the electric wires that cling to the sides of all the buildings like spider webs. No conduit here, the wires are just strung from building to building to building, along balconies, over gutters, etc. When you think about it, it's kind of scary, but, when you think about it, so are most things in life. Maybe spending all your time staying out of danger is not such a great thing after all!

After more wandering, buying a few post cards, and doing some window shopping, we have an early dinner of tapas, and then head back to collect our freshly dried clothes. Doro and Ingeborg did find the correo (post office), but I never found the Internet cafe, but don't worry about it. I'll find one later. We have a quiet evening on the patio, just sitting and chatting among ourselves and with our hosts and the other pilgrims till it gets almost dark and too chilly to stay out. Then we head to our little room, where we giggle ourselves to sleep. I begin to wonder if I'll come off the Camino maybe speaking more German than Spanish!! But, it's a good group of ladies, and I'm happy to be with them. Tomorrow, it's back to "real" walking, and to see where the road takes us.