Day five – Aug 13

We thought we scored big when we found that we had the bunk at the end of the large room next to a window! There was also a fan! Well, we soon discovered that the fan wasn’t very effective plus it was loud and it wanted to travel – across the table until it hit the wall. And the breeze we’d hoped for through the window never transpired. Thus, a restless and very warm night.

This albergue had a self-serve breakfast of coffee, toast, yogurt and cereal that was set out the night before, so we could have something to get us on the road and still leave as early as we wanted. We were eager to beat the sun, so we were up by 5 and out the door before daylight. No headlamp needed though because the streets were lit and we had the full moon. And fellow pilgrims to lead the way!

The route out of Pamplona was well marked – about 3 miles of suburb with arrows and shells inlaid in the sidewalks – plus we were heading west; so just follow the moon, right? 😉 And once we had daylight, the Cantabrian Mountains, which separate the ocean from the plains of Spain, would always be to the north (our right).  We met some new pilgrims this morning on our way out of Pamplona – one, a man from Portugal, who was very friendly and quite entertaining. His name was a long one; Al-something. He told us “and that’s too hard to remember, so call me Al, and that’s all”. Consequently, that’s what he was referred to by everyone…”Al, and that’s all”. Quite a character. He had a little notebook where he was writing down the names of everyone he met.

This morning, on the way up to Alto del Perdón, we walked through a landscape of harvested wheat fields and sunflower fields past their prime. We passed an old monastery and a lovely serene lake – which we’d probably missed but for the fact that we happened upon a pilgrim sitting on a small camp stool he carried with him who seemed to be meditating. What a beautiful place to meditate!

Entering Zariquiegui, the last stop before the steepest part of the climb to Alto del Perdón, we pass the church, Iglesia de San Andres, featured in the movie, The Way. We drop our backpacks, take a load off our feet and have our ‘second breakfast’ here – tortilla, fresh squeezed orange juice and Americano – purchased from a little store right on the path. Right next to that, a bakery has fresh chocolate croissants – of course, I have to try one. OMG! You have not lived until you’ve had one of these. A croissant with melted dark chocolate in the middle. Swoon!! From here forward, I would get one every chance possible. Zariquiegui is a popular place to pause and also meet up with fellow pilgrims. I remember a feeling of such joy and peacefulness sitting here eating my croissant; chatting, joking and laughing with our new friends.

Onward! Leaving Zariquiegui, we could see a long line of wind turbines up ahead. That was the summit and it still seemed a long way off. More spent sunflower fields along the way and next to the path, interesting plants (maybe elderberry?) – then looking behind us – golden fields, rolling hills and the Cantabrian Mountain range in the distance enveloped in mist.  Thank goodness for the breeze! It was turning into yet another sweltering day.

Finally, there we were. Alto del Perdón meaning “height of forgiveness” is at 2526 feet which affords amazing views of the surrounding valley but is also usually very windy – hence the wind turbines lining the ridge. It wasn’t very windy that day – we could have used a little! A life size metal sculpture depicting pilgrims walking and some riding horse sits here and is engraved with the words “where the way of the wind meets the way of the stars”. It’s also a photo op and another place to take a break and cool off.

From here, we could see our destination in the distance but it was still almost eight miles away. And first we had to tackle the rocky riverbed on the way down. The path was also fairly steep, quite exposed and very tricky to navigate. We took our time, carefully placing our poles for each step and made it safely to more level ground and a spot of shade.

Three more small villages to walk through before reaching Puenta La Reina – Uterga, Muruzabel and Obanos – all with an old church or hermitage to visit if we wanted to take the time.  But we were HOT and wanted to get to our Albergue. We did stop in Obanos for a stamp and to rest our feet before tackling the final mile and a half – which seemed so much longer because by that time I was overheated, hungry and a bit nauseous. We met up with Matti here and walked the rest of the way with him.  Just before entering the town, we found our first field of sunflowers that were still blooming!

Ahh, finally! Albergue Jakue and a room with air conditioning!! After checking in, but before we even showered and did laundry, we found the nearest table in an air-conditioned restaurant for a bite to eat and a beer for me, sangria for Cindy. We did not care if we reeked! And dang, it tasted good. Cooled off and bellies full, we took care of the ‘chores’ and then had time to explore. Calle Mayor – the main street – has several churches, shops, residences and leads down to the bridge the town is well known for. We would walk over that bridge on the way out in the morning. What a lovely old little town.

Onno and Matti were staying in Puenta la Reina too and checked to see if we wanted to join them for some dinner later.  Onno had located a place he thought sounded nice – we found that it was very popular as it filled up quickly after we arrived. Fun dinner with good food and lots of laughs. It was like hanging out with our own sons as they were both about that same age.  And from here on out whenever someone says “say cheese” for a photo, I’ll think of Matti saying “patatas” – apparently what they say in Spain. And having to retake more than one photo because we were all laughing too hard. 😂

By the time we finished, it was way past our usual bedtimes and we had another long hot day tomorrow, so time to head back to our Albergue.  In the dark!  At least we had streetlights. And an air-conditioned room to look forward to! Ahhhh!

On to Estella tomorrow – 22 kilometers; almost 14 miles.

“I will drink life to the lees.”

                                                             Alfred Tennyson

More pics in Photo Album