Day 5 - Pamplona to Puente la Reine

A moderate walk of 24km that should only take you 6:30, or so says the guide book.

It was a pleasant start to the day's walk with cloudy skies and a cool 18C.

Our exit from Pamplona went well, with only a few misdirections.  These were quickly corrected by the hand waving locals who knew what we were up to and were keen to see us get to Santiago.  What we did find out yesterday, courtesy of the baristas in a coffee shop in Pamplona, is that in Basque country, thanking the locals with eskerrik asko instead of gracias makes you an instant relative, and gets you a big smile.  They are very proud of their heritage.

By the way, that same coffee shop had an FMLN radio station poster, which got us talking to the Baristas in the first place.

The walk out of Pamplona was very pleasant, passing through another university and then into the country.  The terrain is very rolling and the fields speak of a vibrant farming economy.  Neat fields of corn, beans, and potatoes and asparagus.

The path began to rise as we approached Cizur Menor.  Rise and fall, as mentioned previously is a bit of a misnomer.  Any time you climb 100 metres and then go down 100 is considered flat.

The first site along the route was the portico of the church in Zariquiegul.

We continued our steep climb up to the Alto del Perdon, known for it's wrought iron representions of medieval pilgrims, some on foot, on horse, on camel, etc.  At 790 metres, it provides a magnificant view of the surrounding contryside.  What does stand out are all the wind turbines on this, and nearby hills.  It reminds one that we are stewards of the planet and what better way to protect the environment than with wind power.

At the summit were people meditating, soaking in the view, and taking  lots of pictures. Another saviour selling coffee, snacks, water and drinks.  They are such a welcome sight on the side of the road and they seem to appreciate the financial situation of most perigrinos, selling their products at a reasonable price. There is nothing wrong with the local water but a cold bottle of water is just so much nicer.

We were very blessed today that the hardest part of the walk was completed under cloudy skies and it was relatively cool. When we hit the summit the sun broke through and it got very hot very fast.

Now we began a very steep decent on loose rock, which just kills the knees, passing through Uterga, with a statue of the Virgin Mary in a lovely little treed park.  This provided a nice break for some perigrinos.

We marched on.  We added a 2.8km detour to our walk to visit a 12th century Romanesque church in Eunate.  The church has an octagonal form which is supposed to be modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.  It has a beautiful porch with twin columns surrounding it.  The exact reason for, and builders of the church are unknown.  The present caretakers have quiet Gregorian chants playing in the background in the church, which thankfully was open.  Something the perigrinos seem to appreciate, and the click click tourists don't.  This certainly turned out to be one of the jewels of camino so far and well worth the additional mileage.  Here we met Ronda from New Zealand whose team had just been in Toronto winning gold in field hockey. She  was unsure of the way back to the Camino and wanted to come with us.  So off the three of us went, the blind leading the blind.

Then on to Obanos, where we saw our first vineyards of Spain.  The grapes were small but there are very, very many. The detour entailed a very steep ascent into Obanos and we stopped at a bar and bought a very large, very cold bottle of water which Lynn downed very quickly.

Finally we dragged our bodies into Puente la Reine.  Our hotel was almost the first thing we saw as we entered the town, thank God.

The reality of the camino is settling in.  When the weather is cool and overcast, the walking is a piece of cake.  When the weather is hot, it wears you down very quickly. Walking up any kind of hills is fine, but walking down steep hills is very hard.

We continue to see grave markers along the side of the trail from time to time, marking the end of some perigrino's journey.

The cortisone cream is helping the existing rash on Lynn's feet. Unfortunately the rash is now spread to all points where the backpack and daypack come in contact with the body. Even Russell now has a heat rash  in similar locations. I think this heat rash will be our companion on the Camino. It doesn't hurt, just looks awful. In addition to the cortisone cream I'm going to try to find some shea butter and see if that helps.

Summary - a good walking day after our break in Pamplona.  Feet are sore at the end of the day, showing us that this will not be an easy journey.  The mind is definitely emptying, all you have to do is get up and walk, which leaves you free to look around and think about life.

Distance today - 27km
Distance total - 96.5km