April 30, 2015 - Day 5 Puente la Reina --> Estella 22 K

April 30, 2015 - Day 5  Puente la Reina --> Estella 22 K

Slept very soundly in my loft bed, but it was quite cold when I woke. In the 40's. Got dressed and headed over to yet another wonderful meal at Hotel Jakue. We checked out and were on the road by 8:15 am, planning to meet up with Steve and Leon around 8:30 am near their hotel. However, we never saw their hotel, and crossed the ancient bridge out of town over the Argo River at about 8:30 am. So, I texted Leon to let him know, and hoped we would run across them sometime later. 

This was one of the best days. Perfect weather - sunny, blue skies with the temp reaching the low 70's. Stunning views of the lush, green fields along well-maintained paths, then interspersed with some rather steep inclines. However, what I noticed was that we seem to be turning another corner somewhat. Even though our legs are still tired, we are getting stronger on the climbs. And Donna is making the most noticeable improvement. Getting stronger and stronger. She is almost right with me most of the times on the straight and narrow paths, and getting up the hills and inclines much faster. 

We hiked through several beautiful little towns - all with very steep, narrow roads. Donna and I stopped in Cirauqui for a late morning Cafe con Leche and omelet sandwich. As we headed out of town, this Spanish gentleman kept trying to tell us something about taking a picture. He was very insistent that we not miss it, although I had no idea what he was saying. Then, there it was! Out in the distance spread across a hill was the map of the world made of tires and some sort of plants. Again, a scene from the movie as I recall - or from some other documentary I have seen. It took my breath away.

We continued on. Congratulating ourselves on how much we are improving. Not perfect, and certainly having to work hard, but staying with it and not whining too much. Up and down hills and valleys and gulches. Up and down. Another turning point - we stripped to shorts and T-shirts. Finally, around noon, we were walking through another small, ancient town, when I noticed a vending machine inside a garage and peered in - to my surprise, Steve and Leon were sitting at this little table drinking a coke. Apparently, they had passed us when we stopped to eat earlier, and we were now catching up to them again. We visited a bit about our adventures the night before, then hit the road together again for the final 10-12 K to Estella. Met a nice lady from Australia. We have also started seeing some of the same folks over and over again. In particular, there is this group of about 10 women from a South African hiking club that I have started to get to know. Neat ladies. 

Alas, at about the magic 5 mile mark from Estella, we were all struck again with a case of "Pamplona legs." Everyone gets quiet and starts shuffling. When we finally reached Estella, Donna and I had another 10-15 minutes to our B&B. And Donna started realizing that she was getting some blisters to compliment her "Pamplona legs." Add to that, we just hit the wall and were exhausted. Our B&B hosts were extremely friendly and helpful, and tried to recommend some places for dinner, all of which required "only 10 minutes or so" to walk. We retreated to our room...I started looking for places to stay the next few days, having learned that tomorrow begins a holiday weekend and there are "few rooms available in the inns.." Which might mean pilgrim albergues..which means sleeping in my clothes since I sent my sleeping bag home. It was at this point that Mom & George skyped us. We relayed how exhausted we were and how hard the Camino really is - much more difficult than the movie would lead you to believe. And Donna got some sympathy miles out of her newly forming blisters. I think Mom was a little in shock at the sight of us. She said she got a big kick out of one of my earlier comments about not feeling particularly "spiritual" - it has mostly been survival mode to this point, with some gradual improvements along the way. 

We did eventually venture out and found a neat Diner where we could get some real food. That has improved our outlook immensely. Plus, our B&B hostess is a nurse and offered to treat Donna's blisters. The kindness of strangers. This Camino experience has been a little on the ups and downs. It is weird how you will be feeling pretty good, then all of sudden you will get hit with "Pamplona legs" and exhaustion, only to be followed by a revival of sorts. Something like real life.

Tomorrow, we head over some more inclines to Los Arcos.  We plan to stay at a little albergue there. 

Before I sign off, I have to tell you the highlight of the day. About mid-afternoon, my sister beamed at me and said very sincerely, "I am so glad you got me to do this,"  

April 29, 2015 - Day 4 Pamplona --> Puente la Reina

April 29, 2015 - Day 4

Pamplona --> Puente la Reina - 23K

My body felt surprisingly good after a restful night (thanks Advil pm). Advil is the friend of all of us on this journey, with our various aches and pains. Miracle drug. 

We wandered through the streets of Pamplona, past beautiful parks and Navarre University, and headed toward Cizur Menor. A very clean and quaint looking town. From there, we started the gradual climb that would take a few hours up to the top of a ridge, Alto del Perdon, where bronze cut-out statues  are perched along the side, framed by hills of large wind turbines on either side. These statues are prominent in the movie, "The Way," and it was a high point of the Camino walk to reach this point. The long winding climb up was mostly on a dirt path, with massive fields of dense bright yellow flowers. Leon said he thought they were mustard fields. 

We all started fairly strong, except for Steve, who is struggling with his sore feet. He has a bad bunion on his right foot, and blisters that are very painful. While it helped that he sent his pack ahead to the next hotel to take off some of the weight while hiking, he started contemplating a day or two off to rest his feet. Take a taxi to the next goal town and rest. No final decision yet, will evaluate at the end of the day. 

Donna is looking stronger and stronger as she walks. I am very proud of her tenacity, and the way she has fought through the pain to a place where I can see she is starting to turn the corner physically. She has remained quite cheerful, even during the hardest challenges. I think we all are turning the corner physically, with the exception of Steve's feet. We also feel as though we are starting to trim down a bit, although I am eating a lot. Donna and I both looked at Steve the other day and commented that he looked as though he was trimming down a bit, which brought a big smile to his face. 

After leaving Alto del Perdon, we descended for what seemed like miles down steep rocky paths. After finally leveling out, we continued on and on and on..."Pamplona legs" were starting to set in again - the name we have started assigning to our feet and legs during the final 5 miles or so at the end of the day. It isn't pretty. We all start getting real quiet and shuffle a lot. At least the view was pretty. Large, lush rolling green grass fields on either side of the path. 

The Hotel Jakue was the first place we saw when we left the trail at Puente la Reina. It has one of the nicer pilgrim's albergue as well as traditional hotel rooms. I had called and booked the last hotel room available from Pamplona. The receptionist gave me this mischievous smile when I told her my name and said, "You realize that you booked the 'treehouse' don't you?" I told her all I knew was that I had booked the last room. Well, in fact, we did stay in a treehouse. Fantastic room with a rather unique bathroom, including a futuristic shower that took 10 minutes to figure out how to operate. But, very cool. A full size bed with a beautiful comforter, and a loft to climb up into - I called dibs on it. Had our own little balcony overlooking the trees and fields, and a coffee maker with half and half. I sat on the deck and sipped my first Via of the trip. Staying in the treehouse was one of those sort of surreal experiences. Randy Garmon and I have had several of those during our various bike trips. 

Before dinner, Donna and I had a foot/leg massage at the albergue. A big disappointment. Felt more like a gentle rub - like I might pet my cat - than a massage for tired, sore, aching muscles. I asked the guy several times to please use more pressure, without success. 

Hotel Jakue is also known, for good reason, for their outstanding dinner buffet. A beautiful spread of veggies, breads and desserts, with the choice of  pork or fish as the entre. Wine and coffee were included in the dinner, which cost approximately 12 euros. 

I spent an hour or so after dinner trying to work on the blog, and experiencing technical difficulties with photos. We also unsuccessfully tried to skype home. I was so frustrated that I waisted valuable rest time messing with technical stuff. I resolved that next time it appeared that wi-fi might be weak, I would immediately stop and leave it to the next day. We finally went to bed exhausted, but mostly very, very happy.

Tomorrow, it is on to Estella, another 23 K or so. I found the B&B Zakul - a little off the Camino, but hopefully not too far. Got a text from Leon & Steve - we will try to hook up on the Camino in the morning. 

Donna - April 29, 2015 Pamplona --> Puente la Reina – 22 K

Donna - April 29, 2015

The hike today was better.  Weather was good and the body is getting stronger. We walked by several parks as we worked our way through Pamplona.  We all regret not being able to spend more time exploring this city.

The views were spectacular all day with mountains in the background with snow to wide open fields with green swaying grass like crops and the yellow Canola crops.  We could not possibly capture in photographs.   

Highlight of today's trek was a climb to an overlook with the pilgrim iron structures at  Alto de perdon.

Then down for a long time over rocks in a washed out path for a mile or so and we finally wind around large fields until arriving at our destination.

The big surprise at our hotel jake was that we were sleeping in a treehouse,  it was so quaint and nice and such attest,  as if that wasn't enough the buffet was exceptional and we finally had our fill of vegetables. 

Really pleasant end to a long day.

Sent from my iPhone