Day 6: Pamplona to Puente La Reina

I got up around 08:00 and had the buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express. Then I showered and packed up. I used Pidetaxi to get a taxi to the spot I left off on the Camino de Santiago near the Citadel. I then started walking some time after 09:00.

It was a cloudy day, there was no rain. I walked out of Pamplona through the University of Navarre. I got mixed in with some students along the way. One was wearing a jacket that said "Mitchell's Tavern, Milwaukee, Wisconsin".

I exited the city and went up through the suburb of Cizur Menor. There was a pharmacy along the path, so I stopped and asked for some blister cream. The woman working there instead wanted me to take off my boot and look at the blister. She then out the cream on gauze and tape it over my blister. What service! I bought the rest of the blister cream and a tooth brush and tooth paste.

I continued climbing up the Alto del Perdon, which is a ridge west of Pamplona with forty windmills. It took several hours to get to the top. When I finally reached the summit, it was very windy like the lady at the pilgrim office had warned. There is a metal statue of medieval pilgrims walking and riding horses or donkeys that the wind turbine company erected.

The way down from the Alto del Perdon was hard on the knees and feet. It was kilometers of loose rocks the size of baseballs and softballs. I had to take it slow on the descent.

I finally got down near Uterga and changed my socks from a sweaty pair to a dry pair. This is something I need to do everyday going forward. Blisters are more likely to form in wet socks. I then proceeded through Muruzabal and Obanos. I tried to go to the churches in every town in the hopes of getting more stamps for my pilgrim credential, but all the churches were locked up. I think they are only open when there are masses.

I finally made it into Puente La Reina before dark. I checked into the Albergue de Peregrinos for only €5. I ran into Alesandro the Italian guy and Nicholas. The Koreans showed up shortly after. The Korean dad with his two daughters were the last ones to arrive and got in after dark. My nickname for him is Big Daddy even though he is a fairly small guy. All of the original group made it to the albergue except for one person.

I took a shower, then ran over to the grocery store to buy detergent pods, a razor to shave with, medical tape, and gauze for my blister cream.

On the way back I stopped at a bar called Cerveceria Very. I had until 22:00 before the doors of the albergue were locked. Similar to last night I got a table wine, bread, starter, main dish, and desert for €10.90. I picked a spaghetti with meat sauce, fish, and ice cream as my choices. The bar did not have salmon, so I had to settle for something called navarino. It turned out to be local trout served Navarre-style, which meant the whole fish was on the plate minus the innerds. The spaghetti was bad, the trout would have been okay if I had not kept choking on the bones, and I drank too much of the tinto wine which came from a winery in town. The best course was the ice cream. I have not been impressed by the food in France and Spain thus far.

I got back to the albergue before the doors were locked and washed my clothes.

The abandoned palace and church of Guendulain outside of Pamplona.

A look back towards Pamplona after walking a couple hours west.

Looking back at Pamplona from the Alto del Perdon.

The wind turbines on Alto del Perdon.

Metal pilgrim statues on Alto del Perdon.

The treacherous path down the ridge.

Uterga.

San Juan Bautista church in Obanos.

The medieval gate to Obanos.

Day 5: Pamplona

I got a very good night's sleep and a hot shower at the Holiday Inn Express. There was a complimentary buffet breakfast. I took another nap after breakfast. I wanted to get my clothes washed at the hotel, but they said it would take two days and gave me the address to a laundromat. I just ended up washing my socks in the sink by hand.

At 18:00, I ordered a taxi through an app called Pidetaxi. It works similar to Uber. I went to the Old City to walk around. Near the city hall I saw Nicholas, the French lute player, who I last saw last at the church in Viscarret-Guerendiain. He was busking with his lute in the walled part of Pamplona. We talked for a few minutes until a bearded guy interrupted us. He was carrying two full bags of groceries from the nearby Carrefour and was well-dressed, but he was pitching some type of sob story about being poor or homeless. Nicholas offered to give the guy €2 from his hat. The guy looked like a North African migrant rather than a Basque.

At 20:30, I went to Cafe Iruna in Plaza del Castillo. It was one of my bucket list items for the trip. If you have read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, you will know about a third of the book takes place at Cafe Iruna. They run a deal where you get a drink, bread, starter, main dish, and desert for €16.90. I got a water, a cannoli appetizer, roasted cod in squash, and vanilla ice cream. The food was okay, but not worth returning for. I then took a taxi back to the hotel after finding a taxi station a short distance out of the Plaza del Castillo. The driver seemed to have had too much wine and pinchos earlier because he was rambling like he was drunk the whole way.

The walled city of Pamplona.

Pamplona's City Hall.

Cafe Iruna.

Plaza del Castillo.

Day 4: Roncesvalles to Pamplona

I left Roncesvalles at 08:00 and arrived in Burguete less than a hour later. The young people of the town were walking home from a night of drinking and obviously inebriated. I think I saw one bar that was still open at 08:45!

Next, I walked through farmland to Espinal. Only a bakery was open in the town. People seem to really like to eat bread in France and Spain. A few other pilgrims stopped there to get breakfast.

I then made it to Viscarret-Guerendiain just before 11:00. I walked into the church there and saw the priest who showed us around Roncesvalles the previous night, preparing for mass. Just then, Nicholas, one of the French guys who I went to church with the previous night, showed up. The priest came down and introduced us to his congregation and asked if we would stay for mass, as it was the Feast of Three Kings. I declined as the day was short, and I needed to get to Pamplona.

The next part of the trip was a lot of ups and downs over hills. The descent into Zubiri included walking downhill on loose rocks and sharp rocks, which was very rough on my feet. I saw a trout swimming in the Arga River from the Puente de la Rabia.

I continued on past the magnesium plant outside Zubiri to Larrasoana. Just before the bridge into Larrasoana, there was a utility sign saying the road to Akerreta was cut, and you'd have to detour around by going into Larrasoana, down to the N-135 highway, and then walking until the next road that crossed the river to rejoin the Camino de Santiago. This added an extra two kilometers. Just as I was walking up the hill finishing the detour, I saw Mario, the French guitar player, and two Korean backpackers on the side of the hill. They were walking in a hurry and had obviously ignored the detour sign. There were no albergues open between Urdaniz and Trinidad de Arre in the winter, so they were in a pinch to get to the next open albergue by nightfall.

I kept walking although my pace had slowed down immensely due to my feet and knees hurting. It was dark by 18:00 and I was in Zabaldika. I used the flashlight on my phone to navigate the trail into Pamplona. Once I crossed the Ulzama River, I had arrived in the suburb of Trinidad de Arre,  and there were streetlights all the way into Pamplona. From there, I got a taxi to take me to the Holiday Inn Express on the south end of the city. I needed a good night sleep on a real mattress. I was done with the snorers and middle-of-the-night bathroom users waking me up.

Ernest Hemingway stayed at the Hostal Burguete in the book The Sun Also Rises.

Horses between Burguete and Espinal.

The church in Viscarret-Guerendiain.

The magnesium plant just outside Zubiri.

Cattle near Udaniz.

A Basque-themed barn.

Day 3: St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles

I left the municipal albergue just before 07:00 and started walking out of St. Jean Pied de Port. I was fine until I got to the edge of town, and there were no more lights. I had to stop and wait until about 08:00 for daylight to start coming over the horizon before I could continue. I learned my lesson and would not leave my lodging until 08:00 going forward.

The first stretch was farmland. I saw pigs being loaded onto a truck at one farm. Every Basque house was painted white with red windows. To get to Arneguy, one must pass through a shopping center at the Spain border. I stopped at the gas station there to buy more water.

I walked though Arneguy and crossed back into France for awhile. Then, I was in Spain for good when crossing the stream in Valcarlos. The trail started going up and up the ten kilometers before Ibaneta Pass. It was brutal on my legs, and I had to stop constantly to recharge going uphill. It was getting very cold at the higher elevation, and I wondered if I would be able to make it to Roncesvalles before dark. I finally got to Ibaneta Pass, walking over ice for a stretch, and then it was a quick 1.5 kilometer downhill descent.

I made it into Roncesvalles at 15:45 and paid €8 for a bunkbed at the albergue. I got a top bunk, which is not as good as a bottom bunk. I showered and then went to Saturday night mass at the church. Me and two French guys were the only pilgrims who went and were called up at the end of mass for a pilgrims blessing.

I then ate at Casa Sabina, the only restaurant currently open in Roncesvalles. I ate the roasted pork leg with applesauce. There was more leg bone than meat on the plate. The priest who celebrated mass came in and started drinking at the bar.

At 20:15, another priest came over to the albergue and offered a tour of the church, crypt, cloister, and chapter house. Most of the backpackers took him up on his offer. At the end of the tour, the French guys, Nicholas and Mario, played the lute and guitar inside the chapter house.

Leaving St. Jean Pied de Port.

Basque farms on the side of the hill.

Entering Arneguy.

Valcarlos.

Monument to Roland at the top of the pass.

View from Ibaneta Pass.

Roncesvalles.

Real Colegiata de Santa Maria de Roncesvalles.

Sancho VII's tomb in the chapter house.

French pilgrims playing music.

Day 2: Bayonne to St. Jean Pied de Port

I woke up early, organized my luggage bag and backpack, and walked the block or so to the Bayonne train station. I got on the first train to St. Jean Pied de Port at 07:40. There was only one other rider, and the ticket was just €7. The train stopped in four small towns on the hour long ride.

Walking into St. Jean Pied de Port, I stopped at the post office first to ship my luggage ahead to Casa Ivar in Santiago de Compostela. The post office worker recommended I wrap the bag in plastic, so I left the bag at the post office while I ran to Carrefour to get plastic wrap. I then ran back to the post office and got the bag shipped out for €60.30.

Next, I continued into town to the pilgrim office. The two volunteers sold me a pilgrim's credential, provided me with maps and lodging listings, and gave advice about some of the trickier parts of the trail. I left my backpack there until the municipal albergue opened in the afternoon.

From there, I went to Bar Brasserie du Trinquet on the main drag. The food was cheap, but not very tasty. I had a hamburger on a baguette with fries.

I then walked around town and up to the Citadelle. I saw a lone trout swimming in the stream running through the city. I went to Carrefour again in the afternoon to buy food and water for tomorrow. Then I went back to the pilgrim office, retrieved my backpack, and checked into the municipal albergue for €10. I was the third one there by 15:00, but a couple hours later fourteen beds were occupied. Most of the pilgrims were Korean.

A foggy morning at the Bayonne train station.

The single car train readying in Bayonne.

The train station in St. Jean Pied de Port.

The Nive River in St. Jean Pied de Port.

Roncesvalles is beyond the hill with trees.

St. Jean Pied de Port from the Citadelle above town.

The municipal albergue.

Day 1: Chicago to Bayonne

I left Chicago at 18:45 on January 2 on an Icelandair flight to Reykjavik. The plane got to Iceland at 07:00 local time. I walked through passport control, getting an Iceland stamp. I caught another Icelandair flight to Paris that was supposed to leave at 07:40, but it ended up leaving late. I finally got to Paris at 12:15 local time.

I picked up my bag and then needed to get to Terminal 2G on the other end of Charles de Gaulle for an Air France flight to Biarritz. I had to take an airport train and then a shuttle bus to get to Terminal 2G. I also hit an ATM to get some Euros. The rate was $1.257 to 1 Euro, which was quite different from the going rate of $1.14! I picked up a few bills because I knew I'd need cash for the bus later in the day.

I waited a few hours in the terminal, and the Air France flight to Biarritz took off at 16:15. I fell asleep on the flight and woke up as the plane landed at the small two gate airport. I collected my bag and then bought a Coke at an airport cafe, so that I'd have small change for the bus. I walked outside to the bus platform knowing I'd need to take Route 14 or Route C to Place de Basques in Bayonne. A Basque guy gave me a 24 hour bus pass he no longer needed, so I didn't need to break a 50 Euro note by buying a bottle of Coke after all. It was very cold outside waiting for the bus.

I took the 14 bus and almost thirty minutes later got off the bus as I saw the Adour River bridge just before the Place de Basques. I walked across the bridge to the Ibis Styles Bayonne Centre Gare. I checked in at 19:00 and took a much needed shower after being on three flights.

Next, I took a walk around Bayonne looking for somewhere to get dinner. It seemed a lot of the restaurants were still closed for the holidays, and nothing I saw that was open enticed me. I then went to the train station to see what time the train departs to St. Jean Pied de Port in the morning. The lady at the desk said 07:40, 12:00, and two more in the afternoon.

I went back to the hotel and passed out almost immediately. I had been on airplanes over eleven hours and crossed seven time zones.

Getting on the jet at Charles de Gaulle.

The two gate airport in Biarritz.

The Adour River in Bayonne.