Pamplona (Round 2)

Today was pretty mellow. Zubiri to Pamplona. 22km and relatively flat terrain. (Yes! We made it back to Pamplona as official pilgrims!) We followed a trail along the Arga River all the way into Pamplona, again passing many farms and pastures with sheep and horses. I even saw a horse that looked a little like Cocoa… maybe that’s a stretch cuz I miss my pup!

Our walking group stopped in a little town called Larrasoana for coffee and a snack mid morning. The shop owner was a very friendly guy who had flags from about two dozen countries and had people sign them. So of course I had to add my initials to it.

It was interesting to come back into Pamplona (a “big city” of 200,000) after all of the small villages and farms we’ve passed through. To see the farmhouses dotting the landscape give way to suburban housing tracts, and the wide open spaces of seemingly endless fields shrink into smaller municipal parks. To watch the lone highway that was bisected by the occasional country road splinter into a tangle of streets clogged with cars and shops. To see only farmers, ranchers and pilgrims, and now to see bankers, fashionistas and tourists. It’s nice to stay in a place with all of the amenities at our disposal - ATMs, a wider variety of cuisine, pharmacies - but the trade-off is clear. (I must admit, though, that our pizza, Caesar salad and chocolate mousse for tonight’s meal WAS amazing. Only a week in Spain, and I’ve already had enough ham for this lifetime!)

There were quite a few people on the trail with us today, with many familiar faces that we have seen on the trail or in the towns and restaurants along the route so far. It seems that there are a lot of Spaniards with kids, probably doing some hiking during the Easter break. It will probably get less crowded next week. And many of the folks we have been walking with are staying over for two nights in Pamplona, so we will meet new people in the coming days as we move on from the Pyrenees.