Vinsman

This morning as I left the albergue the sun as not even peaking over the horizon. You could see the beautiful glow in the sky but nothing more. I like to stay in Ayegi which is about 2 km past Estella. I stay at the same place every time San Chipriano albergue which is the municipal in this town. The first year I stayed here there were beds in the basement and It was basically a sports court that allowed pilgrims by 2019 they had remodeled it with beds upstairs and an elevator. Fancy, but it is still run by the local council and it feels homey. Today the Hospitaleros brother in law stopped by with a huge basket of mushrooms that he had foraged. I don’t really like mushrooms but if I did I’ll bet they would have been delish.

It is so strange to hear the phone ringing constantly with pilgrims looking for a bed. I am not sure the Hospitaleros love it either. Times are different on the Camino and in Spain. Most people wear masks inside and out. Unless you are exercising, walking the camino or something else you are wearing a mask. It’s not a big deal but you must do it as it is not optional either.

Today’s walk is always interesting. Waking out of Pamplona and into the hills up to the Alto Padrón and down the other side. I guess I am in better shape this year as the climb up and more importantly the walk down the other side was not nearly as bad as I remember.

Puente La Reina is a great little town. I stayed at the Santiago Apostle albergue which is across the bridge and up the hill. The hill is not so bad but damn I never really love climbing another hill just to sleep. Anyway the albergue is great, the shower is hot and I was able to use the washer and dryer to wash all of my clothes. Today I hung out with Peter from the UK, Pietra from Germany and David from Dallas. Peter and I walked a good part of the day together he was very interesting to talk to. He has a degree from Oxford and we share many of the same views of the world.

Last night I stayed in albergue Avellena in Zubiri. Again I am surprised at how full the Camino is. Every bed in Zubiri was full and so was the town 5 km further Laransaña. I arrived and was able to get a single bed for 2 euros more. Well worth it. Jon from País Vasco arrived about the same time. We ended up having beers together.

The walk to Pamplona is not too bad. About 22 km I met a group of ladies from the US who all lived in Granada, there were 12 of them. It was fun to talk to them about how they ended up in Granada from the US, most just said they wanted to try living in Spain for a year. Many had been there 3 or more years.

I arrived on Sunday in Pamplona the streets were full of people.