After awhile you stop feeling the pain! … from Pamplona to Puente la Reina

It takes 15 minutes to drive from Pamplona to Puente la Reina. It takes 8 hours to walk here through the mountains. I feel like the monks could have used a better route, no?

Even after a day of rest we were limping on our way out of the city. We decided carrying our bags just wasn’t possible. So we turned around, went back to the hotel and had them sent to our next destination. Best decision we could have made. Walking 20km without backpacks is gruelling enough, with the extra 20 pounds it’s just self inflicted punishment.

Take two…. we head out of the city, we stoped for coffee, a tortilla, maybe a croissant. I have to add in, everyone around us was drinking beer, only when we left did we read the sign outside and realize we were in the casino café. Then we bought an English Spanish dictionary, limped a little more… even without the backpacks, and then we walked…and then we get lost. Admiring the scenery, talking too much and taking photos we ended up following a sign for an Albergue as opposed to the trail sign. Note: Albergues can be misleading! They’ll use the same colours as the trail uses to map out the next town (blue and yellow). Fortunately we were only thrown off the route by 15 minutes or so… but, those 15 minutes are sacred when walking for so long! We’ll definitely be more vigilant from now on.

The air was slightly cooler today, and was extremely windy at the top of the mountains. At one point we were surrounded by windmills… and as we got closer to the top of the mountain and looked up, I was afraid they were going to swing off and take us down the mountain with them. You could hear the wind going through them… it was rather spooky.

Reaching the top was absolutely amazing. 360 views of the country side, as far as one could see. Words can’t describe the beauty. Also, the sculptures at the summit depicting the travellers of yesteryear, crossing as we are today, were a poignant reminder of those who passed this way for centuries. Well worth the hike up this mountain to begin our decent into the valley below.

The walk down is known to twist a few ankles. Proud to say we successfully made it unscathed. But it is tough walking on huge pebbles. It also makes the 13 more km we had to walk… so… much…longer! But we did it, laughing the whole way. The more hours we’re out here we realize the old saying is true, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.