Men in Skirts

Day 3 Zubiri to Pamplona 

Miles today: 14.2

Total miles: 45.8

617’ elevation gain

914’ descent

Travel like Gandhi-with simple clothes, open eyes, and an uncluttered mind.

— Rick Steves

So far we have meet fellow hikers from 11 different countries, today meeting our first “pilgrim” from Spain. Most of the people doing the Camino are from countries other than Spain.

The two gentlemen pictured above are from the Netherlands and are wearing traditional garb from the mid 1400’s. More standard garb on most days so far is rain gear and trekking poles.

The three of us are becoming known as the “rabbits”, from the child’s tale of the tortoise and the hare. We typically pass the same hikers numerous times a day only to finish sometime later than most. We go with bursts of speed, then stop to take photos, talk to other folks, or detour in search of coffee—usually a cafe con leche which is a Spanish coffee beverage consisting of strong and bold coffee mixed with scalded milk in a 1:1 ratio. Our days are a bit longer in miles than the official guide book distances but we are following the long distance hiker mantra of HOH. “Hike your Own Hike”. I am trying to slow down, Chum is working on hiking faster, and Blaze is doing both to keep anyone from “snapping”. More on snapping in a later post.

Today we took a non-traditional route into Pamplona, the town famous for the annual tradition known as the “Running of the Bulls”. Most pilgrims followed roads through the towns of Villava and Burlada to reach Pamplona, but we found a very scenic route on a bike/pedestrian path that followed a river and avoided the hard sidewalks and busy streets. Pamplona is a big city of 200,000, quite a switch from the small villages we have been enjoying so far.

Tomorrow will be a tougher day, with more miles, a long half day climb, then steep descents follow by more gradual downhill into the town of Puente la Reina...the Queens Bridge.

The good news is that the path is 70% non paved...easier on the feet!