Camino de Santiago Day 5: Pamplona!

I made it to Pamplona!!

Today was a great day! I walked a little less than 14 miles from Zubiri to Pamplona. Work woke me up early this morning and made the beginning of the day a bit “emotionally crowded” but it reinforced the meaning of my time out here.

Today I felt very lucky to have three of my Camino family close with me the entire day. Hilary and Hannah, the mother daughter pair from Cali were my Camino fairies and guardian angels along the route today. And my friend (and I know I’m going to botch the spelling…) Garant was right there to help offer support and guidance along the way.

Some days the walk is painful - blisters, aching feet, backs and knees. Other days it is emotionally painful. In either circumstance the best thing you can do is keep walking.

The journey today was just as beautiful as the last. We got up and moved out early around 7AM and made it for breakfast about 5 miles away in a small Basque town.

The climb on the back half of the day was as tiring as it was beautiful. At the top of the hill, Hannah and I were greeted by a kind man offering peaches. Little did we know he knew our names and had two peaches waiting for us, paid for and left behind by Hilary and Garant (again I promise I’ll ask tomorrow how to spell it). These were an amazing treat. Not only did it remind us that our fellow pilgrims were cheering us on, it was also the perfect fuel for the final push to Pamplona.

The peach man

My friends Hannah and Natalie

The trail hugged a rolling creek for many miles, and was begging to be jumped in!

One of my pilgrim friends, Rowan had the courage to do a beautiful dive into the cold water.

We made into Pamplona around 2:30PM local time.

My incredible Albergue offered both a washer and dryer, a hot rain shower, and comfortable bunks for a great afternoon siesta. Tonight was full of vino tinto and tapas, and a great night with my Camino family.

Until tomorrow! Buen Camino!