Allison Cowie

Larrasoaña to Pamplona / 9.4 miles

Today was an easier day of walking. I got to my albergue at 11am after leaving LarrasoaNa at 7:25am. It was good that I got here early. Once again, every private albergue was booked up, and I was relying on getting to the public albergue early enough to get a bed. This one – the Albergue JesUs y MarIa – has 112 beds, and yesterday it filled up by 12:30pm despite opening only half an hour prior. I was around the 10th person there – bed secured! I have a bed reserved for tomorrow, so I can take tomorrow at a slower pace. I’m definitely feeling tired today, and my legs are stiff and sore in places, but my back feels good and no blisters so far. All in all, I’m feeling very good physically.

It’s been nice to have the whole afternoon off. I’ve done laundry, eaten an overpriced hamburger, and explored Pamplona a bit, plus a shower and rest time (and now blog time). It’s neat to be in a city where most people are not fellow peregrinos. I’m staying a 2-minute walk to the Cathedral, which is beautiful, and the old city wall leads to a beautiful view of the mountains. I’m also overly excited to have found a Spanish SIM card so I can research my route, book albergues in advance, and communicate with people back home without relying on wifi which has been hard to come by.

So far, I’m still preferring alone time to doing much with other walkers. I see many of the same folks every day, and we have nice conversations and sometimes share a meal. I’m curious how many new people I’ll meet along the way, and if in Santiago I’ll already know everyone arriving with me that day.

*** weirdly placed capital letters are in lieu of accents, which my keyboard sadly cannot make