Day 4, Monday, August 26th, 2019: Larrasoaña to Cizur Menor (by way of Pamplona!)
(Learned a valuable lesson today: when you write for half an hour and Squarespace doesn’t save your work, God has thrown you another challenge to controlling your temper! So here I go with my second attempt to post our log for Day 4!)
We stepped off into another beautiful day in the dark at about 6 am. The headlamps that Terri acquired that clipped to our hats were great and kept us from hurting ourselves during our walk before dawn. There were many less hills today, although we started off going pretty much straight up!
We reached the outskirts of Pamplona early in the day and walked through into the historic city made famous by Earnest Hemingway when he wrote of the running of the bulls in his novel “The Sun Also Rises.” They still love him here for that!
Pamplona was lovely, with its cathedral and steep winding streets. We would have loved to have stayed longer, exploring the many shops and pinxos taverns, but we’re soon on our way out of town to Cizur Menor.
We arrived up the hill into Cizur Menor to the Albergue Maribel Roncal and were greeted by Mrs Maribel herself! She was one of the most pleasant and knowledgeable “Hospitaleros” we had met so far. She showed us to our immaculate accommodations and we loved the vibe of the sunny courtyard with plenty of places to connect with our fellow Peregrinos.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, and on Mrs. Maribel’s recommendation, we decided to have a substantial lunch at Asador Bidea 2, a lovely steakhouse serving amazing peppers and blood sausage and steaks. We headed back to a much needed nap and learned another “Camino Lesson:” Pilgrims share what they have to help each other on the Camino.
We met a Scotsman named Steve when we were in Orrison on day 1. He was walking The Camino for the 5th time. When asked why, he told us for the experience of so many wonderful people. When he showed up this evening, he was very concerned because he had injured his knee. Having had three knee surgeries over the years, I had packed along two knee braces. I gave one to Steve and he was one happy Scotsman! He then shared a remedy for a blister on the toe called a “toe tube” that is a little sleeve you put over you toe to protect the injured spot.
The lesson applies to all of us on our “Camino” through life.
No pilgrim dinner this evening, so it was off to bed and, save for the very loud and very wet thunderstorm that arrived around 11pm, a peaceful and restful night!
Off early in the dark to Cizur Menor
Another hill conquered!
Through the gate to Pamplona
The cathedral in Pamplona
What a lovely lunch!
Us with the lovely Mrs. Maribel Roncal!
