Day Two Zubiri to Pamplona

I woke in the middle of the night with heartburn.  In the past I had experience it but it had been a long time.  I guess it was either the strong coffee or the wine or a combination of both that did it. The one thing I didn't pack, and was kicking myself for forgetting, was tums or other antacids . Make note for future trips tums and such to go in the first aid kit.   Sorry to say I didn't sleep very well.  All too soon the alarm was going off for us to start the day.

Morning prep....On our way!

We had booked the late breakfast which was at 7:30 am.  We packed up and headed downstairs to the breakfast room, which as it happened was were we had dinner as well.  On the tables there was coffee and hot water for tea, orange juice and water, and plates of bread.  We were told to sit in the back table and when we got there we found the group of french people we had dinner with.  However the mood for breakfast was very different. It seemed as if everyone was focused on the day ahead. The idea of just eating and getting on the road. It also didn't help that the server was cleaning up while we were still eating and they ran out of bread, and she did not want to get us more.  I am sure they just wanted us gone so they could go about there day as well. So after some bread and coffee and juice, we headed out for our second day.

Our plan for the day was to make it to Pamplona. The guidebooks says its 21k and a medium level for walking. We were up to the challenge. After all that was just 13 miles or so and we had all day to do it.

We walked back over the bridge and headed out. Come to find out the mediaeval bridge, which give the town its name was also know as 'Rabies Bridge'.  Animals were walked around its main pillar to stop them from getting rabies. The legend says that the pillar was the power to cure the disease. In fact there is festivals of Zuriri held in the first week in August in honour of San Esteban. And here I just thought it was a pretty bridge.

We headed down a tree lined path. It was a nice way to start the day. nothing too strenuous. When planning the trip we noted that some of the stages would continue on to Larrasoana. On the map it doesn't look that far. However while walking it this morning I was happy we choose to stay in Zubiri for the night.  There was some ascents and even thought there weren't huge, if we had seen them at the end of the day it would have been more difficult to do. Funny how your mind and play those games on you. Same hills, same climb yet after a night of rest and starting out fresh it was easy to do. 

We walked down the path past the Magna mining site. Not one of the more attractive bits of scenery I will say.  However it did remind me of the mines of Arizona.  There was a sign to let us know we were leaving the "industrial area". From then on it was more woods and greenery. 

For the most part the walk was downhill with a few hills thrown in for good measure. After a threat of rain at our first coffee stop, the day was overcast and comfortable for walking. The day past quickly and soon we were on the outskirts of Pamploma.  As we crossed over a bridge we saw an alburge and there was the German guy we had meet the night before.  He had decided he would stay there for the night.  However we had a room already book on the other side of Pamplona and we continured on. As we walked we felt pretty good. We had a few snacks and water on the way. We thought we would do lunch when we got to Pamplona. Thinking it was a big city and all we figured we would be able to get something when we arrived around 1pm.  However the walk into Pamplona was a bit more challenging then we anticipated. 

In my mind for some reason I thought it would be a simple walk into town. However the route takes you on the outskirts of town. Or so it felt like. What was suppose to be just 3 km away was now feeling more like 10.   Every now and then we would see Pilgrims ahead of us and the markers so we knew we were on the right route. However we mistook the bridge on our map as the one where we meet up with the German. Little did we know that the bridge on the map was further down the road. 

As we past cafes we noticed they were all closed. Welcome to Siesta time in Spain. There seemed to be nothing open for food. So we continued on. We finally found a large map on the side of the road and a few groups of Pilgrims gathered around. We stopped to try to figure out where exactly we were. It was comforting to know others were feeling the same way.  After getting our bearings we continued on. Soon we came upon another river and a large bridge. This was the bridge on our map! Yeah! We crossed the bridge and made our way up to the old walled city of Pamplona. We had finally arrived!

Walking through the gates into the old city I thought back on what it must have been like for pilgrims from years ago to reach this city. Pamplona in the old days was a walled city and the old part of the city is well preserved.  We walked the cobble streets lined with shops. We were still looking for food at this point.  Everywhere we looked the cafes were still closed.  Then up ahead in the midst of all this history was a Burger King.  I couldn't believe it. However it was open so we went in for lunch.  Lunch was chicken wraps, fries and beer. Yes they serve beer at the Burger King in Spain!

After refueling ourselves and checking the map for direction to the hotel we headed back out.  We walked another 2 km or so to the area the hotel was in. I had picked a hotel on the other side of the city hoping in the morning it would make it easier. But by this time I was wondering if it had been a good idea. I was getting tired.

We found the bar that the hotel was connected with and it said it didn't open until 6 pm. So we made ourselves comfortable on a bench and rested.  Every now and then we would take turns walking around, just to stretch. We did find a market and decided we would get supplies there in the morning for tomorrow.  I also came across a restaurant with a daily menu for 12 euros.

Finally the time came to check in at the hotel. We went there and there still was no one. I started to call the number I had and a lady came out of the store next door. With our limited Spanish and her limited English we were able to check in to the hotel. She then said the room is this way and started to lead us out of the bar and down the street, around a corner, down a another street and into a high rise building. We rode the elevator up to the sixth floor and she showed us our room. It was nice and had everything we needed.  She told us breakfast would be at 7am tomorrow morning and we need to be there. Then she was off.

Pretty feet!
 Two days of walking and no blisters! 

We cleaned up and then headed out for dinner. We went back to the place i saw the menu for.  We were the only ones there at the time. It was such a weird feeling that people were not on the streets. It was nice having the place to ourselves.

We ordered the daily menu and we learned that we were able to order a starter, a main meal and a dessert, and it came with a bottle of wine. We were surprised to find that spaghetti and paella were considered starters.   We order paella and risotto, and for our main meal Chile relleno with fish. it sounded different and it we were in Spain so why not try different?  When our starters came out they were the size of a main meal. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to eat it all. However I did. It was delicious. The wine was a Tinto. The experience was wonderful!  Great food, great atmosphere, and great company!

We headed back to the hotel and decided we would stop into the bar the hotel lady ran. She was there tending bar. When she saw us she smiled. We ordered a couple beers. She then gave us a plate of Tortilla, or spanish omelette. I was so full I couldn't eat but one bite. But my partner in crime ate the whole thing. He said he didn't want to offend her.  Then a young lady came up to us and in good english explained that she was the ladys  daughter and her mom wanted to make sure we understood breakfast was at 7 am.  They seems very insistent on it. So we assured them we would be there at 7am. With that we headed back to get some well deserved sleep.

Stats from Fitbit:     Friday, May 13, 2016, at 8:07AM

                                25.21 km          9:22:41 min           22'19" pace 

I kept the fitbit running all during the walk, so the pace is the average including our breaks.