Day 113
Misty mountain wildcamp
After a night full of dreams or rather nightmares of being arrested by the Spanish police for wild camping I finally awoke to a misty world. As I couldn’t see a thing I felt we were safe from arrest. Tom tried to get some photos and drone footage of the views through the clearing mist and then we were off to finish the last couple of miles of our climb. It was steep, about 200 metres in 1.7 miles. I am glad we saved it as I think I would have struggled with tired legs yesterday. The descent went on forever, 5 miles of narrow winding road, then we joined a bigger road downhill towards Pamplona and our Warmshowers host, Javier. The road was quiet and we took our time. We stopped at a hotel for a coffee. I was unsure how things worked in Spain, did we simply sit and get served as in France? Fortunately, another cyclist arrived and I copied him, simple. I was even able to ask for milk in my coffee, so maybe my Spanish lessons with Mr Huntley 45 years ago are not completely forgotten!
We stopped to ride over the dam at the Eugi Urtegia reservoir. Built between 1968 and 1973, its main function is to supply water to Pamplona, however it doubles as a stunning platform to view the valley and surrounding hills, simply breath-taking.
Then we were back in pilgrimage mode. We stopped at a small picnic area just outside Pamplona. There were loads of seating, toilets, fresh water and weary walkers. Shoes off, they sat in the sun regaining strength and easing their aching feet before continuing with their walk. I salute them.
Then one final hill and we were at Javier’s. We decided to have our first evening meal out since Cherbourg and we think only the second of the whole trip. With Javier’s advice we ate fantastic food, and as we settled in back at his flat, we decided to take him up on his kind offer to stay another night. Probably not so we can walk around Pamplona but to catch up on a week of blog posts and photos! Life on the road, never such a thing as a rest day!
