Day 115
Buen Camino
Our wonderful Warmshowers host, Javier, offered to have us stay two nights, so yesterday was a rest day. This means we managed to get the blog up to date and to take his dog, Macau, for a walk. I then cooked my stepson Jim's favourite tea, Risotto, though I bought the wrong rice. During the night I got to experience an earthquake, the building literally shook! Tom missed it as he managed to sleep through the 3.9 Richter Scale quake, and the two aftershocks.
We decided to divert our ride through Pamplona, today being 12 October, is Spain’s National Day. So, we hoped It would be quiet. The day celebrates Spain’s legacy to the world, especially America. We just hoped it would keep all the cars at home, and it certainly did.
Our route took us to the centre by the river, which is also part of the Camino route. Looking like the travellers we are everyone assumed we were Pilgrims. We were wished ‘Buen Camino’ constantly, given route advice in fast, fluent Spanish, and even had a guide through the town. We managed to convince everyone we were OK and were able to take time to slowly cycle through the old town. Ernest Hemingway immortalised Pamplona and its festivals in his book ‘Fiesta / The Sun Also Rises’ and today you can still walk the Hemingway Trail, eat beef burgers cooked to his recipe and if you visit in July, get gored by a bull!
The sun had certainly risen for us today, but thankfully there were no bulls to be seen. We headed away from the town and joined the old highway, smooth tarmac and virtually traffic free, though not hill free. We occasionally crossed the Camino, wished ‘Buen Camino’ to the walkers, and rode up lots of hills! EV1 then joined the Camino and we managed to end up on the walker’s route. We met a fellow cyclist, Fernando (I think) he too had taken a wrong turn, so we joined up and more or less rode the next 20 miles together. Sometimes smooth tarmac, sometimes rough path, and a feeling as if we had stumbled back in time. Eventually we parted company with our guide/companion and took the easier route, until that is we headed back on the Camino to our campsite. So glad I used to ride mountain bikes. We came across one exhausted walker/pilgrim who simply didn’t have the energy to reach for her water bottle. Tom helped her out and we wished her well. Seriously it’s one tough walk. We felt a bit embarrassed to receive discount at our campsite for riding the Camino. Buen Camino walkers!
