Najera

Another 30 k day lots through rolling hills covered with vineyards.
Some very tired people along the way. In Najera it was Fiesta day and all the populace out having a grand social time. A lovely town.

Logrono

30 k day today through lovely rural country. Seas of wheat and barley rippling in the wind. Reminded me of Tennyson: on either
side the river lie/ long fields of barley and of rye/ that clothe the earth and touch the sky/ and through the fields the road runs by/ to many towered (insert name of next picturesque stone town here).

Got to Longrono about 2, shower, wash clothes, have a dutch beer sort of like stout, wander round lovely town checking out churches - San batolemeo my favourite. Seemed to have a mermaid carved in the portico. Had a nice chat in Spanish with  the guy who seemed to be living in the porch - he was very proud of the church. Church of Santiago has a massive energetic statue of st James riding a stallion ( no doubt it's a stallion) trampling moors' heads.

Managed to get a Spanish sim card. Two lovely young women in the shop spent more than half an hour on the transaction - can't see how they made a profit on that one.

Longrono is apparently tapas capital of Spain so I will have to go sample some.

Los Arcos

A relatively easy and short walk today to Los Arcos. Some very pretty country. A rainy grey day to hit Los Arcos on a Sunday afternoon. A lot of blokes sitting in bars but all a tad dreary in the rain. I was hungry when I got here and ordered the wrong sort of lunch - bravas and sambas ( potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce and fried squid pieces) which did not agree with me so a quiet night before a big day to Logrono tomorrow - about 30 k and the longest but not the hardest so far.

Estella

A reasonably easy walk today but I managed to make it longer by leaving my phone on the table in the bar where I had breakfast. When I realised I had was about three kilometers out of town. but luckily a young Basque guy picked it up and was waiting for some worried looking person walking the other way. Some lovely country and pretty villages along the way. Had a great paella for lunch and into the Albergue  in Estella by 2. This is a nice like life style - I can see how people get hooked on it. I heard of a guy who has done 17 caminos is somewhere around, and there is a wonderful 80 year old french lady who I see every day doughtly plugging away. The human dimension is special.

Estella is a lovely town. Beautiful and interesting churches - but why so many?
There is a wonderful church portal which is geometric patterns rather than figures, and which shows the Arabic influence. And a wonderful portal up the hill with beautiful almost naive carvings - people getting killed in all sorts of inventive ways all graphically portrayed.

Estella is a nice place. To get WiFi I've been sitting in a bar in the Plaza for an hour - now siesta is over it has gone from deserted to buzzing. 

Puente de La Riena

I headed out early this morning and managed to take a couple of wrong turns heading out of Pamplona. A very pretty walk today over the Alto de Perdon. Probably should now be called Alt de Selfie or perhaps the pilgrims just wanted to remember and record their forgiven status. Puenta de la Riena is a bit low key after frenetic Pamplona. Distinctly feels like the weather is changing
Rain gear might get a workout soon.

Pamplona,

A grand day walking today, lovely weather and beautiful rural spring Spain, blossoms and irises and fields of canola so bright it almost hurts to look at them. The way winds through little stone villages till it hits the outskirts of Pamplona then up past the massive fortifications into the old town.

Staying in the main albergue which is pretty full, pretty basic and very cheap. It has the world's slowest washing machines and only four machines for 180 pilgrims wanting to wash their sweaty clothes. A bit of laundry rage going down there today. Some very tired and stiff people creaking around the place tonight, and some truly horrific blisters.

Pamplona seems like a lively place. Thursday nights the bars here offer pinchos and a drink for 2 Euros a serve. The more you eat the more you drink. Seems to work - the place is jumping.

I think tomorrow though I will try for Puente LA Riena.

 

Zubiri

The hospitalieros at Roncesvalles turn on the lights and crank up the grepgaian chant CD at about 5.45 - sleeping in not an option. Hit the trail about 7.00- it is still quite dark till then and no point getting lost. Walked to the next village for a nice breakfast. The path drops then climbs up to Pont due Error then falls steeply again down to Zubiri. I was planning on continuing on to Larrasoana but I started feeling not too well on the descent - a dodgey fuente I suspect. Got here round 3.30. The albergue is lovely and quiet and the town is nice. At dinner in the local bar I met an eighty year old  French lady pilgrim. She had walked the 23 kilometres from Roncesvalles today. She looked a bit tired but so does everyone else, me included.  I think the person who opened a foot care and blister clinic here would make a fortune.

Hard to believe it is only two days in. Looking at the map is a bit daunting - the two hard days slog represents an almost imperceptible fraction of the journey.