Day 1 – Pamplona to Puente la Reina

Walked: 5.8+7.8 mi. Camino2026: 14 mi.

We left our backpacks in the Hotel Yoldi lobby as our prearranged taxi arrived at 5:30 sharp to take us to Zariquiegui.

This morning’s sunrise accompanied us as we scaled the 900 elevation to the Alto del Perdón.

After a brief rest we headed west … down the other side of Alto del Perdón.

Much to our surprise the usual hazardous walking surface on the descent had been changed for the better by removal of most of the small, loose stones that previously covered the path.

Linda has always dreaded this section for fear of a camino-ending fall or twisted ankle or knee. Today, the phrase, “the Camino provides” had never been truer to us.

Once we reached the base of the mountain, another project was also underway to apparently make further improvements to the path leading into Uterga. A “road under construction” sign blocked the way and pointed to an alternate path through the adjacent wheat field to bypass construction activités.

A favorite and only breakfast stop in Uterga was locked up tight, so we continued on to the next village, Muruzábal, where both of its two bars were also closed up tight.

So, with our stomachs growling, we walked on to Obanos, which also had no services open.

We continued on to the next town, Puente La Reina, our destination and had breakfast after nearly 8 miles of walking.

A tostadas and cafe-con-leche breakfast amply sated our hunger after 3+ hours of walking, as we relaxed on the terrace of Jakue bar/restaurant/Hotel/Albergue, our temporary residence until tomorrow morning.

Our backpacks were waiting for us in the Jakue reception area, confirming that the Correos mochila transport service and Jim’s itinerary input on their website were working well together. All we did was leave our mochilas (backpacks), properly identified, in our Hotel lobby this morning and they were picked up and delivered to todays destination without any additional intervention on Jim’s part other than his itinerary input nearly two months ago. The confirmation of the reliability of this Correos service eliminates a potential stressor for our Camino.

Our Jakue albergue room (double room with ensuite bathroom) was ready at 11:30, 90 minutes sooner than promised. First order of business was checking the quality of our room, shower and twin beds (verified by 30 minute body recovery naps).

Jim volunteered to do the laundry, taking advantage of a modern coin operated washer (6€) and dryer (3€).

Dinner is available at 6 p.m. in the Jakue restaurant, so we spent the remaining afternoon recovering, resting, napping, blogging, reading and playing a card game of Hand&Foot.

Dinner was filling, healthy but nothing to write in a blog about. After an hour or so of chillin’ out and prepping for tomorrow it was lights out for day one on Camino 2026.