Category: Camino 2022

Walked Today: 5.5mi/Camino 2022: 54mi

We arrived very early (9:45) at Bodega del Camino and ordered a late breakfast. After we finished, Jim asked if we could check-in early and we were pleasantly surprised to hear “Si”. Michael, the albergue manager, is from southern Germany. His boss recently acquired the albergue, which had been closed for 2 years during the pandemic. Michael’s staff is a family (father, mother & daughter) who escaped from Mariupol, Ukraine soon after the Russian invasion. They made their way to Georgia, then Austria and ultimately to Spain and Lorca.

We have stayed at the Bodega del Camino previously in 2014, 2017, 2019 and now 2022. We are glad it has reopened. It among our top favorite albergues on the Camino Frances.

We took advantage of the common areas including a wash basin and clothes drying lines… with clothes pins!!! We got showers, examined our feet for any issues needing treatment and chilled in our comfortable room with twin beds and ensuite bathroom (59€). Shortly after noon we had a tasty lunch in the bar.

We also placed our orders to have the pilgrim dinner tonight at 7 in the albergue bar.

Our pilgrim dinner was with a gentleman from Germany who enjoys walking long distances. He walked here from SJPDP in three days… 64 miles. Two french ladies were walking together. A young man also from France was walking for a week, taking some time off from his job.

We were served a ensalada mixta, baked chicken in a brown sauce, rice and roasted vegetables and chocolate cake and ice cream with a cherry sauce.

A delicious meal, interesting, multilingual conversation and gracious hosts provided a nice conclusion to another day on the Camino Frances.

Walked: Today 6.9 mi /Camino 2022: 45.8 mi

We took a taxi to Zaraguiqui, where we finished our walk from Pamplona on August 14. Our walk began at first light (7:01) and the clouds were covering the top of the Alto de Perdon. As we climbed up the steep grade, we snapped photos looking back at Pamplona… it seemed like the higher we climbed the more the clouds lifted, giving us clear views of where we had been.

We reached the top, took photos, (with the help of a lone bicycling pilgrim), recharged our bodies with a pain au chocolat, then began the difficult journey down the other side of the mountain.

Elena, the owner of Casa Raichu and our delightful hostess, created a wonderful Camino memory for us today.

We arrived early (11:40), but when Jim rang the doorbell, she answered the intercom promptly and when he told her his name, the door opened and she welcomed us inside. She gave us a choice of rooms, checked us in and asked if we would like something to drink. A few minutes later, she returned with a tray of chips, a glass of chilled green tea and beer. She asked if we had clothes to wash and left us a sack for dirty clothes to leave outside our door to wash, dry and fold later in the afternoon, (8€).

Later in the afternoon Elena knocked on our door with two slices of a spinach tarta she had just taken out of the oven… which became our lunch.

She prepared and served us a delicious dinner at 6:30 (not waiting until the standard 7:00)… of mixed vegetable salad, a scrumptious pasta dish and simple pineapple/peach dessert. Wine and water were also included. (14€ each).

Walked: Today 3.1mi /Camino 2022: 38.9 mi

As planned, today was an easy walk, mostly flat, all sidewalks, thru several Pamplona suburbs to the Maisonave Hotel, our base six days ago.

We have been building up our stamina and strength the past week as we successfully took on the challenges of the first three stages of the Camino Frances, sans backpacks, as part of our paced approach. Today, we both carried our full backpacks for the short walk to provide a little extra body building push.

In 2019, Linda transported her backpack (18lbs) most every day, while carrying “essential” items and water in a Camelback daypack. Jim felt more secure continuing to walk with his full backpack (26lbs including 4 lbs H2O). In 2022, until today, we both have been transporting our packs and wearing only the camelback day/hydration packs during our walks. Our plan in 2022 will be to transport Linda’s backpack daily and Jim’s also daily, for now. The additional cost is 5€ per pack/per day… but well worth it.

We walked over the 12th century Magdalena Bridge, circled the huge walls of the fortress, crossed the drawbridge and entered the city gate into the old city, stopping at the Santa Maria de las Asunción Cathedral to get our pilgrim credential stamped.

We then walked another 500 meters to the Hotel Maisonave , our home for the night.

Tonight’s our last night in Pamplona for Camino 2022. We’ve spent a lot of time here since 2012. It has added so many positive experiences to our Camino’s and has become a place in which we feel very comfortable. Hopefully, we’ll find our way back here again.

Walked: Today: 6.4mi /Camino 2022: 35.8 mi

Although today was a shorter walk, it still presented some challenges.

Because Bizkaretta is not a primary stopping point, we had the Camino to ourselves from the time we left at 7:05 until arriving at Zubiri just before 11:00. All the other pilgrims were either behind us or ahead of us. We encountered less than a dozen pilgrims along the way!

We walked in forests most of the morning, eliminating the heat of the sun as a factor.

One challenge came from a relatively short but steep climb out of Lintzoain (200 ft rise over 0.2 miles) on a textured concrete surface.

During the walk, we initially encountered paths/washes that provided difficult footing, but their short duration was not a major hinderance.

The next 3-4 miles were very manageable walking surfaces with short duration and mild elevation changes.

The most difficult challenge came during the 2 mile descent into Zubiri. We encountered frequent sections that were washes, not paths that featured sharp ridges of shale and loose stones that created opportunities for Camino ending injuries.

While tackling the last wash, we sneaked a peek at the tops of Zubiri buildings through the trees and breathed a sign of relief! We exited the forest and a few hundred yards later we crossed the medieval 12th century Puente de la Rabia, into the village of Zubiri ( pop. 435).

We stopped at a cafe for some refreshment and breakfast items. We decided our legs needed a break and some recoup time, so Jim called for a taxi to take us into Villava, a suburb of Pamplona, where we had reserved a room for the night.

We checked-in to Hotel Villava/Pamplona at 1:30, crashed for a bit, then ordered an early supper delivered to our room. Salmon for Jim, spaghetti for Linda, Navarre wine and an apple crepe for dessert.

Reading, blogging and napping filled the remaining hours of another satisfying day on the Camino.

Walked: Today: 7.8 mi/Camino 2022: 29.4 mi

We left Roncesvalles this morning at first light (6:48, 53F and no rain!). Our walk was a pleasant relief from crossing the Pyrenees.

An hour or so into the walk, we stopped for breakfast at a favorite bar just before entering the small village of Burguete.

We walked on into Burguete, a picturesque village….

…exited directly into farmland… then forests, then back onto pavement, thru another village, back into pastureland, back into forest, etc. …you get the picture? If not see below:

We got to La Posada Nueva, a Casa Rural, much like our B&B type lodgings in the US. It was early, at 11:45, but in our experience, the owner will let us check in, or at least have access to the property to wait until our room is ready, which they will often expedite.

Blogger’s note::“Posada” means “hostal” in Spanish, an inexpensive hotel, where mostly, private rooms are rented that usually have private bathrooms. “Hostels” mostly rent beds, in shared rooms and renters as well share bathrooms, common areas including communal kitchens.

Today, we were not so lucky. Jim knocked on the locked front door and shortly a lady answered and in Basque, we guess, explained clearly that she was still cleaning and we could come in at 2 pm or after 2 hours, we think. Jim then negotiated in Basque? sign language and got the wait time reduced to either 1:00 pm or “ in an hour”. The lady said there was no place to wait, so Jim suggested the “jardin”, which yielded the first smile by the lady since the initial encounter. She pointed in the direction of the side of the house… and quickly disappeared behind a newly locked door.

We said gracias and found a large gate and discovered a small area beside the house with an outdoor table and chairs… our makeshift lobby.

It was still quite cool outside so Linda donned her jacket and shifted her chair to a sunny spot. Jim decided to skip the jacket, but also moved into the sun. After 30 minutes, Jim impatiently decided to explore the village on foot, needing some more exercise after our nearly 8 mile walk. When he returned, the lady was sweeping the dust off the door stoop and Jim moved toward the door and received what was assumed to be a welcoming nod. Welcome to the Camino!

For lack of a better option, we agreed to have dinner in the Posada, even though it will not be served until 7:30. So, after doing our “after the walk“ routine, we read, blogged, dipped into our “snack stash” and reviewed the “plan” for tomorrow, until dinner time.

We were the only guests dining tonight in the Posada. We were served a traditional meal of two eggs over easy, french fried potatoes, two thick slices of ham, sliced baguette, a simple, but tasty tomato and lettuce salad (fresh from the owner’ garden) dressed with oil and vinegar and melon for dessert. We also has local Navarra red wine… always good.

Tummy’s full, we headed back to the room for a good night’s sleep.

Back in July, we booked 2 days in Roncesvalles as a precaution in case we needed extra time to get over jet lag and to adjust to the time change. This was in keeping with our paced approach to Camino 2022.

Fortunately, we have overcome the jet lag and we’ve settled well into the Spanish time zone… plus we are recovering quickly from the intense “workout” of the previous two days, tackling the Pyrenees. So, today will give us some additional time to get over the sore muscles. It also rained all last night and it continues this morning. The forecast for today is 99% rain! Tomorrow, the chance of rain is 5%!!! Nothing beats a good plan.😉

Our temporary home, the Casa de los Beneficiados (Hotel Roncesvalles), was built in 1725 for clerics ( beneficiados) who helped the Roncesvalles based canons in their ecclesiastical work. During the 500 years before that, it served as housing for pilgrims, was destroyed by fire and rebuilt and was used as temporary headquarters for a Napoleon general in 1813, who shortly and hurriedly returned to France, freeing it again for los beneficiados. The interior was completely renovated and converted to a hotel in the 1920’s by the Principe de Viana Institution, responsible for the conservation of the cultural heritage of Navarre.

We just took it easy all day and stayed inside to avoid the downpour. We prepared an “opportunist” lunch in our apartment, consisting of croissants (saved from our breakfast) and refrigerated, leftover Carrilleras de Ternera (veal cheeks) from last night’s dinner. Yum!

Tonight we had dinner once again in the Hotel Dining Room featuring a scrumptious ensalada for Linda and baked sea bass for Jim,

Before calling it a day, we re-packed our backpacks for an early departure tomorrow morning.