September 8, 2018
- Route: Pamplona to Lorca
- Distance: 37 kilometers (22.94 miles)
After a restful night of sleep in the hotel, I was up early and walking out of Pamplona just as the sun was starting to rise. All the streets that were empty, which was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of last night.
The route out of Pamplona took me along on the edge of several parks and through more surrounding neighborhoods. It seemed like I was on sidewalks for the first several miles of the day. I have nothing against walking on easy surfaces, but this was not really what I expected on this trip.
Sunflowers
When I finally made it out of the suburbs, I could see the gold colors of harvested fields as far as the eye could see. There were some high mountains looming in front of me. As I continued in their direction, I wondered whether the trail went over the mountains or around them.
The answer soon became apparent. The Camino was headed straight for the dozens of white wind turbines sitting on the crest of the mountains. I guess I’d be going up and over after all.
Before long the trail climbed some foothills, and I found myself walking beside acres and acres of sunflowers. It was late in the season, so their heavy heads drooped under their weight. I soon began passing the handful of the other early risers as they stopped to take photo after photo of this beautiful scenery.
Alto de Perdón
As I made my way toward the windmills on the ridge line ahead of me, I passed through a small town where I encountered a large group of cyclists. I’m not 100% sure whether they were on the Camino or just out for a Saturday morning ride, but their cycling jerseys had the scallop shell symbol that’s becoming so familiar here.
Many of them seemed to be stopped in town to enjoy a mid-morning cafe con leche. I felt the pull to stop there and sit for the entire morning, but I knew there were many more miles to walk today. I wanted to see how far I could get before the sun got too intense, so I pushed onward after a short 10 minute break.
The climb up Alto de Perdón was nicely graded, and before I knew it, I was at the top of the mountain looking over at the countryside on the opposite side. There were dozens of people milling around at the summit – many of whom seemed to be part of a tour group that drove up instead of hiking.
Several small groups were busy posing were for pictures with the iconic pilgrim silhouettes that sit atop the mountain. It’s probably one of those sights that many folks remember from the movie, “The Way.” And I suspect they all want photographic evidence for their friends and family back home to prove they actually saw it.
As I was waiting for the crowds to clear, I walked over to a table, where a man was putting putting wax stamps into people’s credencials for a small donation. He would drop a bit of red wax on the paper, heat it up with a small torch, then press a stamp in the melted wax to create a seal. I decided to get one, and really loved the effect. I’m certain this wax stamp will remind me more of this iconic spot than any mere photo.
Churches & Vineyards
After descending from the mountain, the Camino wound it’s way through more small towns with spectacular churches. I ran back into Marco (the Italian guy) when we both stopped at the cathedral in Obanos.
Then it was on to the larger town of Puente la Reina with it’s picturesque bridge over Rio Arga and its church with the unique black Santiago.
These two towns were the largest ones I passed through today, and I suspect many pilgrims ended their day here because of all of the local amenities. I kept going though because I hoped to find a smaller town to stop in after my all the hustle and bustle of Pamplona last night.
And that’s when I encountered one of the things I’d come to Spain to see – the wine country. This afternoon, I walked through miles upon miles of vineyards. One of the best reasons to walk the Camino in September is because the big grape harvest doesn’t occur until the end of the month. As a result, the vines are swollen with grapes and it’s a sight to see!
Despite my excitement at seeing the vineyards, I found the afternoon was very exhausting. There was a very steep hill into the town of Mañeru, and it’s streets were like a labyrinth. I could feel some blisters starting to form on my feet and realized that maybe I need to scale back my mileage a little bit.
Today was only day 3 of my journey, and I’ve already walked 60 miles. I probably should have eased into it a little more slowly to allow my feet to get adjusted to walking this much. Tomorrow I’ll definitely need to take it easier!
With my feet hurting, I decided to finally call it a day in the next town of Lorca. There’s not much to the town, and both of the albergues are right across from each other at the very end of town just before you depart. I approached the albergue on the right, and found that it had one last bunk available in a small room with three other women.
The albergue also had a laundry machine, where I could pay a few Euros to get a small load of clothes clean and then hang them to dry overnight in our room. I didn’t bring many clothes, but what I have was ready to be washed. And since there’s a 50% chance of rain tomorrow, I sure hope my stuff actually dries.
Pilgrim Princesses
After my shower, I met the other pilgrims that I’d share the room with. Two of the ladies were Canadians traveling together, while the third was from the Netherlands. While we talked, the most outgoing of the three women referred to herself as a “pilgrim princess.” When I looked at her with some confusion, she explained that she felt like a princess because she was using a porter service transport her bags from albergue to albergue each day while she walked.
She went on to explain that she and her fellow Canadian friend have been walking the Camino for a week so far. They’d tried to carry their packs the first day out of St. Jean Pied de Port, but found themselves incredibly sore after a few hours and realized they were really out of shape.
So their new plan was to “toughen” their bodies up before they considered actually carrying their packs again. She figured that once they got used to walking the first 200 kilometers, they’d probably be fit enough to carry their own loads again.
You can only imagine their shock when they learned that I’d covered the same 60-mile distance in just 3 days, and carried my pack all the way. They thought I was some sort of fitness superhero.
No room at the inn
After swapping a few stories, I wandered back downstairs down to the bar to grab a beer while I waited for the laundry machine to finish up. I was sitting there writing in my journal, when the guy with the odd, lopsided haircut (who I’d last seen in Zubiri yesterday) wandered in.
Seeing me, his face lit up, and he joined me for a drink. While sitting together, he finally introduced himself and told me he was from Hungary. He only spoke a little English, so I didn’t learn much else about him before he went over to the proprietor to see about a bunk for the night.
Unfortunately, the albergue was full. So, my Hungarian friend walked over to the other albergue across the narrow road. But, it was full too! It seems there was nothing available, even though this was a tiny town on the Camino and we were away from the big crowds!
And so, I watched as he grabbed his pack and wearily readied himself to walk another 4.8 kilometers down the road to the next town. I felt incredibly bad for him. I know he had to be pretty tired after three big days of walking. And then, as if his luck wasn’t already bad enough, the skies opened up and it started pouring rain as he headed out of town! What a miserable way to end the day.