On to Pamplona and the Completion of Stage 1

April 6 and 7, 2025 - From the Itinerary: (you can skip to the video at the bottom if you don't want to read all this drivel)

21.1 Km (13 miles), 690m ascent/755 descent (1200' ascent/2100' descent)

The trail follows the Arga River valley and plays cat and mouse with the N-135 highway as it winds its way on many overgrown forest paths and farms to historic and Scenic Pamplona, capital of the Navarran Region. There is only cafe along the way for a refueling stop in Zuriain. Along the way, you will go through the following villages:

Urdaniz: pop 19 - Between the two towns is the 12th c Ermita de Santa Lucia o de La Abadia, where a stolen alter revealed precious mural paintings. Pilgrim Neil Le Roux is restoring the building with the help from passersby.

Larrasoana: pop 138 - Two pilgrim hospitals and an 11c Augustinian monastery served medieval pilgrims through larrasoana, although their remains are now long gone. Still standing are the 14th c Puente de los Bandidos, whose name suggests it had become notorious as a hangout of thieves and ruffians, and the Claveria de Roncesvalles, a monastery warehouse (currently a privat home) acorss from the town's church. The town has fine collection of 14th and 16c homes built for its former wealthy class.

Akerreta, and it's Hotel Akerreta which was in the film The Way.

Zuriain: pop 31 - most notable for the cafe and the painted crcifixion scene over the door of its 16-17 c church

Zabaldika: pop 29 - divided between 2 centers - one around the plain 12c church in the upper town and the one below, along the Camino trail

Into the suburbs of Pamplona: Trinidad de Arre: pop 10,217, and Villava- Burlada pop 29,084

Stopping for the night in the city of Pamplona, known for its Running of the Bulls in July and frequented by Hemingway in the early 20th century. Population 195,853.

Stay 2 nights in the Maisonnove Hotel (4*s)

Weather: partly sunny and in the 60s

Actual stats:

April 6 - Breakfast in Zubiri was the most basic yet, really nothing to recommend it at all. Croissants were a 2 out of 10 and I couldn't eat them. Today we got to know our fellow guests a bit - there was a niece and uncle who are Bolivian, but living in Miami (never got their names). They didn't train at all and only walked SJPP to Roncesvalles where they took a taxi to Zubiri. They are leaving the Camino in Pamplona. She is a TV producer and is traveling with her uncle because her parents didn't want her to do this trek alone. During the day we also got to know Steve and Mike from Australia. Mike and his wife own a cattle station 3.5 miles outside of Sydney. Steve lives near the Blue Mountains. We had a nice conversation with Mike who is retired from IT and we knew many of the same companies. I may see them during future days as they will go all the way to Santiago and will be staying in hotels. No photos yet.

Thankfully the cafe in Zuriain was open on a Sunday and it was a nice stop. Our pace was slower today given the easier terrain and lower mileage. We got into Pamplona around 3pm. The worst part was having to walk along the pavement which was hard on the feet and legs. It was also difficult to get back to civilization. This also meant dinner didn't start until 9, so we opted for tapas. We chose a restaurant which got great reviews, but the tapas was not good, so we went for a quick walk around and found an amazing place with homemade candy/chocolate - including shoes. We also opted for some sandwiches of the local ham and cheese.

Coming into Pamplona we happened into an "ad hoc" festival which we decided was to welcome us into Pamplona.

April 7 - Breakfast was probably the best yet, but the croissants were probably a 5 out of 10. It was good to have a day of rest which started by doing laundry, cleaning boots and washing my camelback.

The afternoon was site seeing which included the town hall - where the Running of the Bulls begins - a pretty building, but you can't go inside. We did the churches first because they all closed by noon. This included San Lorenzo that houses the San Fermin Statue of the Virgin paraded around the city during the Running of the Bulls festival, San Nicolas Church that had a lovely organ and interesting graves in the floor with numbers to indicate where they were. It also had modern confession booths so you could easily tell which was available. Chris still insisted he didn't have anything to confess - must be why he falls asleep so easily. Finally we ended up in the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Real - begun in 1394 after it's predecessor collapsed and boasts of having the second biggest bell in Spain. Kings were crowned here, you can see examples of some beautiful iron work and a 12th century wooden statue of the virgin del Sagrario, now mostly covered in silver. There is an active archeological dig under a part of the church which is still unearthing Greek and Roman artifacts.

We next walked along a tiny calle over to see the city walls and city gate - this is where we entered yesterday. There were some beautiful views of the city.

It seems this is an anniversary year for the Camino and also a 100th anniversary of something having to do with bullfighting. We didn't see a bull fight, but did walk by the bull ring on our way to the statue dedicated to the running of the bulls.

Now it was time for a sit down and we went to the Bar Txoko on the Plaza del Castillo where Hemingway would stop and drink cognac flavored milk shakes. Of course I had to have one.

We ended the day by walking to the Fortress which is known for it's architecture. Unfortunately, the museums were closed as it is Monday, so we just walked along the battlements.

Dinner was local cider and tapas in the hotel bar- much better than last night!