Camino a Santiago Day 4: Pamplona to Puente la Reina

Distance: 24.14 km (15.06 mi)

Duration: 6h 27m

Elevation Gained: 559 m (1,836 ft)

Steps: 38, 282

Calories: 1,726

Today we left Pamplona. I truly enjoyed my time here. Especially the rest part. Such a great city. And omg, the Pintxos. I would have stayed here another day just to eat!

After walking on my own the last stage this time I once again have company. I met Linda thanks to a Facebook group called Camigas that consists mostly of women walking the Camino a Santiago alone. Thanks to the forethought of one of the other women in the group who contacted a bunch of us starting around the same time and created a What’s App group, Linda and I met at the train station in Bayonne as we headed to Saint Jean Pied de Port at the very start of my journey. Our walking schedules did not coincide until today. I tell you this story because it leads to another one which demonstrates how random the Camino can be.

Today as we walked towards our high point for the day, Linda and I stopped for a quick break. As we were stopped, a woman sitting next to me asks me about my shoes. We start talking about that and within a couple of minutes realize she’s Nelli, the German woman who originally put the What’s App group together! I mean what are the odds? The three of us walked together for a bit just laughing about the hilarity of it all.

It was nice to once again have company to walk with. I find it interesting to learn people’s stories. But I also think I prefer to walk on my own. I experienced this leaving Roncesvalles as well. I feel that it’s only when I’m within myself I can truly engage with my surroundings. And boy were they beautiful today. Yes. I say that every day, I know.

Upon leaving Pamplona, which was not as urban a walk as I was expecting, the scenery changed quite a bit. We are still surrounded by hills, but now, instead of walking through forests—trying to avoid skewering the slugs that seem to be everywhere— we are walking through fields of wheat. It was such a windy day, the movement of the fields looks almost like ocean waves.

The Alto del Perdón was the mid-point for today’s walk. And also the highest. Both the climb and the descent were not nearly as bad as they’d been built up to be. But talk about wind. If it was windy earlier, here it became clear why the area is dotted with windmill farms. The Alto del Perdón also has two important monuments. One, is essentially a tribute to the Camino a Santiago, illustrating its evolution throughout the years displaying pilgrims of different eras. The second is much more sobering. A stone memorial to 92 victims of Franco’s regime, killed between 1936 and 1937 and found in a mass grave here some time ago.

There is so much history along the Way, in each one of the tiny hamlets we walk through. I truly enjoy that. Our arrival point today, Puente La Reina celebrates its 900th anniversary this year. The owner of my guesthouse tells me the town, like many others in this region, was built specifically to support Pilgrims as they pass through on their way to Santiago. Thinking about that just boggles the mind.

Onwards.

Accommodation: Hotel El Cerco. I loved this place so much. Mind you the room was tiny. But that’s because I chose a single room. This is a pensión that oozes charm, and whose owner is extremely welcoming, starting with the cold drink upon arrival. Single room plus breakfast €65.

Lunch: Vinoteca Ganbara. By the time I arrived in town, showered, stretched, etc, all the restaurants were closed. Too hungry to wait for them to reopen for dinner I ate at this lovely little wine bar which served mostly appetizer-type food. All cold. I had a fabulous carpaccio and a burrata to accompany my delicious wine. The owners are awesome and they work only with small, local vineyards. I only wish I could find their wines back home. €33.