Three days in!

Crossing a stream

Then the bridge was flooded, so we had to take our shoes off to wade through. 

We made friends!

Almost at Pamplona!

Camino bobsled team!

They say the third day is the hardest. This is according to the Australian boy we met who had already been walking for 30 days. Your muscles are sore, you have so many blisters and you walk slower than you thought was humanly possible. This was definitely true for Katie and I. Everyone however seems to have a different sore spot which annoys them the most. For Bea it's her left knee, her shoulders and her lower back. For Katie it's mostly the blisters on her feet. 

Yesterday can mainly be described as 

trudging through rivers. It rained all day. After we were shooed out of the hostel at 7:30 in the morning we were not looking forward to the walk ahead. It was windy and miserable. In such  weather it was hard to remember why we were doing the Camino at all. 

Luckily a bakery saved us, and after a hot coffee and the most delicious croissant / pain au chocolat ever, we felt more motivated to continue. We trudged on that second day and soon our spirits rose. Despite the rain and the storm, there were many fellow pilgrims battling the weather and heading to zibiri. It was nice as you often come across the same people. 

Along the way the track suddenly turned into a rushing river. Many pilgrims were gathered around wondering how to cross. In the end people started taking their shoes off, rolling up their trousers and wading across with socks and shoes in their hands. The water was freezing and the current was strong but weave bit across with our feet relatively dry. 

We needn't have bothered with all the effort as for the next six hours we trudged through the mud and streams, needless to say, at the end of the day we were completely soaked. 

Along the way we met two American boys who were walking to Santiago too. They were about our age and we had a lot to talk about,. Later on a Dutch boy joined our group. We then named ourselves the Camino bobsleigh team. 

After the days walk we finally reached zibiri. We found the cheapest hostel their for 8 euro. It wa the most basic hostel we  had stayed in so far.  A room full of about 20 bunk beds and cold showers. Everyone hung their clothes up to dry so soon the room smelled like damp and sweat. 

The evening was spent drinking beer in a bar, and eating the pilgrim s meal with our new group. We went to bed hoping our clothes would be dry in the morning. 

Day three started off as wet clothes day. Every thing we had been wearing the day before was still soaked. Nevertheless we starred the long walk to Pamplona. 

Amazingly it had stopped raining and it was perfect walking weather. Not too hot or too cold and a nice breeze. We could really appreciate the beautiful scenery around us as we didn't need to watch our footing along the way. The walk was quite enjoyable but since it was day three many of our group were complaining about various sore spots. 

Along he way an American couple joined the bobsleigh team. We were now seven.  With the new people to tallk to and the beautiful scenery the walk passed quickly. 

We went through many town. In one of them we stopped for breakfast which we bought at a supermarket which was basically someone s sitting room. The owner was very nice though and eager to speak English. 

We got to Pamplona at about 3;30. The city is beautiful and it's old city walls are still intact. There were people everywhere and it was bustling with life. A strike was going on as the people of the basque land wanted to be separated from mainland Spain. 

The hostel we are staying in us another renovated monastery. It is beautiful and only cost 7 euro. We slept in a room with such a beautiful ceiling it could have been a church. The showers were hot and we got a chance to dry all our clothes. It was also right in the city centre.

When we had all recovered we went out to explore. The city was so beautiful and the architecture was amazing. The houses were all painted different colours. We got a three course delicious meal in a bar for only fifteen euro. Bea finally got something other than pasta with red sauce for dinner. 

Then the Camino bobsleigh team split up to do their own thing. Some went to mass intrigue cathedral, others looked for backpack covers, towels or blister patches to busy. At 9 o clock we reunite and had a couple of drinks in a bar. We got back before the curfew of 11 o clock. 

This morning Katie and I are sitting in the beautiful hostel waiting on the bobsleigh team to be ready. Although our muscles are sore we feel rejuvenated by the city of Pamplona and are encouraged and excited to see what else lies along the way. Today we will walk 20 kilometers to the place where all the pilgrim tracks meet.  But let's get breakfast of hot croissants first.