We woke up early, around 5am, to use the bathrooms. After multiple cups of delicious coffee at Maria’s apartment, we set out for Pamplona, the first big town on the Camino. As we set out, a drizzle prompted us to pull out our rain wear. We quickly put on our raincoats and covered our backpacks, ready for a downpour. We walked past Magma, the magnetite factory that created a lot of labour opportunities for people in the village.
In Bangalore style the drizzle was over in a few seconds. Too lazy to take off our gear we trudged along.
We walked along the prettiest path with flowers of all hues on either side. Pretty villages, but no coffee shops.
We’d walked about 11k before we could stop for breakfast. We downed some coffees, eggs, tortillas and orange juice before we set out again.
About 7k from Pamplona we started seeing Pamplonians out for their morning walks, runs etc. We joined paths with a cross country run and had to stop on the narrow pathways to let the runners pass.
It was a trek uphill to enter the wider Pamplona town. Hot and sweaty we made it to Villava, on the outskirts of Pamplona. This was the endpoint of the cross country race and the festivities were on, to welcome the runners.
We stopped here to get some lunch and quench our thirst.
We walked towards Pamplona but stopped short at Burlanda, on the outskirts of the city. We checked into a hotel here for the next couple of nights. Tomorrow would be our rest day and give us some time to check out the famous town of Pamplona.
A Couple of Indians Walking in Spain 