My Journey to Santiago de Compostela Part V
Day 5: Pamplona to Puente La Reina/Gares
Distance 25 Kms in 9 hours and 2 minutes with elevation gain of 459 meters and 49K steps
At 8:00, we left Zizur by bus to downtown Pamplona and start the Camino from the Historic Center. The trail from the city to Puente La Reina first went through an industrial park quite unappealing and once we crossed that area, we went through the towns of Cizur and visited a sixteen-century church. We bumped into our French friends Carine and Pascale somewhere on the way up so we had company for the rest of the day.
Then we climbed to Monte del Perdón, where the famous Pilgrims “sculpture” and the monument to the victims of the massacres perpetrated by the Franquistas during the civil war are. This guy sitting at the Monument brought flowers to his grandfather who is buried here.
Climbing down from Monte del Perdon was one of the most difficult parts of the trail. The descent was not only very steep but also with many stones that required us to keep our head down and keep our minds on the Camino at all times.
After crossing the town of Uterga, the terrain got more friendly as we strolled to Puente La Reina, famous for its Roman built bridge where it derives its name. Afterleaving Carine and Pascale in their hostel, we walked to find the Albergue de Santiago de Compostela. We did not get to see much of the town because our albergue was located on the hill after crossing the bridge. The ascent was so tiresome that we decided not to venture into the town in the evening so we would not have to climb back up to go to bed.
This was our first night in an albergue where everyone gets a bunk and share the bathroom with men and women whom we have never met before. It was quite a humbling experience but it was great to discover the camaraderie and courteousness which characterizes pilgrims’ life on the Camino de Santiago. Dinner at the gigantic mess hall reminded me of my time in the U.S. Army.
We were hosted by a family from the Dominican Republic who ran the albergue, Stalin and his son Sleiter served us dinner while the rest of his family worked in the kitchen.
