Yesterday at 6 PM we left Pamplona on a full bus of pilgrims for the 70 minute ride to Roncesvalles.
When we arrived there at 7:15 pm, the regular albergue of 100 beds in a single huge room was already full so they put the whole busload in the youth hostel behind it.
That was actually better because, instead of 100 in a huge hall, there were 3 couples in 3 bunk beds in our room.
After we left off our packs, we went to the pilgrim mass.
We were afraid we wouldn't be able to have dinner because of the number of pilgrims but they added an extra sitting at 9:15 pm at the Casa Sabina. We had to be back at the youth hostel at 10 pm because that is when they lock the doors.
At 9:20 were were let in and sat with a german, Johann from Bremen, and a French woman who had bicycled down from Paris. Her hands were black from grasping the handle bars so tightly and she said it was very cold. We had soup (maybe a potato and sorrell soup?) and then fried trout with french fries, a bottle of wine and yogurt for dessert. The fish and french fries had never tasted so good!
We finished just in time to get back to the youth hostel. By then the other two couples in our room were already asleep so we had to take out packs out to the common area to get ready for bed. We decided that we really didn't need a bath. I slept pretty well in the top bunk eventhough there was some snoring. I did bruise my thigh badly getting up into the bed. I'm not as spry as I used to be and found it difficult to manage getting up into the top bunk. I had thought that the other two couples would be up at 5 am to start but I woke up at about 7:15 and no one else was up. [This turned out to be a bad way to start. You can't get late starts on the camino.] This however, got the other two couples up and we were ready and out before 8 am, although we did have trouble finding the beginning of the trail.
It was chilly and misty when we started but still very pretty. Beech forests and a nice woodland trail. Then it started hailing as we came into Burguete (a favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway). In Burguete we had a very good cafe con leche and a croissant. it was not really raining too badly when we arrived in Espinal and bought a whole grain flat biscuit. Then it bgan the perpetual light rain for the rest of the day. The trail was extremely muddy much of the way and Fernando only had his tennis shoes - a very bad call. We seemed to walk forever after linzoan - through rain and mud. I think it was MUCH longer than the 22.2 km they said it was to Zubiri, and we didn't get in there until 3:30 pm. We had started just before 8 am and stopeed along the way for no more than 1/2 hour so that was 7 1/2 hours of walking. Papi, of course, is a slow walker and he was even slower with muddy tennis shoes.
When we arrived in Zubiri all the albergues, hostales, hotels and pensiones were full. The ones in Larrasoana were as well so we were up a creek. Fortunately others were in our same situation so we got a taxi (only two in zubiri and no bus runs on the holiday - it was May 1st - Labor Day) and with 3 Canadian women we went to Pamplona - picking up another couple in Larrasoana. I must say I wasn't sad to miss the second day from Zubiri to Pamplona.
Fortunately the albergue in Pamplona (Convento Adoratrices) was not full so we were able to get a bunk bed for 5 euros apiece. papi is all gung ho about these cheap beds!!
For our meal today (since we didn't have any lunch), we went back to the Bodegon Sarria on Estafeta that had such good tapas. This time the bartender explained that the "gulas" weren't really anguillas but imitation - like our imitation crab. They tasted good just the same.
Then we stopped at a pasteleria and got some cafe conleche and dessert. I also had a cafe con leche in Zubiri (also brandy and Pacharan - the sloe fruit liqueur) so I hope I can sleep tonight. [I couldn't]. I decided it would feel good to take a shower and so my daily ablutions are over. When it is so cold one really doesn't feel dirty - just cold. I hope our clothes and shoes dry by tomorrow but I doubt it.
Tomorrow we have reserved a double room at Uterga at the Camino del perdon. I don't think we'll be able to make Puente La Reina in one day - especially if it continues raining like it did today.
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