Walking the Camino de Santiago With Heather – Pamplona
Heather has packed in a couple of days worth here; from Lancashire accents in central Pamplona to techno statues at Puenta la Reina and a few crafty commercials for … BAMBOO!?
Lots of friends but where´s the family!!
Hi everyone,
So I´m walking around Pamplona, see, when I hear this voice shouting ´Hallo Heather´! Surreal! Just wonderful. Then I bumped into another of my new friends. I was just about to think I mught go to the cathedral again (museum of old instruments as well) when I bumped into a veritable host of friends who said it was closed; so we all went onto Cizur Menor (where?). Four euros a night! And help yourself to any food going, just put a bit of money in the box to cover it.
Yesterday I heard the torrential rain in the night but set out in it in the morning with Paclite and shorts. I think skin dries. And it wasn´t too cold. I´m walking with Josephine from Germany and wondering where others have got to and thinking about when breakfast is going to appear as it´s been pretty cafe-less so far, when a poster appears and some enterprising young lad, selling coffee, tea, croissants, juice from his house. Yeah!!
Got to Trinidad la Arre or something – anyway it´s a town – went into a lingerie shop and bought the necessary object with the necessary technical language, no problems. I was suitably impressed with myself. By the way, Yoana, I think Spanish bras are streets ahead of English ones – I´ll order them from Spain from now on!
I´m not advertising here, but I´d like to name a few products that have been ace.
Solid shampoo from Lush. No, I can´t stand the smell when you go into Lush either but this stuff is brilliant and is the only thing I have to do hair, clothes, body.
Next, bamboo socks – thanks David/Nicole – these are without doubt the most wonderful, comfy, softest socks I´ve ever had. Thank you. Both of you, if you don´t want to be on my e-mail list, just tell me cos I obviously don´t know you, but thanks again!
Bamboo by the way, for those I didn´t see and rave about it to (sorry about grammar), seems to be THE material – lightweight, wicking, breathable, grows at 100 miles a minute without much input and that´s extra to the bamboo that pandas need. So there!
Still on bamboo, the fantastico trainer/sandals I got by Salomon but that didn´t go with my feet had bamboo insoles. I wanted them! I couldn´t get them anywhere on the Internet, eventually e-mailed Salomon and they sent me a pair! Thank you! Salomon don´t know I´m saying thank you by the way, so if anyone wants to tell them I´m thanking them in front of a few friends, that´s fine.
Today I met someone from Clitheroe. There haven´t been many British people, lots of German, French, Spanish. You suddenly prick up your ears when you hear the old Lancashire accent and soon we were ´going to t’ top o´t ‘ill like we were just down t’ road from Bowton. He also used the wonderful phrase that both Cousin Alex and Cherryll’s Keith do so well, that old Lancashire/Yorkshire “B……y Marvellous: together with the rubbing of hands in glee.
Anyway, I lost him somewhere up t’ t’ ill.
Now there are these marvellous metal pilgrim statues alongside the wind turbines on the hill before Puenta la Reina and one of them had this beautiful poetic inscription – roughly translated as “The crossing point of the Camino where the wind and stars meet”. Isn’t that lovely? The inscription on the next statue said “Hydroelectric power of Navarra”. Ah well.
A bar looms up with garden an’ all and I sit down and have a cafe con leche, chat and tend to my feet. An hour passes. I think I´m chilling out…..
I got lost this afternoon. It’s very hard to get lost, but I went off-piste to explore a beautiful church in Eunate and afterwards the yellow arrows just seemed to be kind of not there. I retraced my steps but it makes you kind of tired.
Good shower revives anything. There is SO MUCH to do once you arrive at a refuge, you wouldn’t believe it. By the time you’ve upended your rucksack onto your bunk, had a shower, washed your clothes, spent a good hour with your feet – heck it´s nearly food and bed time.
This morning, this morning – wait for it, I was SO naughty – I was last to leave the albergue! Yes! 8.00 I left. and that was absolute deadline. Maybe Jackie and Mike can explain why everyone´s up at the crack of dawn, rustling and things. I still don´t understand. I think by staying in bed to 6.30, I´m giving everyone a bit of room to get out of the way, so I can get up and spread myself about.
Forgot to say, or maybe I did, am in Puenta la Reina where paths meet. The route might become more crowded now. I argued in Spanish when a woman short-changed me. I got my money back. Honestly!
Averaging 25 euros a day.
Roanne, Martin, Brent, Cherryll – I´d love to hear from you!! Alex, could you give them a hint, please…
On the other hand, Í suppose life´s busy when you´re working for a living……..
Ok, Ok, I didn´t mean it – honest!
Love to all
Heather xxx
Now the Spanish bra conversation is one I would have loved to listen to! 😉