Camino Pilgrim

This day was harsh. I woke up around 5am and could not fall asleep anymore because the person in the bottom bunk was snoring and shaking constantly. Now I could nicely go hiking at 6am and escape some of the heat later in the day.

The day was hard because now I had to descend 1109 meters from the Pyrenees. The main altitude drop was done before Zubiri and her legs really felt the pain of going downhill on hard rocks. A lunchbreak with Spanish potato omelet eased the pain.

The heat today reached +29 degrees and I could start to feel it in the next stretch where some of it was without shade. I was sweating like a sponge. Luckily, I spent all day with trees and bushes, making life a bit easier. After hiking 26 kilometers, I could feel that my legs needed to stop for the day. The closest albergue was just 2km away and when I got there, I found out that it had been closed because of covid…

The side of a highway took me towards the Chuch of Saint Stephen. Next to it, some local nuns were running a house for pilgrims. Soon after I arrived, the place was packed. Pilgrim mass was held in the church and afterwards we had a communal dinner. The interesting fact is that this place runs entirely on donations and also even out breakfast in the morning.

I am not sure if my legs will be able to recover properly from today. I am out of the mountains, so pushing distance becomes easier, but tomorrow it promises +39 degrees. I have no idea what the day will bring. I did lose my hat yesterday. Hopefully, in Pamplona I will find something new to protect me from the extreme sun.