PAMPLONA TO PUENTE LA REINA.
And so we said goodbye to Pamplona and proceeded to follow the stainless steel disks engraved with the Camino shell which guide you to the outskirts of the city. From there it is a gradual uphill walk through picturesque countryside, again reminiscent of Scotland. Navarra’s landscape is so much greener than southern Spain for obvious reasons, and so much more attractive. Again, we strolled through a series of tiny, utterly beautiful hamlets, each containing the obligatory church (some locked, some open), a cafe bar and immaculate stone houses with panoramic views of the fields and mountains beyond. They say there are sections of the Camino that take you along featureless thoroughfares, but so far the scenery has been quite spectacular.
We had one of those “ great moments in sport” experiences towards the end of today’s walk when, short of water, thirsty and still about 4k from our destination, we came upon an angel offering chilled home made lemonade in return for a small donation. I can honestly say it tasted every bit as good as Leigh Griffith’s two strikes against England ; as Steven Thompson’s goal in the League Cup Final ; as Connor Newton’s……….anyway, you get the idea : nectar in a plastic cup.
As I write this we are relaxing at our hotel in Puente la Reina, iced beer finished (damn), sun kissing the terrace, Carolyn ignoring me, her playful blister desperate to run around and frolic in the evening heat, the little rascal. There have already been a couple of excellent suggestions for our purple companion’s name : (1) Bacalao the Blister (in homage to Squidgate) (2) Throbertoe ( clever ) and one from Brian : Blistardo the Blister. Is that tumbleweed I see rolling down the street? I’m obviously claiming the first two ( I did warn you , A&A ), while I deny any part in the third.
Tomorrow we’re off to Estella (22k), which should be great(ish). Today’s song is “Kindle Fickle Flame” by Elbow (featuring John Grant) because it’s beautiful and it contains the line “ And the wheatfields explode into gold ……” which today seemed very apt as we journeyed along. See me and my poetic heid.
I’ve just ordered another beer.
