20.6km

I wake up at 6am from a deep sleep. Probably thanks to the cocktail of medicines I ate. My throat is no longer hurting, although I still cough at times. 12 hours means I’ve paid my sleep debt too.

We get ready to go to the bar next door that the pensión owner said opens at 7am. There’s a range of food displayed on the counter, and a chalkboard with the kind of baguette sandwiches—pintxo (short) and bocadillo (long)—we can order. The bar owner also offers an in-between size she calls media (medium).

I order a media lomo (pork tenderloin), a cheesecake, and a café con leche. Ji Sung and Areum both get pintxos txistorra, lattes, and Areum even gets a beer, a special Christmas edition from Estrella.

The quality of the cheesecake floors me. It’s as tasty as the one I tried in Barcelona a few days ago and declared the best I’ve had. And this time it’s €2 in a casual bar. I guess we are close to Basque Country after all, home of the burnt Basque cheesecake that the world went crazy over during COVID.

I feel the relief of good food, feel grateful that I have probably never involuntarily starved, and glad that last night and this morning didn’t turn out to be the first time I had to do so.

Right next to the bar, a small market is open. I get chocolate, nuts, and find Halls eucalyptus mint lozenges! I am grateful to soothe my throat for today’s walk.

There’s no dramatic sunrise this time with extensive cloud cover. Just a gradual lightening. The fresh cool air feels great to breathe. We walk past a magnesite quarry, and continue on through a variety of terrain: fields, forests, fallen autumn leaves, rocky paths, earthy trails, and manmade roads. At points there are a smattering of droplets, but no ensuing rain. No wind today too. Some parts are alongside flowing rivers, which is nice.

I reflect how I’ve been very completionist my whole life, and that I like to succeed, which makes failure a bummer. But somehow this time, if something bad really happens, I will be ok. I will take it day-by day than to think of it as something I must complete. Reaching Santiago de Compostela not as another notch in my belt, but the direction of my journey.

Gear I’m grateful for: Gaiters

After getting pebbles and sharp pines in my shoes a couple of times today, I decided to put on my gaiters to save time stopping to untie my laces and shake the debris out. Initially got them for snowy days, but I think I’ll wear them from this point on.

Towards the last quarter of our walk, we arrive at Trinidad de Arre, where Ji Sung walks ahead while Areum and I take a look inside a church.

We reach Villava, which would be the start of urban walking down a main road till Pamplona. We cross our first traffic lights on the Camino. Areum wants to look inside another church, so I continue alone.

At Burlada, the neighbouring town, there are modern buses, open shops, and town activity—a contrast to what we’ve experienced the past two days. I see a bakery with a decent looking napolitana chocolate, and I miss pain au chocolat so much that I go in to buy one. It’s good. At the neighbouring mart, I also buy Takis, which if you don’t know, is one of the best snacks in the world.

Leaving Burlada, I walk through a straight road lined with private estates on each side. I eventually reach an interesting castle area, and walk up a slope. At the top is a drawbridge leading to an archway, and through that I enter Pamplona.

For the uninitiated, Pamplona is most famous for the Festival of San Fermín, in which one of its (questionable) practices is a bull run in the streets alongside people, before the bulls are killed later that afternoon.

But I digress. Pamplona is big, and there is quite a choice of albergues, unlike the previous two nights. I consult my lists and try to find the well-rated albergues that are open year round, but a couple turn out to be closed too. Then I bump into Areum, who is going to Aloha Hostel after finding the original one she was heading to was closed. At that moment, Ji Sung, who has my Instagram, messages me. Turns out he’s headed there too.

Happy to be reunited, we arrive at Aloha Hostel and meet Ji Sung. There is also a Swiss guy, Samuel, and five Koreans (!).

We go out in search of food, and land on a tapas bar called Bar Gaucho where everything we get is good. We continue with courses at Café Iruña, which has a nice interior.

We pick up supplies for tomorrow at Carrefour Express, as well as frozen pizza, canned cockles, cheese and local Navarra wine for dinner later at the hostel.

I feel better although I’m still coughing intermittently. I’m ready for tomorrow.