Camino de Santiago -Pamplona
Part 2 - Pamplona to Los Arcos
Poppies everywhere!
We arrived in Pamplona and decided to have a rest day there. At this point we’ve been walking for 4 days so we felt Pamplona was a good spot to rest. We rented an apartment tucked into a small alley in the heart of the old town, right in the middle of everything, yet somehow still quiet enough to recharge.
Our version of “rest” didn’t exactly involve sitting still. We mostly just walked with a different purpose. We visited the Citadel, now a National Monument and an impressive example of Spanish Renaissance military architecture. It is considered one of the most important defensive structures in Europe. It is historically significant and very cool to wander around.
As close as I’ll get to running of the bulls
We also explored the area around the bullring (Plaza de Toros) and saw the street where they hold the running of the bulls (encierro). I grew up with family relatives attending bull fights in Mexico back when they were still legal, but I always opposed them. I am against anything that causes animals unnecessary pain. And while I do love adrenaline sports, running in front of a herd of bulls is a hard no for me. This was as close as I ever plan to get, and I was perfectly happy keeping it that way.
If you’ve been to Spain, you know that showing up for dinner at 6 or even 8:00 pm basically labels you as a senior citizen, or a tourist. Restaurants don’t really come alive until 10:00 pm, which meant we often had the place entirely to ourselves.
The early nights helped, because the next stretch involved more climbing. Honestly, every day has meant an average of about 1300 feet of elevation gain. And yes, my dad has been crushing us on the climbs. It was humbling!
Leaving Pamplona, the trail heads into the hills toward the aptly named Hill of Forgiveness (Alto del Perdon). The climb is tough, especially with the sun blazing. We stopped halfway up to eat our sandwiches under the shade of a tree, swapping trail time with familiar and new pilgrims alike. We even met a woman who claimed to be a granddaughter of the founder of Toblerone who, ironically does not like chocolate. By this point, we’d earned nicknames: “Colorado” or the “Hoka team,” so passing pilgrims would call out, “Hey Colorado!”
At the top of the hill, the iconic steel pilgrim sculpture greets you with sweeping views of Navarre. I was thrilled to be done climbing until the descent began. Nearly 1500 feet down over loose rocks made the downhill feel worse than the climb.
That night we stayed in Puente la Reina. Our albergue was owned by a Brazilian woman and we were excited to discover it had an in-house masseuse. We splurged and booked massages. She shared some hilarious pilgrim stories she hears from other Pilgrims including people hiking the Camino to find a spouse. Seems more promising than a dating app in my view.
Next came Estella and Los Arcos, no small milestones. Somewhere between the two, we hit the 100 mile marker. Naturally, we went straight to a bar before finding our hotel for the night. We celebrated with a gin and tonic and beers. Along this stretch, the wildflowers were more prominent. The fields and edges of trails were covered in them, especially with red poppies.
Between Estella and Los Arcos is the famous wine fountain. We nearly missed it, and had to backtrack a little to check it out. This one is much better at the end of the day than first thing in the morning which is when we arrived. We stood in line and sampled some “memorable” wine.
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Most of you are probably familiar with Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls, held every July during the San Fermin festival. Less well known is Navarre, a region notable for its striking geographic diversity, from the Pyrenees to semi arid plains. Had you heard of Navarre?
