Onwards from Pamplona

We rose very early the day after our rest, eager to move on and anticipating a hot day. After a nice little breakfast in a nearby cafe (tea or coffee, juice, croissant) with Mare, we began our long walk out to Pamplona with a very ambitious goal of reaching Puenta de la Reine, a 24 km hike over a mountain. 

I started off very slow, with a pain behind my right knee, and Lauren got a ways ahead since a faster pace suited her sore heel. I felt a little discouraged as we left the city behind and entered a largely treeless, sparse landscape winding up to the looming mountain speckled with wind turbines. Lauren, however, was very patient with me, and I eventually warmed enough to walk more comfortably. I did have to change out of my chacos and into boots, because my sandals were rubbing places on my feet :(

We passed a number of familiar faces and stopped for an ice cream break in Zigbeiguti (was that it? No... Something like that) as well as a stop in at a church there. 

On the way up the mountain I got to have a full conversation in French with a very patient man who'd begun his camino in Switzerland (this was his 8th week) 

The Virginian dad gave me the Blessing of Elbereth in elvish (!!!) at the top of the peak, which I sorely wish I had on video. The view and sound of the turbines was spectacular, as was the jamon y queso sandwich we'd picked up on the way. 

To keep ourselves moving on the painfully steep descent into the arid meseta, Lauren and I sang Disney songs, which seemed to amuse passing pilgrim (we get passed a lot). We are gaining a reputation as the singing pilgrims!

The sun was brutal in the afternoon, and through willpower alone we lurched into Puenta de la Reina around 3:30, taking two of the last beds, doing laundry, nursing our aching feet and muscles, and finding some dinner. It is a charming town, very picturesque despite its basically desert setting. It has two beautiful churches with aging towers complete with huge stork nests. The church of Santiago here has a gorgeous Romanesque portal. Exhausted but encouraged by our grit in making it such a long way, Lauren and I prepared for the next (hopefully easier) hike to Estella, which would require another early morning.