I didn’t leave the Hostal Rural Haizea
until midday as it was drizzling and I sat in the bar and asked the barmaid for
a recommendation of a typical breakfast - so she brought me out a big roll with
sausages in it (with a café con baileys of course).
It was only a 20km ride to Pamplona but I
knew that there would be no accommodation there because of San Fermin (the
running of the bulls) so stopped at the village 4 or 5 kms before Pamplona –
Villava. I got a bottom bunk and they
had a place for my bike. The dorm was
pretty grim but beside a pretty river.
I dropped off my panniers in the dorm room
and biked to Pamplona on the cycle path. Pamplona was a different place from what it
had been the week before as the streets were full of people dressed in white
and red and although it was only 4pm everyone was in full swing enjoying
themselves and drinking in the streets.
I got offered a drink by a French couple after she found out I was a
Kiwi as all her friends and family were rugby mad. I don’t speak French and they didn’t really
speak English and I think they thought I played rugby! Anyway, I managed to convey that I was at the
French/All Black rugby world cup final and apologised for beating them.
I got back to Villava about 8, had a shower
and went for dinner at the restaurant beside the Albergue that had a pilgrims’
menu. Pilgrims’ menus are offered by many restaurants on the Camino route and sometimes you have to
show your Pilgrim’s credential/passport to prove you are a Pilgrim. They are
always 3 courses; bread and either wine or water. It always makes me laugh that
you have to choose wine OR water – and when I’ve ordered on my own they give me
my own bottle of wine. After I sat down
this night the two lovely young Korean people I’d met in Espinal walked in so I
had dinner with them. So Young (the
girl) and June (the boy) had met at the train station on the way to St Jean
Pied-de-Port and were both starting the Camino the next day.
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| Hostal Rural Haizea in Espinal - it didn't look much from the outside but was great inside |
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| A guy from Spain I cycled with for a while after I left Espinal. Chivalry is alive and well in this part of the world and he would open and close the gates for me! |
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| The streets of Pamplona |
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| Drinking and cycling is allowed |
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| The rugby mad lads |
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