1 October 2023
Villava to Pamplona - 4 kms
By some great coincidence our French/Basque friends stayed in all the same places as we did along the Baztan, and last night was no different - we ended our Camino Baztan by staying in the same place yet again. This meant we were able to have another dinner together. Once again it was a fun night trying to communicate in a mix of French, Basque and English. Jacques, especially, has a great sense of humour, we only wish we could have understood each other better. We saw them briefly again this morning at breakfast before going our separate ways.
We had no need to rush as we were only walking 4 kilometres to Pamplona. We walked into the city on the Camino Francés route, walking over the Puente de la Magdalena Bridge across the River Arga and into Pamplona through the Portal de Francia, just as thousands of pilgrims have done for centuries.
Pamplona is a bustling city with people everywhere, bars and cafés spilling out on to the streets, just as it was when we were here in 2019.
We went to midday Mass in the Church of Saint Nicholas. We were early for Mass and when we walked into the church we were greeted in English by a priest which surprised us. When I asked him for a blessing and stamp for our credentials we were directed to the sacristy where there was another priest who also spoke to us in English before we said anything.
It was too hot to do very much today, by mid afternoon it was 32°C. We explored a wee bit, trying to stay in the shade. At one point while out wandering around we came across Marie-Claire and Françoise, our Basque friends. Apparently Jacques was resting on a park bench nearby. It was easy to understand why.
We sat in Plaza del Castillo in the early evening, people watching. All ages, shapes and sizes, sitting on the bench seats, walking around, riding bikes, chatting nonstop at great volume. The café tables were full of people enjoying drinks, and long queues snaking out of the gelaterias. It was fascinating to sit and simply watch it all.
We had an early - early for the Spanish, late for us - meal of raciones. We can expect lots of street noise tonight. I could say that the street we're in is party central but I think so many of the streets are party central here.
