Over the River and Through the Woods

Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days on the Camino.  We are now just southwest of Pamplona in the town of Cizur Menor, out of the foothills of the Pyrenees, and are starting to settle in to a routine.  We try to be walking by 7am, and I tell the group about where we’re going to stop for the day, any major obstacles or things they need to watch out for, and off we go.   The way it usually shakes out is that the kids set off at a pretty good clip, but Drake and I and one of two students usually end up at the head of the pack over time.  We typically arrive at our destination by noon or one at the latest, and the groups of kids trickle in to town over the next couple of hours, with Tom, the other adult bringing up the rear.  He likes to stroll and experience Spanish culture to the fullest, shall we say.  Then, it’s shower and lunch, which is either Pilgrim meal, or grocery bought, a nap, and I try to spend some time with the students, checking on them, and grading and blogging.  Then, dinner, bed, and repeat as necessary.  It’s not a terrible routine.

Yesterday, we left Roncesvalles, and some of the students had to stop in the next town, Burgete, for some things they had forgotten or needed, then it was a challenging but shorter 13.5 miles over a couple of mountain ranges to Zubiri.  We arrived right at noon and settled in to the Albergue, which was right across the medieval bridge.  It was a nice hostel: rooms of 8, good shower, kitchen, and plenty of power points and wifi for 10 Euros.  Drake was having some allergy trouble, so we walked to the pharmacy (on the complete opposite end of town, of course) to get some medicine for him, and one of our other students, Hunter.  The pharmacist did not appreciate the fact that I was trying to help with the transaction by translating, and told me very pointedly that she could speak to the other people directly, thank you.  Hunter got some nasal spray, but Drake specifically wanted pills, so he told her that.  She dug up some pills, while I wondered why the pharmacist wouldn’t just give him the Claritin he asked for; it’s been widely available in Spain over-the-counter for years.  As Drake paid for the medicine (3 Euros!) the pharmacist says to him “Don’t take this if you drink alcohol.”  Now, not that Drake is overly fond of alcohol, but we’re in Spain, and Pilgrim Menus typically include wine as the beverage.  So, we left the pharmacy with a very grumpy Drake, who ended up leaving his medicine in the Albergue for the communal good.  We’re convinced the pharmacist did this on purpose because Drake was presumptuous enough to ask for a specific type of medicine, and I was presumptuous enough to translate.

Speaking of Drake, I can’t sing his praises enough; he’s great at connecting with the kids, he’s incredibly thoughtful and helpful, and he’s good hiking/dinner company.  Charles Hall and Jeff Hamilton, if you’re reading this, I’m deeply indebted to you for allowing him to come along.  Alex, I know you’ll be just as fantastic when we meet you in Burgos.

Today’s walk was longer – 16 miles – and flatter, which is like saying that Montana is flat compared to Colorado.  I asked everyone to meet at 7am again, and at 7:10 a student came running up to say that several students hadn’t been able to get a breakfast spot till the 7am serving and would be late.  This irritated me a bit, not because we were supposed to leave at 7; that’s an arbitrary time but because they knew they wouldn’t be on time when they reserved breakfast the night before and couldn’t be bothered to tell anyone.  So we set off, and Liz, the RA, offered to stay behind and wait on the latecomers.

It was an up-and-down, bit generally easier walk along a river and through several small medieval villages that took us in to Pamplona.  Drake’s knee is bothering him, but we still managed to clock off 14 miles until we took a rest break.  At that point we were in Pamplona, and crossed the river in to the Citadel of the old city.  It was starting to warm up, so we made our way through town and on Cizur Menor.  Our albergue here is also nice, but not as nice as last night; there’s more room to maneuver on the grounds, but the rooms are not quite as comfortable.  We did some grocery shopping for lunch and breakfast tomorrow, and Drake and a bunch of kids went to the pool while I have finally caught up on my grading.  We’ll go to our Pilgrim Dinner at 6:30 then sit in the bar and enjoy whatever soccer match is on.  Needless to say I am NOT happy about Spain’s performance in the World Cup, nor is anyone in the country, it seems.