Söx-n-Sañdàls™
Day 5, Pamplona to Puente la Reina
I lost it and went to the dark side. I chose comfort over the style of my hiking boots and finally joined the sock and sandal club of the Pacific Northwest. It’s bad.
Besides having a fashion choice, we each brought two pairs of footwear for the trail for several reasons. Different trails call for different levels of support. Heat can influence whether to wear a boot or a hiking sandal. And then there’s the inevitable blisters. Knowing how to deal with blisters is the difference between completing a long trek or not, and many people do not know how to mange them. Changing up your foot wear is a simple preventative measure, but this is not a weekend hike on your favorite trail. Short term techniques do not translate to 30 day odysseys, and I’ve seen more than one hobbling pilgrim end up in the hospital. I’m lucky to be traveling with someone who knows the ins and outs of blister management.
We checked into our alburge and are guided to a small room filled with bunk beds, a common set up. We claimed our spots with our belongings and then went out for food. Upon returning, I began to notice something unusual. Judging by who was in the room, and what was on the bunks of those not present, I was the only woman in a room of seven men. This was about the time I also realized I didn’t have any appropriate “lounge wear” for being in mixed company. The solution was a pair of Sandy’s men’s briefs and a t-shirt.
As for the rest of the night, it’s not often a woman can say she slept with seven men and her husband.
All joking aside, I have never felt safer.
See below for photos with captions of the day.
©Theresa Elliott, All Rights Reserved
Having one of those Starbucks moments: am I at this Starbucks or the one down the street? Was this today, or yesterday?
You get to share the road with bikes and people on them.
Classic shot and an interesting camino ascetic. People’s backs are routinely photographed, because of course that is what you see much of the day.
Little cafes in small towns line the Camino de Santiago, part of the infrastructure that makes this pilgrimage so user friendly.
Wind turbines make the ridge where we climb the high point of the day and see the famous monument there, Alto del Perdon.
Alto del Perdon, and last of the mountainous ridges of the Pyrenees. Pamplona can be seen i the distance.
Close up, cool wind turbines in the back ground.
Perspective on the size of the wind turbines. A couple with their child stands at the base.
Sandy Brown helps me with blister prevention and repair in the blistering heat. Notice the shale path behind. Navigating uneven surfaces is a common reason for blisters, and sitting on them to deal with them no fun.
The view outside our window. See the stork? They are ubiquitous in Spain.