I’m writing this post from an exceptionally, almost embarrassingly squeaky top bunk bed in our first albergue of the Camino. We arrived in Saint Jean Pied de Port around midday today, ready to start walking first this in the morning – eek!
After Singapore and before arriving here, we spent our first couple of days in Spain hanging out in Madrid. It was a speedy visit, just a couple of days, but I think we managed to see the highlights. Our first day there, we just had the afternoon, but still we went to Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, el Mercado de San Miguel, the cathedral, the Royal Palace… all the “must-dos”, I suppose.
On our second day, we started off at the Reina Sofia modern art museum, which I really enjoy – every time I’ve ever been to Madrid I’ve visited it! It’s most famous piece is probably Picasso’s “Guernica”, but it also contains many of his other pieces, as well as other famous Spaniards such as Joan Miró and Salvador Dali, and its temporary exhibits are always interesting too. Our next stop was another personal favourite – el Parque del Buen Retiro. This park is one of my favourite places ever, in all of the world. We didn’t spend long there, but it was nice to pop in and visit again.
The next morning we walked to the bus station and took the bus to Pamplona, arriving mid-afternoon. After bringing the Spanish kids here a couple of times now I felt almost like I knew my way around! We had a quick explore of the city after dropping our things at our accommodation, but we’ll also be back in a few days’ time (though this time arriving on foot!) It was interesting being in Pamplona looking like a “pilgrim” – I felt like we stood out a lot more as not being from here, which I didn’t really like, and which does have me feeling slightly concerned for what’s ahead. We were spoken to immediately in English, rather than Spanish, for example, which is very different from what we had experienced in Madrid, and what I have experienced in Pamplona in the past. I guess a lot of people must come and walk the Camino with no Spanish at all, but I don’t think that’s how it should be, and I didn’t like people automatically assuming that we only spoke English. I don’t want to only speak English for the next month – this whole idea started all those years ago with me wanting to be in Spain and speaking in Spanish!
Anyways, after a night in Pamplona, it was back onto the bus to cross the border into France. We drove through many of the towns we’ll soon be walking through, though next time the journey will take three days, rather than just under two hours.
Once we arrived, we had a little lunch and camped out in front of the pilgrims’ office waiting for it to open. Once it did, we picked up our credentials, where we’ll need to get stamps of all the places we stay along the journey, and which allows us to stay in municipal albergues. This was followed with a quiet afternoon – a visit to the supermarket to pick up some snacks, a wee wander around town, and a tasty ham sandwich as an early dinner.
And now, lying on this creaky bed, listening to the rusting of bags and church bells in the distance, I think it’s time to sleep. We have a big day in the morning – wish us luck!
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emilyonearth 
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