Saturday, September 11, 2010

Trinidad de Arre thru Pamplona to Puenta la Reina

Hey everyone,

We made it through our third day of walking.  It was the second toughest so far between distance and elevation change.  We did have a nice stay last night in Trinidad de Arre, a suburb town just outside of Pamplona.  We became friends with a man from Great Britain named Roger, who is trying to do the Camino in 22 days. . .ridiculous.  To give you an idea as to how crazy, we have about 30 days left and we are having to make sure not to get behind because of our flight home.  Thirty days get us there with about 15 miles of walking a day. I am not sure how many he has to do in a day, but it is a little crazy.  He was great company though.  I am pretty sure that he is going to write a book about his experience when he is through.

We got to walk through Pamplona today which was a great experience.  We didn´t get to go to the Coliseum where the bullfighting is done, but we did make it into the Cathedral, which was very beautiful.  We went in just for a couple minutes to pray, but were very surprised to find that Mass was starting and were able to attend.  It was very nice, starting with a Latin introit as the priests processed in and did a Mass and Morning prayer combo.  After mass we were gathering our belongings when some people walked up to us saying "fellow Americans?" and asked us where we were from.  They live now in College Park, MD, but actually have a house in Greensboro, which was pretty cool to hear.  They are also Cursillistas and, like most Cursillistas, are very active in their parish.  They invited us to have breakfast with them and, being kind of malnourished over the past few days, we did not refuse their offer.  We had a rockin ham, cheese, and fried egg sandwich--that's right, a fried egg!!--and a couple pastries and coffee, and shared some nice conversation.  They were very supportive of us and promised their prayers as we continue our journey.  They too are on the pilgrimage, but are doing a "priveleged pilgrim" program as they call it, in which they are taken a certain place by bus, walk a distance and then hop back on the bus.  It was a wonderful experience and blessing getting to meet them.

Jason and I then walked the rest of the way through Pamplona, a pretty big city, and then continued on, having originally planned on staying just outside of the city at the end of one of the stages.  We decided, however, that we should keep going--not knowing if we were biting off more than we could chew--and get a day ahead of the schedule in order to give ourselves some breathing room.  The extra walking took us to the top of a mountain and then down a very steep decline--kicked our butts bigtime.  We had originally planned to only walk about 8km today, but tacked on another 20 in  order to get ahead of schedule.  We are thoroughly exhausted now and ready for some dinner.

We made it to the next day´s stage, Puenta la Reina, just a little while ago and have showered and washed our clothes.  The hostel we are staying in is ok.  Pretty full and kind of stinky--I guess that´s what happens when you get a hundred folks in the same building after a whole day´s hike.  Washing clothes by hand has been an interesting experience.  Doesn´t exactly get all the stink out. . . but hey, it´s just me, God, and the outdoors right now--and a friend who stinks just as bad.  Well my internet time is about to run out on the hostel computer.  I love you guys and pray for you everyday.

love,

Paul

1 comment:

  1. Yes. Washing your clothes out by hand just isn't the same. I learned that lesson at World Youth Day. It's just hard in general and you NEVER feel clean. I guess that it's all for the Greater Glory of God. Pray for me. I'm praying for you :).
    AMDG.

    Em :)

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