Things were pretty bleak yesterday in Pamplona. After I caught the blog up, we rested until the early evening. We decided we needed to get dinner, if nothing else, so we got up and went out. The pintxos bar across the street had some excellent snacks and wine, and the nearest ATM fully cooperated. So we even agreed to go on a little sightseeing hobble around the town.
We were a few blocks from the Cathedral when we saw a little church tucked into a side street, and the door was open. You cannot fathom how random this seemed: every block has a church on it, and many have an open door, but something told us to enter.
When we did, we were warmly greeted and told in English that a multi-lingual prayer service for pilgrims was just about to begin. We stayed and joined in with 12 other pilgrims from Canada, Italy, Mexico, and Spain. Then three Dominican priests asked us all up on the altar for a Sunday evening Mass! It was all so beautiful, and served to remind us why we are here.
With full spirits and full bellies, we had a great night’s sleep. We didn’t leave Pamplona until 9:00 the next morning, and the weather was bright and warm. We had an uneventful walk through the suburbs, but with Alto del Perdón always looking on the horizon.
We climbed it, took the requisite photo op with the famous pilgrim statues/art, then completed another 8 kilometers (21 for the day) when we checked into our albergue for the evening. This one even has a pool, which is great tonic for tired legs!
Finally, for my daily truth-on-the-camino fact, here is a shot along one of the nicer parts of the trail, where you can clearly see that while the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, the pollen in Spain lies heavy on the Camino.
