Sunday in Pamplona

I was so happy to wake up In Pamplona!

After breakfast, I took a walk just to see what was going on.

The cathedral was closed, but a sign said it would open for 10 AM Mass. I kept walking and came upon a little building I’ve never seen before. I guess I’ve just never walked past the cathedral. It appeared to be a church, but then as I went inside, nobody was there, which I thought was odd because there was a Priest obviously in the middle of Mass.

Then I heard responses and peaked around the corner and saw nuns. I realize these were cloistered nuns, this was a convent, and the priest was serving Mass to them.

I was able to record a bit of their singing. It was really very pretty in the empty church. For some reason, I am not able to attach it here. Maybe after I get home.

Next, I took a walk to the new albergue to pick up a credential because the one I have is for the Camino Catalan. They were not open until 1 PM so from there I went to San Lorenzo church.

San Lorenzo is a beautiful church and I love the sculptures. They are so emotive.

The Sorrowful Mother - Mary

San Lorenzo

This is also a version of the sorrowful mother, but it is called the Seven Sorrow. These include Simeon's prophecy, the flight into Egypt, losing Jesus in the Temple, meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary, the crucifixion, Jesus' body being taken down from the cross, and his burial.

Saint Joseph with Jesus

This is Saint Anthony with Jesus. For Catholics, Saint Anthony is the Saint you talk to if you lose things or if something needs to be found. My grandmother had a statue of Saint Anthony with a removable Jesus. If she lost something, she would take the baby Jesus away and tell Saint Anthony she’d give Jesus back if he would find her lost item. LOL!

In every church are crucifixes with the dying Jesus. They are all very gruesome, and it does non-Catholics well to remember that not so many generations ago most of the population was illiterate, and these very strong images were there to teach Bible stories. If you could not read the words, you certainly could feel the feelings that the statuary and the paintings evoked.

You’ll notice the silver toes on this Jesus. The bottom half of the foot was replaced at some point because people were touching it when they would pray-and the foot was wearing it away

The retablo is beautiful in this church.

After my walk, I stopped in at a local fruit market and picked up some melon for my dinner and for my breakfast in the morning. I also found a grocery store where I got individual butter packets, and some yogurt to carry in my pack.

Pamplona

I arrived in Pamplona about 4 PM, exhausted, but happy to have finally arrived. I (literally) had not slept one bit the night before - it was just too hot! So when I rolled out of bed I already gone 24 hours without sleep. That makes about three nights sleep in six days. I hope this is not a pattern that continues.

I walked to the train station and got on a little milk train at 6 am that took about two hours to get to my first stop, Barcelona Sants. The train had graffiti all over the windows, and so I could not see the names of the stations and the announcement volume was set so low that you could not hear it. I met a woman going to the same place and so I figured out where to get off. In the meantime, I struggled to keep my eyes open because I was afraid I would sleep right through my stop.

Once I got to Barcelona, I had a two hour layover. I struggled to keep my eyes open then caught another train to Zaragoza. That was a much nicer train, and another two hours.

From Zaragosa, I got on another little milk train that stopped in every village, but I actually enjoyed seeing parts of Spain that I’ve never seen before. I saw a huge aqueduct that I didn’t know existed and also a big castle that I need to do some research on. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good photo out of the windows that were covered with graffiti.

I was so happy to finally arrive in Pamplona!

On the train, I met a pilgrim who was also coming from the United States and we shared a taxi into town. After checking into my hotel, I took a walk to Caminoteca, the pilgrim shop, where I got a warm greeting and a huge hug from the owner. We have been doing business with him for many years and I had a nice visit. Then onto the China Bazaar to buy flip-flops, except it was closed. Many shops in town were closed and I’m not sure if it’s actually gone as in out of business or if it was just closed. The word from the locals is that there are not very many pilgrims and hardly any tourists this season. I found a dollar store where I picked up some flip-flops and then headed to the grocery store to pick up a loaf of bread and Napolitanas for tomorrow’s breakfast. I love these little cinnamon crackers, which I’ve never found in the United States.

Although I was tired, I had laundry to do. I managed to wash my clothes and my sleep sack and hang everything up and it was all dry by this morning. Then I fell into bed and had a 10 hour sleep. I woke up stiff but refreshed and happy the traveling is over for a while. I will spend one more night in Pamplona and begin walking tomorrow.

I did stop at a little bar for a glass of iced tea and some pork belly. That was my dinner. After traveling all day in the heat, I really wasn’t very hungry

This morning, I got up and found my favorite pastry shop closed. I managed to find my first café con leche.

Now I’m going to put my shoes on and take a walk around town. I was shocked to see only three pilgrims this morning when I went for coffee. Usually, the streets are full of pilgrims on their way to the next village.

After a rough start, I’m really happy to be here.

Love,

Annie

Change of plans again

The weather in this part of Spain is unbearably hot right now. It is impossible to sleep at night. In addition, in order to walk the Camino Catalan in this heat, I would have to carry more water than I am able to carry. After much contemplation and comparison, I’ve decided to go back to Plan One to walk the Camino Frances.

Though the difference in temperature is less than 5 to 10°, there are other positives…

The stages are shorter

The stages are more populated

There are plenty of places to stop and rest

There’s a good supply of water

If it’s too hot to carry my backpack, there is backpack transport

I’ve canceled my reservations at Montserrat. Joe and I are talking about doing the Catalan route in the spring time when the weather is cooler

I have one more night here in Manresa at the Jesuit center. I’ve booked a train to Pamplona tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here are some photos of this beautiful place. The mosaics are just spectacular. The albergue here is simple, but sufficient. The meals are very good and this place is highly recommended if you ever are in the mood for a visit.

Manresa

On to Manresa

After breakfast at my Zaragoza hotel, I took the train to Manresa. It’s a little milk train, covered with graffiti on the outside. The inside is nicer than it appears from outside. It’s a two hour trip, but it wasn’t bad. The car was air-conditioned, which was a plus.

However, the walk up to the Jesuit center once I arrived was like walking through HELL!! Straight up the side of a mountain from the train station, which wouldn’t be so bad except it was in the 80° and I was sweating buckets by the time I got up here.

The Jesuit center is quite nice. If you decide to come here, I suggest you get a regular room and do not stay in the albergue. There is no air conditioning so unless you come in the spring it’s pretty hot in here. They have provided our fan in my room, which helps. Washing my shirt and putting it on wet also helped. Even though it says on the website and on a brochure in my room there’s a place to wash clothes and hang them, there is not. I took my clothes into the shower and washed them. You must bring your own sheets and towels, and that’s OK because I carry both. The room is not particularly clean, but that’s the way it is with albergues . It’s not horrendously dirty either.

I guess for the amount of money I paid I just expected more. My bad. I think it’s only about €20 more for the better rooms and to me, if I ever come again, it would be worth that.

(((CORRECTION: In my previous post, I said dinner might be soup and bread. Boy was I wrong! We were served a full three course lunch and dinner complete with wine for those who wanted it. The food was excellent! The first night we had a yummy savory pumpkin creamed soup, mixed arugula salad, something that reminded me of chicken Kiev, fried potatoes, and fruit. Breakfast the next morning was toast with jam and butter, hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt and cereal. Lunch was some type of wonderful thing that reminded me of a layered eggplant Parmesan. It was so good! The salad was filled with fresh greens, figs and goats cheese and a sweet dressing. Raspberry ice cream was dessert. Dinner the following night was a big salad with fresh peas, a loaded type of pizza, grilled eggplant, fruit and yogurt. )))

Dinner is served at 8 PM and so I’m trying to stay awake. I didn’t get much sleep last night - I’m still fighting the time change.

I did take a quick walk down to the Cove, which I’ve seen before. I did not take photos because there’s a large group of young people down there right now. I will try to take photos in the morning right after breakfast. It really is beautiful.

I felt a little discouraged when I first got here and was wondering if I bit off more than I could chew trying to walk this route in this hot weather. Especially after trudging up the hill to the Jesuit center. Luckily, the first few stages are short and if I decide it’s dangerously hot, there are two towns where I can catch a train and change course around Wednesday or Thursday. So that is an option if it’s just too hot.

The biggest issue is the amount of water that I would have to carry if this heat doesn’t change. At any rate, there are many Caminos to go walk if this one is too much for me right now. If that happens, however, I would certainly come back in the spring because it looks like a great trail.

OK more tomorrow and I will post photos tomorrow.

Love,

Annie

The Day in Zaragosa

I had a great morning. After breakfast at the hotel, I attended Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pilar. Then I bought a ticket for the little museum there and also for the museum of Lanterns and Crystal Rosary. That was really a beautiful exhibition. Here is a little bit I found on the Internet explaining it:

The Crystal Rosary is a solemn procession of great artistic and social value, made up of more than 200 lanterns and 15 crystal floats that run through the streets of the historic center.

On October 13 at sunset the monumental floats of the Luminous, Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries begin to parade and among them, the devotees carrying the hand lanterns that symbolize the Our Fathers, Hail Marys, Glories and Litanies.

Faith, history and tradition during the Pilar festivities or continuously in the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the central Plaza San Pedro Nolasco, next to the remains of the Roman theater of Caesaraugusta.

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That really must be a spectacular procession! These glass lanterns are huge and are carried by many people through the streets. I might have to make an October trip here just to see it!

I also visited the Roman Theatre. It was free for anyone over 65. They have a movie that plays every half hour. It’s about 15 minutes long and it’s worth watching. There are subtitles in English, and it tells the history of the excavation site and a little bit of the history of Zaragoza.

These handles at the bottom are how they are hefted and carried - I can’t imagine how much these weigh.

Even though I’ve paid for a full board in Manresa, I picked up some tuna and olives and some chicken soup to carry in my pack just in case I get somewhere and there is no food to be found.

I forgot to mention there’s a huge undercover market right across the street from my hotel. The bacalau was very tempting but I didn’t want my pack to smell like fish quite yet.

Now it’s time for a siesta.

Love, Annie