Friday, April 15th, 2022
Good Friday
12 km
Total 84.4 km
It was a good Friday for hiking. Cafe con leche, small muffin, and a banana for breakfast. There were many benches along the way so I stopped often for short breaks.
I stopped in a small village called Zariquegui. I took the time to pray in the church and get a sello (stamp) in my credencial (pilgrim passport). There were many townspeople in the church getting ready for the Easter weekend. I believe this church was in the movie, The Way. In the movie, one of the characters is sitting outside the church to rest. In Zariquegui, across the street from the church, is a small bar/cafe where I had a cafe con leche. Along with a dozen other pilgrims!
Alto de Perdon was a faster and easier climb than I anticipated. I’m sure it was due to the mountain elevation training of the past few months. The path down from the statues made up for the ease of the climb. The downward path of large rocks was brutal and not fun!
The metal statues at Alto de Perdon (Hill of Forgiveness) is an iconic location on the Camino de Santiago. On the statues is an engraving the reads Donde se cruza el Camino del viente con el de las estrellas. Where the path of the wind crosses that of the stars. I very much enjoyed seeing the pilgrim statues.
Across the path from the pilgrim statues was a memorial reminiscent of Stonehenge. It is there for remembrance of the Spaniards of the Navarra region that were killed during the Spanish Civil War. A stone in the middle represents the 92 that were assassinated and the 19 stones encircling represent the villages, towns, and cities in Navarra.
Tonight’s lodging is in Casa Baztan. I had a reservation there 2 years ago for my 2020 canceled Camino. It is most definitely a hostel. There are 26 people housed in one room. The bathroom lights are on a quick timer. I took the majority of my shower in the dark. There are also only two or three toilets for 26 people. That will be interesting in the morning. LOL
I met three new people today . Annabelle from England, Ed from Ireland, and another person from Germany. They are all doing similar mileage so I might see them again.
I had the pilgrim dinner for $12 tonight. I ordered the fish. It was just okay along with the majority of the pilgrim meals I have had so far. I am figuring out that a pilgrim meal doesn’t necessarily mean quality food. It was a mishmash of different foods. We got two mini oranges for dessert. I was more than fine with that. Annabelle from England was disappointed. She wanted something like flan. The South Korean couple from a few nights ago is here. They were in a private room.
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| Sunrise |
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| I love the cobblestone paths |
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| Pamplona in the distance |
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| A nifty cart for his backpack |
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Iglesia de San Andres in Zariquigui
Film location in the movie The Way |
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| Cafe con leche, por favor |
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| I love to take advantage of any benches I come across |
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| Pamplona in the far distance |
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| Where the path of the wind crosses that of the stars |
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| Uterga in the distance |
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| This path was much worse than it looks |
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| Not fun! |
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| I love the messages |
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| Lovely water to refill our water bottles |
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| There are very cool doors in Spain |
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| My new friend is embordering camino scallop shells on her shirts |
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| Dinner at the hostel for $12 |
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| Walking around Uterga after dinner |
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| I need to try our the colorful hammock in the backyard of the hostel |
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| Chapel in hostel |
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