Monday, Sept 16. We three (Joan, me & Margo, our Camino friend from Portland, OR) leave Zubiri at 8 am for Pamplona. It was described as an easy walk but started out UP and then got rocky, steep shale and hot. We finally got to our destination around 4 and found ourselves back in the 12th century. Trinidad de Arre - the albergue where we stayed- has been a refuge for pelugrinos for a thousand years. We were all bunked in a big room- all sexes togethet
and all snores shared. Lights out at 10 and kicked out at 8 the next morning. Joan and I went to a simple and quite moving Pilgrim's Prayer gathering in the old chapel after diner. Coming home from the menu del peligrinos meal we found a burro waiting at the front gate. Turns out the pilgrim and his burro had left from Paris months before, made it to Compostela and were now returning home. We felt like we were time-warped back to the Middle Ages!
At dinner we met a young couple in their 20's who had met that day while doing a 40 km walk. He was from Tel Aviv and was very impressed to hear about Justin doing his Birthright trip to Israel and Charlie's walking tour to Masada.
On the Calle Mayor out to dinner we saw a group of young botd playing toro, which involves a charging a wheel mounted fake bull's head (with horns ) at the other kids. Looked scary to us but they were having fun.
Time for bed now. Up the mountain tomorrow early.
