After the difficult hike to Zubiri, we just knew day four and five would be easier. Pamplona awaited and should be an stroll in comparison. Wrong again! It was not so much the total elevation gain as it was the number of hills to climb and go down again; followed by the climb back up.

It wasn’t all rough, and there were a few photo oops:

At about ten miles you are ready to start wrapping up the day. Unfortunately we were just beginning to overlook Pamplona with another four miles to go.

This turned into our first real experience with urban hiking. It was not always easy to spot the markers, but a chance encounter with a pilgrim from Luxembourg gave us additional guidance. We walked together for a while and learned he had started in Luxembourg, had hiked through France and after Santiago planned to continue on to Portugal and go as far as his 90 days allotted would allow. Another extremely nice and interesting individual. We parted ways as we approached old town as we wanted to take a break before we climbed the last hill of the day.

After treating ourselves to a hotel stay in Pamplona, we modified the traditional schedule and decided to do only 11 of approximately 15 miles. The gentle walk out of Pamplona gave us some fantastic views.

We just knew around the next turn the trail would start heading down to one of the towns we could see below. We then realized the path would lead us OVER the ridge the windmills commanded. But like so many other times, we were rewarded with beauty once we arrived. First is a picture of the iconic sculpture followed by a temporary exhibit now on display.

Now only a few kilometers from our daily destination the path again turned steep and rocky, slowing our arrival.

So at the end of the first five days of walking we feel like real pilgrims; 50 miles, 8 stamps in our credentials, and achy and blistered feet.