Pamplona

"Never mistake motion for action"
- E. Hemingway

I would never have guessed at the start of this little venture that I´d be able to update the blog as often as I have before I even start the Camino. In any case, arrived an hour ago in Pamplona, and will be heading out to Roncesvalles in less than five. In the mean time, I´ve been wandering the streets, backpack and all, looking rather dashing* in my broad-brimmed white tilley hat, taking in the city I´ve read so much about.

Forgot to mention that I had my first encounter with other Camino pilgrims the day before yesterday. Right outside the Guggenheim in fact. From what I could discern (they only spoke broken Spanish, which you think I´d be fluent in), they were an older French couple who were doing the Camino Primitvo (another route of the Camino de Santiago that runs along the coast). I was very surprised at how much stuff they had with them; their backpacks were huge. Which got me thinking that I should be ok...after all, they had heavier backpacks, they were considerably older, and considerably Frencher (I don´t even know what I mean by that). Here´s hoping, anyway. I wished them a Buen Camino and let them go their way. Who knows, I might even run into them when I get to Santiago, or Astorga, where all the camino paths link up.

The bus ride up here was interesting; the mountains here are massive. Not massive as in the Canadian rockies, but massive as in "holy crap, I have to walk across that?!?". Well, not for a couple of days anyway. Pamplona´s a sleepy little town that apparently only wakes up one week per year. I know this is where the San Fermines and the running of the bulls happens, but right now, it´s really hard to imagine this town going all ape-shit like that. Seems so peaceful and calm. I guess they got it all out of their system this past July. Made it up (and up, and up) to the cathedral just now to see if I could get my Credencial (pilgrim passport). No luck, it´s locked up tight. I´ll try again in a bit; otherwise, I can just as easily get it in Roncesvallees.

Next update will see me on the camino, and will likely have a bit of a change in format. I´ll be writing (pen-and-paper like) all the while I´m walking, and just transcribe what I´ve written to the blog. I leave out or forget too many things when I´m summarizing like I have in the last few entries. So, until then...and I genuinely have no idea when "then" will be...take care and talk to you all soon.

*for the purposes of this blog, "Dashing" has been re-defined to mean "fat, stupid, and out of place"