After two years of planning we finally started our pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago. It was a stunning, beautiful day. In more ways than one.

We began our day by following the numerous marked scallop shells that lead you out of the city of Pamplona. The shells are embedded in the sidewalks and streets every 10 to 20 feet all the way out of the city.

Just outside Pamplona, the trail starts a mountain ascent through beautiful farms, today blossoming in bright yellow mustard fields. Some areas of the ascent are quite steep, but well maintained and easy to navigate on a dry, sunny day like today.

At the top of the climb you reach Alto del Perdon  (The peak of Forgiveness). It is a statue/sculpture commemorating the many pilgrims who have walked the path over centuries.

Once you reach the top, you must then walk back down the other side of the mountain. The descent is steep and rocky. I would imagine quite difficult in rain, or wet conditions. after a few miles the trail evens out a bit and becomes more easily passable. We used our walking poles during our descent, which really helped a lot.

We walked through several quaint villages, admiring how incredibly clean and well maintained they all were, each with their own church that looked to be from the middle ages to Renaissance periods.

Finally, after 8 hours of walking, 16 miles and 36,000 FitBit steps, we made it to our resting stop for the night, Puente la Reina and the Jakue hotel.

Donna, Eladio and I were exhausted and hungry; however, Spanish people don’t eat regular hours and foods aren’t readily available when you want or need them as a pilgrim. Although we arrived in the city around 5pm, we were told no meals would be available until after 7pm. It was a long wait and we gobbled our meals quickly and probably ate a little too much.

Rick on the Camino to Alto del Perdon

Rick and Donna admiring mustard fields

The ascent to Alto del Perdon

Alto del Perdon, summit

Local church in Punte la Reina

Local church in Puenta la Reina Spain