The hot chocolate was nice, the one croissant tasty but other than a couple of sweet cakes and biscuits with the consistency of cement that was it giving rise to Henley thinking he was still in bed having a nightmare !
With our legs a little unresponsive, early riding was a bit more of a chore than normal but this was soon forgotten as we engaged on goodly sections of downhill gradients heading towards Pamplona.
Distinct from France the Camino trail was pretty evident everywhere either in crossing the road or simply running alongside it or near.
This gave us an opportunity to view first hand the Camino` s condition ( not too bad based on the no. Of MTB`s we saw on it) and talk to the occasional pilgrim.
After some more great downhill cycling the blood pressure started rising when we passed through the lovely outer suburbs of Pamplona pop 200,000 !
Thankfully a cycle path guided us generally towards the city center where it was evident that the town was preparing for its Running with the Bulls festival in just over a week - cruel but very popular !
As chief Bull Sh..tter Henley took the opportunity to have his photo taken against the running with the bulls statue promising to come back and run .... When the Bulldogs win their next AFL premiership !
Seeking a way out of confusing Pamplona (no wonder the bulls can't escape) I sent Henley off to a nearby ticket booth to ask the attendant for the direction to the tourist information centre.
Standing patiently H became agitated when he was repeatedly ignored by the attendant until he finally woke up to the fact that the attendant was blind !
Tourist Info found and equipped with maps, we left town by way of narrow alleyways following the clearly marked scallop shell symbol of the Camino placed every 5 meters on path, walkways and roads (even we couldn`t get lost - although we did run out of shells on a couple of occasions !)
At a slow pace we were able to wind our way easily out of town and even ride a couple of small segments of the Camino. Although more rideable than the sections in France they were still too rocky for our finely tuned bikes !
Cimbing out of Pamplona provided for stunning views of this totally different landscape. Wide open fields, distant mountains and a distinct lack of trees that would make life decidely uncomfortable on a hot day!
Our climb provided another amazing experience when we passed a younger person pushing a middle aged male along the Camino roadside in a wheelchair - incredible !
Our climb sometimes on road and sometimes through cracks, peaked at 780 metres on the Sierra Del Person providing for a terrific downhill ride to Puente La Reina coasting at 40-45 kms hr for long sections without having to peddle !
We had time to have a quick look around the old section of town noticing how much hotter at this level the temperatures were before finding hotel acommodation on the outskirts of town that provided a buffet meal with self serve wine & beer - my type of meal !
We are now well and truly into Spain and now only 1 week away from arriving in Santander on the Nthn Spanish coast for some much needed R& R before continuing the cycle odyssey into the UK !
Kev, the big question is, after all those kms, quaint villages and lovely churches on the Camino path has is had the desired effect on you?
ReplyDeleteLove the photos.
WMc