Pamplona to Puente la Reina, 22.0km, 6.75 hours, Hostal Rural Bidean, 62€

Today’s walk really was timeless. 23 seconds into the walk, my Garmin Instinct GPS watch crashed. The screen froze at 20m. No buttons worked. No combination of buttons worked. The green LED lights on the back continuously tried to read my pulse but it never changed from 82 the whole day. That is where I get a whole lot of data after each day’s walk. It is also the normal source for my map of the day’s walk. I guess if pilgrims 1,000 years ago got by without knowing how many steps they took to Santiago, I can too.

Time also heals all wounds. Most of my scrapes are scabbing up or healing quickly. The difference in Melanie though was astounding. Yesterday, I spent a quarter of the day just standing and waiting for her at the top and bottoms of the hills. On the flat sections she was fine but her knee hurt so badly, I expected her to either sit out today or only walk the first 10km before the steep climb and descent. Last night, while walking to dinner, I was walking three or four steps then stopping to wait for her to catch up. That’s how bad off she was.

That was yesterday though. One extra strength ibuprofen at dinner, another at breakfast and a gear change from tights under her hiking pants to regular sports underwear and getting rid of the knee brace changed her completely. I believe I had to wait for her three times today. Other than that, we walked side by side or I had trouble keeping up with her. Hallelujah! I was actually triaging a bit the last kilometer but Melanie finished strong. She is the very-est best, right George?

The highlights of todays walk included no rain, cool air until 10:00am, sun after that and the stunning views from the Alto de Perdón, which is an iconic Camino site, I wonderful climb and a scary descent. Melanie sent her bag ahead again today and even sent her poncho. No rain was forecast and none came despite some distant rain clouds. It only started getting really hot after reaching the Alto de Perdón and I managed to use my umbrella for shade. As long as there is no wind or low hanging branches, the umbrella worked well. I think it reduced the temperature around me by 5º. At least it felt that way.

At the Alto de Perdon, the atmosphere was joyous. A few dozen pilgrims were there when we arrived and a parade of others followed. Some were just sitting either soaking in the sun or reflecting about host of possible things to themselves. The views in every direction are stunning and I particularly like looking back at the Pyrenees where we were just a few days ago. Pamplona seems close enough to touch but it is 12km away. Almost everyone had to pose for a photo here so we did to.

A note for anyone planning to do this walk: the path down from the Alto de Pedron is not as bad as the guide books say but it’s harder than it looks. It is easy to twist an ankle stepping on the the wrong stone. Where there are steps in the trail, they are very big drops. Just be careful where you place your feet and you will be fine. That said, secure your gear too. We found a pair of Birkenstock sandals and their tether that wasn’t tied tight enough to the owner’s backpack. Melanie tied them to my backpack and we asked everyone we passed if they dropped them. At a bar in Urtega, we went from table to table asking pilgrims if they dropped then until we heard a shriek from a young woman. Bingo. She didn’t even know they were missing but she would of when she had to take her boots off at the albergue. Ee earned our good pilgrim patch today.

In summary, it was a great day. We came here to see if we could still walk a Camino and, God willing, it looks like we can. We might not have enough time to reach Santiago but that’s okay. We will certainly try though. I think we can.

Peace y’all. And goodnight George and Leo. Gramps and Nana love you and miss you.