Part 2: El Camino

Our 2nd trip on "El Camino" was much longer than the first. I don't think I've ever knowingly walked so far in my life: 12 miles. It's broken up into phases and we did the phase from Zizur Menor to Puente la Reina. The lovely Irene dropped us off in Zizur, which is where she lives, and picked us up on the other end with Mr. Francisco "Paco" Mayo (Inaki's father, not to be confused with this guy). Here's the routy-toot-toot:



 Sorry about all the flags, it's the best image I could find, since we didn't follow a road.

This was my first day with my new hiking shirt on and it felt pretty good. With a few adjustments I think I resembled what Marilyn Monroe might have, out on a camping trip. I tried to get a split screen up in here, but Blogger no likey the copyright infringement on posting a Marilyn photo.

And off we went! Through the fields of Zizur and up over El Perdon (The Pardon) which is a hill that they refer to as a "mountain" here in Navarra. I believe the first town we strolled through was Galar. Like I've said, the small towns on the route are my favorite part. Suddenly you enter a town that has been there for a thousand years, follow the path and walk right out the other side. They all have incredible old buildings and nooks and crannies to explore. Here's a shot in front of the church.

We got the best views of the day on our way to the top of the Perdon. It was a little muddy, but what a gorgeous day. This has to be my favorite picture of the day. Somehow, Inaki made the perfect face for an adult anti-anxiety ad. Oh so happy, and I don't know why, sort of thing...

At the top of the Perdon, there's a sort of art piece of other pilgrims who have crossed the top. You get a great panorama of where you've been and where you'll be going as well.

All the places you can head to from the top of the Perdon.

It started to get a little rainy on our way down, but we did get one last image of the park in another small town that I can't remember the name of.

And that's it, another little adventure of mine. I need to get another good rant in soon, so my writing gets more creative, but I just haven't had time for complaints! One of these days!