A Sports Bra Rescue Mission
I slept in a little bit more today. I walked through the small town just as the sun came up. I was in Pamplona pretty quickly, entering through the city gates. The narrow streets and tight building layout are really neat. I diverted from the route to go through The Citadel. It reminded me very much of Citadel Hill in Halifax! After a quick coffee in town, I started the climb out of the city. I hadn’t looked at the elevation profile, so I was not prepared for the (quite significant) climb in front of me. Uphill was actually no problem, I felt really strong and just powered up the hill even though it was very, very hot. I must have passed 100 people on the climb. Not intentionally! I was just on fire.
I slowed it way down on the decent since my legs were sore from all the descending yesterday. I got to Uterga, and after dodging the mountain bike race finish line in town center, I found some Albergues. This was only at about 12:30, but I had already done over 20km and with significant climbing. After yesterday’s unintentionally long day, I decided to call it quits here.
The Casa Baztan is really beautiful.
The shower was hot and strong, and I’m here so early I washed all my clothes since they have plenty of time and sun to dry.
I realized when I showered that I’d left my sports bra at the last Albergue! Shoot! Those are expensive AND I’m very particular about comfort. ALSO, I only have exactly one set of hiking clothes and one set of non- hiking clothes. I’d either have to find a ride back, or buy a new one in the next town. Using mostly Google translate and hand gestures, I conveyed my issue to the host here. It is a very, very small town, no shops, just two Albergues. I didn’t think there would be a taxi in town. The host called his friend who agreed to drive me! It was an interesting ride as we tried to chat with my miserable Spanish. Success! Sports bra retrieved!
When I returned from the drive, a large group of friends from Ireland were hanging out outside the Albergue. They started chatting with me and the were just the friendliest bunch. They were walking further, so I hope to see them tomorrow!