Today we hiked from Viskaret to Pamplona , a total of 20 miles.  It was a spectacularly painful day!  Spectacular, as the scenery and the whole experience of walking is very unique.  Painful, because our bodies feel like hell right now!  Linda also has the beginnings of blisters on her feet and inflammation  on one of her feet.

The hike was quite challenging, with lots of ups and downs through a series of mountains, often next to a river.  Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and was around 65 degrres F, with a lite mist for most of the day.  The only issue with the lite rain was that the trail was sometmes muddy, and on downhill walks, the rocks could become quiet slippery.  So, we had to be very careful in navigating many of the hills.

The scenery in this part of Spain is very similar to Switzerland.   Many of the surrounding mountains still have snow, and the hills are lush with trees and foliage.  The houses are a chalet style, similar to Switzerland.  There are lots and lots of cows, with the sound of cow bells ever present.  Of course with cows, you also get the overwhelming smell of cow shit....!

We left Viskaret at 8:30 am and arrived Pamplona  about 5:30.  A very long day of walking.   Fortunately, the hotel I had reserved is a very nice boutique like hotel, and a great place to end the day.

We spent a couple of hours exploring Pamplona in the evening.  We have always enjoyed the Spanish tradition of taking an evening stroll and the people were out in mass in Pamplona.   Most of you probably know this is where they have the running of bulls every June.  What a beautiful city, with spectacular squares, churches, parks, shps, etc.  We visited Pamplona in 1998 when we lived in Barcelona, but only spent a day there.  I would greatly enjoy going back to spend more time.

We had a terrific Spanish meal at a restaurant on the main square.  There was a large group of  Dutch people next to us.   They were there on a tour, walking the Camino.  With two key differences: they were hiking for 7 days only this time and the tour company carried their bags to the next city.  They told us that they intend to come back next year and hike another part of the Camio.  A fun group of people and interesting to talk to.

Tomorrow we will hike about 15 miles from Pamplona to Puente Reina.