Day 3 - Trinidad to Cizur Menor - 10km

I started off in the morning just before eight after a pretty good night - no snorers (or I didn´t hear them) and I am now getting used to my sleeping bag. A small fly in the ointment is that for safety´s sake I always put my bumbag in the sleeping bag, pushed down to the bottom right near my feet. It has my passport, bank cards and cash in it as well as camera, so it never leaves my waist except in the shower (where it goes in with me in a ziplock bag) or at night. Since my sleeping bag is the mummy variety, narrower at the bottom, there isn´t much room for my feet and the bumbag. Eventually I got used to this but in the beginning it was a nuisance.

Everyone else had left well before me, but I wasn´t in a hurry as I had decided to have a short day. Most people were planning to stay in Pamplona and go sightseeing, but since I had already done that I intended to go straight through the city and stay in a town five kilometers further on. The following day would involve a steep climb up and down and I wanted to get as close to this as possible.

It was a misty morning and very cold, 7C when I set off. The way led through suburbs towards Pamplona and was well marked by yellow arrows except near some roadworks where I temporarily lost my way. I reached the city by 9 and fortunately found a souvenir shop where I was at last able to buy a stick and the traditional pilgrim scallop shell to hang from my rucksack. Since most shops don´t open until 10 and I didn´t know where this one was it was only by a fluke I found it.

I went into a bar for breakfast, but only stopped for a quick coffee. The bar was full of young tourists, very noisy and drunk, and still drinking at that time in the morning. The floor was so sticky I couldn´t put my rucksack down and there was nowhere to sit. A Spanish chap on a stool next to me started a long rambling conversation about the tourists but since he was also drunk I couldn´t understand most of what he said. I hadn´t found anywhere else open and I needed my caffeine fix so I stuck it out while I had a coffee then cleared off.

After buying some supplies for the next day (Sunday) and eating some breakfast on a park bench, I headed out of Pamplona, again on a well-marked trail. After another long walk through suburbs and past university grounds I eventually reached the albergue in Cizur Menor after a bit of a climb. It was closed when I arrived at 12 but there was somewhere nice to sit in the shade as it was pretty hot by now. When I did book in about an hour later I found the albergue had a lovely garden to sit in and even a pool with turtles. Being the first arrival I had first choice in the dorm and actually got a bed instead of the usual bunk.

The hospitaleira was a very nice lady who later on cared for the feet of the pilgrims who came hobbling and limping in suffering from blisters. For most people this was the third or fourth day of walking and quite a few were having a bad time with blisters and sore muscles.

After a snack I did my chores, following the same routine as most pilgrims and this became a daily established habit. First you shower, then wash clothes, prepare your rucksack for the next day, check your e-mails if there is internet available, write up your notes, go shopping and eat. Some of the early starters used to sleep for a couple of hours after arriving, but I only did this rarely as bedtime was usually around 9 and I wouldn´t have been able to get to sleep. I had a pilgrim meal that night, on my own because I had inadvertently picked a restaurent no-one else had. I had a very good night´s sleep in my bed and was not disturbed by any snorers. I think I´m usually so tired I just don´t hear them anymore. I´m not using earplugs, unlike most, because I find them uncomfortable. In fact I eventually threw mine away.