PAMPLONA – PUENTE LA REINA
28 MARCH
24.1km
In anticipation, we left our hostel early that morning and said “Buen Camino” to each other. “Buen Camino” is the common phrase between pilgrims meaning “good path/way”, but it could also be interpreted as “good luck and happy journey/travelling”.
Ready for some serious walking
The first part of the day’s walking was quite easy … maybe because it was our first day! The sun was shining and the scenery beautiful.
On our way to Alto del Perdon – the highest point of the day
In Zariquiegui
In Zariquiegui we walked past a tiny shop. We peeked through the window and saw these big red apples. Berto could not resist buying us each one. Maybe just in time, because we then started to climb a long steep hill to the highest point of the day, Alto del Perdon (altitude of 790m).
Sweet apples
On our way to Alto del Perdon, we walked passed a group of young Korean girls. They were such a happy bunch and greeted us friendly. (We would see them almost every second or third day until the day we reached Santiago).
Walking the Camino during spring time – beautiful
On top of Alto del Perdon we had stunning views and could look back to Pamplona. It was almost hard to believe that we already walked such a long way … not knowing of course what was lying ahead of us in the next couple of weeks.
Alto del Perdon: Wrought iron representation of medieval pilgrims … and one real pilgrim!
After a steep downhill, we stopped in Uterga where we shared an ice-cold Coke. On our way to Uterga, we met John from Ireland – he had done several Camino’s already – and told us that every time he does the Camino, it’s a different experience. We were looking forward to our own experience.
Beautiful green fields on our way to Puente la Reina
In Obanos: The impressive neo-Gothic Church of St. John the Baptist
Yes, we are definitely on the Camino!
Walking through Obanos
As we walked into Puente la Reina, we were welcomed by a friendly guy at Albergue Jakue. We there and then decided to overnight at this albergue.
Our dorm consists of 36 beds, but it felt quite private with the bamboo partitions. It was anyway just the two of us and later two Italian girls joined us. They also had a dog that was walking the Camino with them.
We walked into the town and bought snacks for the next day. Later that evening we sat outside by the bar area until late discussing our first day.
The streets of Puente la Reina
It was a good day.
Our bunk beds behind bamboo partitions in Albergue Jakue
Wet and Dusty Roads 
On the way. That is a much more sensible distance on the first day than your Portuguese camino.
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Yes, it was … but it is also true that there are many towns with albergues/hostels within a short distance of each other, while the towns are much more spread on the first half of the Portuguese Camino. But it is more sensible to walk a few short(er) stages at the beginning 👍🏻
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Hi Corna and Berto,
Since 2013 Karen and I have done lots of walks/treks in various parts of the world. We know five other people who have done a Camino but so far haven’t made the time/commitment to do one. Here we have two days of rain forecast and as it has been raining all day so far I have found these old posts of yours and am reading them with great interest.
Cheers, Mark
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Hi Mark, good for you…you walked the Camino Frances in just two days! Thanks for stopping by to read about our first Camino – it was a real “life changer” for us (and after the Portuguese Camino the following year, even more so).
Well done on reading all of our posts about the Camino Frances – I know you and Karen are keen walkers and will understand the physical and emotional challenges that come with such a journey.
Hope the rain stops soon in order for you to get back into nature!
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Wow, dit is amazing om van julle Camino te kan lees! Hoe ver was die eerste dag se stap?
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Die eerste dag se stap was 24km – dankie dat jy dit gou vinnig saam met ons “gestap” het Aletta 😉. Elke dag se stap was so tussen 20-30km, maar dit is moontlik om dit korter te maak (as jy nie gedruk is vir tyd nie). Ons het net 5 weke tot ons beskikking gehad … as ons dit weer doen (en ons wil baie graag), hoop ons om BAIE meer tyd te he … dan sal ons letterlik net tot op die volgende dorpie stap (wat omtrent 5-10km verder is).
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Dit klink ongelooflik! Sal dalk eendag so iets wil doen! – sal moet baie oefen om die afstand te kan stap!
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Jy stap dan so maklik ‘n hele paar kilometers elke dag … hierdie sal jy lag-lag kan doen! Jy kan reel dat jou bagasie (rugsak) aangery word deur ‘n courier maatskappy, dan dra jy net ‘n dag sakkie saam met jou. En jy hoef nie in daardie albergues (jeug hostelle) te slaap nie! Daar is baie AirBnB en hotelle op die roete – so geen ongemak nie!
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Sal daaraan mmoet begin beplan! 😀
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