Hello blog readers!

I'm John LaRoy, and I'm the TA for the class this year.  I was a participant in the first Hiking Through History class in 2012, and this is now my second time hiking El Camino de Santiago! We have ameliorated the majority of our technical issues, so you should most likely be seeing regular (daily) posts on the blog, so be sure to stay updated on our adventures!

After experiencing a quick taste of Pamplona, we set off on a comfortable 26 kilometer (16 mile) hike to Puente la Reina. Our walk to to the city was initially accompanied by smatterings of rain, but shortly after setting out the drizzling stopped which was quite nice.  The main portion of the hike to Puente la Reina passes over Alto de Perdón, a landmark that is the home of a well-recognized pilgrim sculpture.  The sculpture represents pilgrims on foot and on horse, and has an inscribed quote, translating to "where the path of the wind crosses that of the stars." From here, we could see a spectacular view of the surrounding Spanish plains, reminding me of the words from My Fair Lady: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."  They were definitely right about that one.

Pilgrim sculptures atop Alto de Perdón

Before heading straight to Puente la Reina, we decided to hike a few extra kilometers to the Church of Saint Mary of Eunate.  This specific church is a 12th-century Romanesque church with an octagonal shape.  The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but the original constructors of their church and their specific motives are unknown.  There is legend that the church is built upon a strong energy center, explaining its choice as a sacred site.

The gorgeous church of Saint Mary of Eunate

From Eunate, we finished our walk to Puente la Reina in the rain before finding our hostel/albergue. Puente la Reina, literally translating to "bridge of the Queen," is located in the Navarra region of Spain; the main bridge of the city was built specifically for pilgrims hiking the Camino, and is a stunning example of Romanesque style architecture. The bridge marks the convergence of two separate Camino routes: the Jacobean (Orreaga/Roncesvalles) route and the Toulouse-Somport route.  Upon our arrival, we all relaxed for a while, did laundry, and then had an amazing dinner at our albergue, with choices including spaghetti, rice with veggies, stew, bread, fish, fries, fruit, and, most importantly, ice cream.

Romanesque Bridge at Puente la Reina

While this post only covers through our third day of the trip, more will be coming to fill you in on the rest of our adventures!  For now, I must be off.

Adios,

John LaRoy

P.S.  While we were in our albergue in Puente la Reina, we met a man who was in the process of running his camino, covering 60-70 kilometers a day, hoping to finish the 790 kilometer trail in less than two weeks while carrying all of his supplies.  That definitely didn't make us feel any better about our sore feet and aching knees.

Bonus picture of a donkey: