Hola faithful blog readers! As the last post mentioned, our technology has been a little spotty over the last week, but we think the problem is solved and will try to be posting consistently from now on.

My name is Henry, but each of us should be posting at least once on here during our journey. We made it into the bustling city of Burgos today, but I'll fill you in on the first few days and someone else can take care of catching you up completely.

Well, we started hiking from a town up in the mountains called Roncesvalles. It was only a few kilometers from the French border, but the trail section coming before it is known to be especially brutal. The gossip among us pilgrims was that a woman broke her hip walking into Roncesvalles the day before we arrived. Needless to say, we were glad to have started past that treacherous section.

In Roncesvalles we had an incredible welcome meal in the Albergue (pilgrims' lodgings) complete with roast duck, sirloin, some kind of fancy paté, delicious fresh bread, and some Basque cake that the girls have been raving about since.

Some real nice, lush scenery in the Spanish Pyrenees. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's been mostly like this. Some snowy peaks off in the distance, but lots of lush forest until we got out of the mountains.

Day 1. Walking over rivers and through the countryside.

My buddy Peter and I after the rain stopped. Beautiful views (and some handsome young men if you ask me).

Dinner with the crew in Zubiri

A cool shot of a fountain in Pamplona. The bulls run right through this square during San Fermín.

On our first day of hiking, we made it to the beautiful little valley town of Zubiri. It had been raining off and on for much of the morning, but the sunny views from up in the high hills, looking down on the many little towns, made the hike well worth getting a bit wet. I'll try to get a few pictures of the day onto here, but don't know if it's going to work out.

On our second day we walked from Zubiri to the well-known city of Pamplona. Pamplona is best known as the host of the annual Festival de San Fermín, where the famous running of the bulls takes place.

The weather was perfect for a long hike, and the city was absolutely stunning. On our way through the city to our hotel, we walked through much of the old city. I couldn't help but imagine pilgrims walking the same streets and looking at the very same buildings hundreds of years before us. There is an historic fort in Pamplona- the city served for centuries as an important stronghold for the region of Navarre.

Our night in Pamplona happened to fall on the same night as the championship game of the European Champions League for fútbol. The game was unique this year because in the final game were two teams not just from Spain, but two teams from Madrid itself! It was Real Madrid (think the Yankees, Patriots, and Lakers combined all into one) versus the underdog Madrid Atlético. We decided we had to head into the city to catch the game with the locals to get the full experience.
Well, it started raining and we were pretty soaked by the time we found a place, but the atmosphere in the little Spanish bar was great, and the fans all watching the same small TV made for an exciting evening. Atlético took an early 1-0 lead, but Real tied it up just before it would have ended. They dominated the overtime and ended up winning 4-1 to the chagrin of our Spanish friends.

Well, that's all I have for now. The trip is going great so far. Parents, your kids are all safe and having a great time. Expect more posts in the coming days (we're hoping for one a day).

Until next time,
Henry Z