Waiting in Pamplona

Michael Bolden
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Aug. 30, 2012

I’m spending today seeing Pamplona. Even though my plan has been changing as I travel, it always included an extra day in this city.

I have always loved to explore places that normal tourists might miss, to see how people live, love and laugh away from the eyes of strangers. But I am troubled in Pamplona.

As I walked the city this morning, little held interest for me, the plazas, the statues, the churches, the people. I was annoyed by the cars and even the buildings. I saw a lone Peregrino walking the Camino out of town and I made a point of wishing him well.

The day threatens rain, and that can be hard for those on the Camino, but all I could think of was how cool the wind would feel on my face.

I have spent most of the past week in the mountains. There have been no real towns since St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which without its claim on the Camino Frances would be almost nothing. I have grown used to the arduous climbs, the frightening descents, the company of sheep and cattle and Peregrinos. I have also grown used to the hours of solitude.

Sometimes I am only thinking about my next step. Other times I think about my mother, my life, my God, my place. It is easy to do it in the quiet of the Camino.

I have enjoyed the comfort of my hotel, sleeping in a room alone without the sounds of others around, but it has not been as satisfying as I expected (although I appreciate the double shower head and the hot water for my sore calves).

I have stayed in three albergues so far — hostels for Peregrinos — and they have been more comfortable than I expected. In Orisson I shared a room with six; in Roncesvalles, a massive dorm divided into private areas of four; in Zubiri, a room for 10 with a private bath and a comfortable common area downstairs. It surprises me how I have grown used to that, but people are so tired at the end of the night that just having a relatively comfortable bed is the most important thing.

Still, I will remain in Pamplona until morning. Then I will once again pick up my pack and rejoin the Way.

Adventures on the Camino

A curated collection of stories and photos from my walk along the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago in 2012. The content originally appeared on Tumblr.

Michael Bolden

Written by

Southerner. Journalist. Managing Director, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University | alumnus @knightfdn @washingtonpost @miamiherald

Adventures on the Camino

A curated collection of stories and photos from my walk along the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago in 2012. The content originally appeared on Tumblr.

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