A Description of the Walk from Pamplona to Puente la Reina comprising 50 words

Sadly left awesome hostel. Basque terrorist bar cheered us. We climbed a ridge. Windmills everywhere- East, West views were best. Descending (Jules practising accents), farmland totally contrasted mountains before. Worthy detour to Eunates- an octagonal church. Boots off= BLISS! Cooked with Roland. Shared cheap wine and conversation with Aussies. 2PM bedtime- naughty pilgrims!

Come to Pamplona, the surrealist´s city.

Walk through our confusing mess of alleys, plazas and civic buildings.

Witness the reintroduction and incorporation of criminals and the insane into Pamplonian society. Such as back alley knife throwing, E.T.A friendly taverns and a metanlly challenged boy with a stick!

Want a little risk in yor life? Why not pull a face at an old woman. Only joking! Run with testosterone dosed bulls in an enclosed street race.

Want efficiency and fun? Who doesn´t? well all our hostels are run by Germans.

Why not sample the culinary delights of our fine city, the chestnut.

Tour our wide range of churches, museums and gallerys. Now closed 23 hours a day. That not enough culture for you? Visit our tourism office, it´s so new we haven´t even employed staff yet!

Want to relax for a quiet drink in the pub? Tough, as noisy stag partys are in town an they´re here to stay.

Visit Pamplona, the surreal city!

Julian

A Poem Entitled ´Roncesvalles to Larrasoaña´ by Melissa ´the Pilgrim´Geere

Woke up today
Thinking ´27k?´
I really don´t want to walk that today

So off we went
And by áll descent´
I really don´t know what our relief map meant

But wonderful views
Canadian girl blues
Her pack was too heavy and her feet were too bruised

Progress was slow
A snakes by Jules´toe
How we manged without peanut butter I don´t know

Blackberry-full
Lunch watched by bulls
Suspicious red splashes on our hostel walls

The warden- a frown
The hostel- tumbledown
The pilgrims- all cheerful and talking all round

Wine- one euro paying
Rock music was playing
Pilgrims all chatting and laughing- not praying!

Spirituality
Religion, morality
Discussing with pilgrims of all nationality

On the camino
And why? Only he knows
A Dutchman called Roland carrying 23 kilos

Tomorrow, he joins us
Which can only be a plus
And now I must log out for sleep is a must

Melissa

Mel and I are just over the Spanish border. Wa walked about 27km today from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Ronceville. It felt like it was all uphill. Shortly after leaving Saint Jean we met Antra. She is spending a year away from Canada travelling about Europe. We joined together to attempt the ascent.
The route wasn´t bad and the views over the mountains were incredible. We passed through the cloud barrier and walked into strong sunlight. We both have sun burn. We are assuming that all the pains of today will get worse, therefore we remain optimistic.
The pilgrim´s dinner was really good; we had expected broth and bread. Instead we had pasta for starters and trout with chips for mains. It was served on the bone so I felt superior being the only one on the table who knew how to eat it. The wine was very nice and made us look forward to the wine tap later on the camino; we will be investing in multiple bottles before visiting.
We were a multi-national table with Poles, Austrians, Germans, Canadians and even Brazilians. Though we soon moved past any barriers as the Brazilians referred to me as Harry Potter and soon everyone else did too. Melissa was jealous, though she tried to disguise it with fits of laughter, though I could see through it to the resent she held.
After our meal we all went to the monastery where Melissa received a pilgrim´s blessing. We´re going to be now because tomorrow mornign bodes for an early start.

Julian

P.S. Narrowly avoiding having to share a bed with Melissa as Antra has taken quite a liking to her. Lucky for me as it means I get top bunk.

Leaving tomorrow

Well it's finally sinking in. Tonight Melissa and I went drinking with our friends as a goodbye. As I was leaving the weight of the upcoming trek hit. 500 miles!
I still need to pack. I think it's going to turn out alright but it is still a pretty momentous task.

Julian

10 days to go and it's all starting to come together. The donation site is up and on Monday Melissa and I are going walk training in the Peak districts. Still haven't actually got any finances for the trip but pay checks should hopefully come swamping in the day we leave.

We've already had out first donations. Which is a pretty amazing feeling. Thanks for the support guys.

Julian