Blogs from Navarre, Spain, Europe - page 25

Was up at 6am to spark up and get my arse to the course for the run. Headed in with some Americans that were staying in another room but had my guts decide they wanted to get rid of the tap water I had drunk at 4am along the way. Portable toilet block was out of paper, so after hassling the cleaning guy for some got the Cabury squirts out of the way then made my way to the entry gate to get into the course. Damn there was a lot of people there. Just getting through the gate was a squeeze, I hadn't been expecting there to be this many people here. Mostly guys but there was a few girls in there as well - but it turned out they were just there to soak ... read more

5/7/08 Pamplona Running of the bulls festival was a must see on my list of things to do, immortalised by Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Always Rises. This crazy festival runs from the 6-14th of July where the city is over run with thrill seekers, me and Dale and the bulls. The Encierio (Running of the bulls) starts at 8am daily the bulls and people run 825m which takes three mins. We stayed with Top deck camping for four nights, we found our tent got some beer and got into the party attomsphere. We soon found a couple of kiwis so we joined up and spent the rest of the festival hanging out together. The first day was opening day we got into our gear (whites with a red sash and neck scarf). We arrived at ... read more

Although not totally straight forward, we’ll spare you the details, the camping stove gas mission was accomplished successfully in Pamplona. The Spaniards don’t appear to be the most fervent of 'proper' campers. Since our leaving Pamplona much has happened and another 42 kilometres covered. Although before we give the latest we must make a quick mention on the Dutch. Wow, they truly are everywhere and certainly lead the world in their numbers undertaking ambitious biking endeavours. On both our first and second nights camping the only other people that we shared the tent camping area with were both Dutch. Both with bike and both had started cycling from Holland on their journeys to Santiago. The second was even on a three month route going back via Italy. Such biking trips have become such common place in ... read more

I started walking the "Camino de Santiago" (Way of St. James) last weekend. So far, I´ve walked 72 miles and my feet are paying for it! Two words sum it up so far... MUD and BLISTERS. Besides that, it´s been great. The Camino is a pilgrimage that Europeans have been trekking for over 1,000 years. The goal... to reach the Cathredal in Santiago de Compostella in NW Spain, where it´s believed that the remains of St. James (the apostle) was buried. My average day of walking has been 8 - 9 hours with an hour break for lunch in the middle. Most of the other "pilgrims," as we´re called, are from all over the world. I´ve only met one other American so far. I´m currently walking with a woman from Brazil named Patricia and a man ... read more

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