The weather Gods have been very kind to us. We awake to another beautiful day… And I’m ready to walk! As we walk out of the beautiful city of Pamplona, we start the climb up into the surrounding hills… Yellow flowers as far as the eye can see greet us… We decide the crop is probably mustard…. We see the path rising above us going up higher and higher into the hills.

Our bodies are getting stronger each day, but this is a pretty steady uphill climb for several miles. We keep our eyes on the prize… The windmills situated all along the top of the ridge. Alto de Perdón, a place of forgiveness, a famous series of metal statues of pilgrims is situated next to a row of windmills, but we will not be able to see it until we are on top of it.

1/2 way up the hill, we enter a small, picturesque village where we stop for lunch… I have my first tortilla, a quiche like dish, but I have to say, I am a little underwhelmed at its blandness, I have heard so much about them… Maybe the next will be better.

Now the going gets tougher… As we continue to climb on ever steeper trails, we are wowed by views that go all the way to the snow capped Pyrenees that we conquered several days ago. The trail is rocky, my knee starts hurting badly, I’m limping and am afraid I will not be able to make this tough climb…..so I start repeating to myself over and over in my head “my knee heals itself and feels better with every step”… Within minutes I feel so much better and am able to continue climbing. Before we get to the top it is as good as new.

After a slow, steady pace with frequent breaks we get to the top of the mountain… We take pictures with the figures, hang out for a while, then begin the long, steep, rocky descent.  Just before entering Uterga, our village for the night, we come upon a large statue of Mary… I am seeing she has a huge presence on this trail… I stop and pray for my grandson, and we walk down the street of a beautiful, old village in search of our albergue…all is very quiet, the town almost seems deserted until we come upon a happenin’ scene, sorry I thought I took a picture….outside, the place is hopping with pilgrims, relaxing in the sun, with wine and beer after a satisfying day on the trail. We enjoy the rest of the gorgeous afternoon as we wait for dinner.