Occidental Leyre Pamplona

... was interesting, the usual olives, calamari, chorizo, proscuitto...and then there were the french fries and chips..very odd! It was 6.30pm by this stage and the light was as bright at 2pm! Dan and I walked around the quaint lanes a bit tipsy after the Sangria.. until we ended back at the Bar to go to the toilets...and got roped into more Sangria- not unwillingly I will say. Matt, Mo and Calvin were having more Sangria..so we had a pitcher as well and were very ...

At the first town we arrived at in the morning, George decided to stay for a few days to rest at a hotel. He was in pretty bad shape with his knee. I felt very badly for his pain, but was grateful for his honesty. The night before we had talked about the issue of friendships on the camino. He was sad and anxious about seeing the french group and some of the others go on without him. I felt a lot better to hear that he had similar worries, as I felt conflicted about the cliqueness ...

... George was great and intense.

A bit while later we were alongside a huge field of sunflowers, when George realized his camera was gone. I volunteered to run back to where we had been resting, as he thought he left it there. I ran (without my pack) alongside the same beautiful landscape i had just traversed. Somehow though, it felt more beautiful, slightly familiar. I now believe that walking back from Santiago to St Jean Pied de Port would be ...

... to her. They are buddhists and were very interesting, but a little too whimsically french for me to relate to well. Real and Hank also caught up - Real is in his 60s and is from canada, but lived and worked in france for a long time as an english teacher. Hank is 75 years old and from the netherlands (i think)... he is amazing... a few years ago he walked out of his house their and ended up at santiago a while later. Unfortunately, Real lost his wallet along this days walk ...

... the actual running of the bulls. After arriving we exited the train station and decided to do something new, not look at a map.
As we wondered our way to the towns center, all we had to do was follow the crowds of people wearing white shirts, red hankercheifs and red sashes around their waste. Using this technique we made our way to the festivities fairly easily. We got a quick bite to eat at one of the many tents selling food. I was the first to order and got “patates con ...

... for a week a piece but I had to cut out Portugal all together because I stayed here too long.
Fun Factor: Awesome! There are so many things to do here.

Security: As long as you are smart, you are fine.
THUMBS UP: I enjoyed my time here. I´m even going to really learn Spanish now when I return to school in January. La práctica hace la perfección

That´s all she wrote for now. I have 6 hours or so until I head on a plane for Rome. Adios!

I managed to avoid the gaze of the hypnotic turtles at Atocha station and passed through security quickly. I've never had my bag scanned at a train station before, nor have I ever had a departure gate for a train before. Spanish train stations are more like airports than stations, complete with that feeling you've lost all your human rights. It's reasonable enough though really, the country has had it's fair share of terrorism over the years. Most ...

... Not really a village, more like three houses and a paved road, and not really a bar, more a garage with two tables and a small kid selling coffee and biscuits. It works though. There are already some pilgrims gathered drinking coffee and eating biscuits, so I decide to stop here too. Having finished my breakfast, I carry on. Again I do not want to rest too much time. The sun is rising above the mountains and the blue skies promises hot ...

... and tries to skewer you in a human shish kebob! 4:00am; Fine I'm up what's the point? I can't sleep anyways, so let' s get this party started. This is where you realize the party never ended to begin with. There are just as many people in the city has before but drunker! I stake my spot and we start to play the waiting game. Granted having the worlds funniest home video- love and drunken stupidity marathon edition, in front of you is a good way to pass the time :) 6:30am ...

... beers. As soon as the opening was over, we made a mad rush to the muscle bar area to watch the statue divers. It is sheer stupidity. Climb a 3 metre high statue and jump. There was quite a bit of claret flowing, and the ambulances were making regular trips to and from the hospital. Also, if you wanted to take photos of this event, you needed to be in the right spot as everytime someone climbed, people threw eggs at them. I was hit in the face, quite a few ...