Obanos

8:30pm
Restaurante Centro San Guillermo 

It was beautiful and cool as we left Pamplona this morning, but then things started to climb. Both in elevation and in temperature. Up and up and up we walked, and up and up and up the thermometer crept. Until we reached the beautiful overlook at Aldo del Perdon, the coolest monument to pilgrims. Gorgeous iron silhouettes stand as an homage to early pilgrims, and a monument to all, past and present. It’s breathtaking, and a worthwhile reward for our hard work. 

We had a snack, rested our feet, reapplied our sunscreen for the long and rocky descent, and reunited with some wonderful Camino friends. Including the most amazing group of Korean musicians, who are walking the Camino with their GIGANTIC traditional Korean instruments to play along the way and film a documentary. We met them on our first night in Orisson, and have reunited throughout the trip since then. They boggle my mind with their mental and physical strength and determination to create such wonderful art, and I’m so thankful we met them. PS look out for the Korean Gipsy documentary, because your girl may or may not have a small role. Heyohhhhhhh!

I was treated to a very sweet moment on the way up the hill to the monument too: A young boy was cycling up the rocky path with his dad (and boggling my mind the whole time), when he had to get off and push his bike (about a million miles after I would have had to get off and push my bike). A lady walking near him, a complete stranger, immediately walked up beside him, grabbed the back of his bike seat, and helped him push it a few meters before the boy’s dad came running back down from the top when he realized his son wasn’t right behind him. When he reached his boy, he immediately wrapped him in the HUGEST hug, kissed him all over his face, and expressed his pride in how far he’d come, before grabbing the bike and taking over the ascent. It was the most loving, tender moment and I teared up as I watched (shocking, I know) this display of father-son affection.

Sidebar: I wish we didn’t have such narrow minded and conservative masculinity and affection standards as a whole in our country. It’s not just this incident that makes me think this, it’s several interactions I’ve witnessed over here. Everyone is greeted with hugs, kisses, arms around their shoulders, etc. Men, women, children alike. Why are things so different at home? Why can’t two men embrace so affectionately outside of romantic relationships? Why do I see so much more tenderness and affection between dads and their daughters than dads with their sons? I realize this isn’t the case for everyone. I get that. But it’s just been on my mind today, and I really appreciate Spanish culture for this. 

After a brief cameo in the aforementioned Korean Gipsy documentary, we pressed on, down the steep rocky hill. We walked, and walked, and walked, through a few little towns, until we reached our final destination for the evening, Obanos. This is where our weary bods hit the jackpot. I booked our Albergue, Hostal Atseden, our first night in Pamplona. It has incredible reviews, looked absolutely beautiful, and the price was right at $28 USD for two beds for the night and breakfast for two in the morning! Too good. It’s a few kilometers short of Puente la Reina, where most of our Camino crew ended up tonight, but we just couldn’t pass up the reviews and price. And we are SO GLAD we went with this place. For starters, we are the ONLY PEOPLE HERE. Not another single soul. It’s as if we rented a beautiful AirBnb for the night. The bunks are situated so brilliantly, away from any major windows so as to get plenty dark, and each set has privacy curtains in the hall. We both got to pick bottom bunks since nobody else is here, and with two immaculate shower rooms, bathrooms (with double sinks) and lockers, we had the unique experience of not needing to take turns showering so one of us could keep an eye on our stuff. We both had entire shower rooms and restrooms to ourselves and soaked it all in. 

  

 

   

After some time in their beautiful lawn while we waited for our laundry, we walked up the street to one of the only open restaurants, only to strike gold once again when we found veggie burgers on the menu and the Spain vs. Portugal World Cup game on TV. It’s soooo fun to watch with locals, though I understand almost nothing they’re saying and yelling at the screen.

We’re heading back to our private oasis for the night, where our hostess will have set out a spread for breakfast and coffee in the morning. 

Life on the Camino is so simple and so sweet. It’s calming my anxiety and quieting my mind, and I am thankful, thankful, thankful.