Communal dinner

 Day 3, Thursday. We made our way very slowly from Zubiri to Trinidad de Arre, just outside of Pamplona.  Jess´ blisters allowed us the opportunity to hear everyone´s opinions on blister care and prevention.  Many kind people offered supplies of compeed and tape.  We were walking at very different paces and decided to split up, each of us with a Sarah that we had met.

The albergue for the night was in a monastery and couldn´t have been more lovely.  You had to pass through a little chapel before entering a courtyard with trees, flowers and plenty of chairs to rest after the difficult journey. 

That night we enjoyed the company of fellow pilgrims as we prepared a meal together.  We planned on sharing a meal with Sarah and Sarah, which spiraled into including a woman from Madrid named Isabel and a Frenchman named Christian.  Everyone contributed to the meal in their own way.  Brian and Sarah went for some of the basic provisions.  Christian added a bottle of wine, some meat, and olives.  Isabel, last to arrive to the kitchen and understandably the least prepared to contribute, offered her fruit for the following day´s hike to be part of dessert.  People were cooking and laughing together.  Mostly English was spoken, but there was also a lot of Spanish and French.  The night spilled into the garden and we continued conversations about the pilgrimage in the monastery´s courtyard.  It was something that we had read about on forums and in guidebooks...not something we expected to encounter in the first few days of our trip.  The pilgim mentality is something unique.

Sarah (Peligrosa), Sarah (Tortuga), Jess and Isabel

The night ended similarly to other nights - we tried to sleep despite mucho snoring, people woke up extremely early to start the race, and we were annoyed.  Thankfully we only plan on walking 5k to Pamplona for a day or two of blister rest.