Day 5 Pamploma - Cizur Minor

15.40pm We´ve had a good lunch in Pamplona as anticipated and are very much resting today. This morning we sadly said goodbye to Richard and Pam who've been fabulous walking chums and then did some more sightseeing in Pamplona. We went to the Museum of the Navarre and did a bit of culture. We had morning coffee and lunch in the Cafe d'Írun -a spectacular building and interior from another era. It was full of Spaniards having Sunday lunch so felt we were in the right place.

Mo's ankles started to swell again and my foot and ankle joints are hurting - stuff seems to resurface after a few days - so we decided it was sensible to share the taxi with Bernt to Cizur Minor. This is on the other (south) side of Pamplona and takes us 5km on the route to Puenta la Reina which is tomorrow´s destination.

This hostel is really amazing -it sleeps 50 plus and there is every nationality under the sun. The lady running it seems to be an expert on pilgrim ailments and on arrival she examined Bernt's feet and said she 'will see to them later'. She was busy fixing panty pads to the inside soles of a dutch guy's feet to stop his feet slipping about - a remarkable use to put them to! We have been allocated beds in a dormitory where only top bunks are available but Mo has managed to commandeer a campbed close to the door for easy exit and is fast asleep on it as I write.

We have run into another English guy, Peter, who was on the plane with us from Birmingham to Biarritz and who keeps popping up from time to time. This is such an intriguing aspect of the camino - people disappear and then pop up again. The Australians yelled at us from a hotel window in Pamplona as we had lost track of them over the last few days.

We had a really varied days walking yesterday punctuated by lots of mud. It was virtually all off road through woods, villages, along river banks and quite a bit of concrete crazy paving,courtesy of the E.U. for the pilgrims.

18.36pm
We have had some crazy crazy storms this afternnon -really pleased we're not walking in it today. Just had long conversation with Anna who is German but lives and works (as an actress) in Dublin. She has been saving up for the last 10 years, 25 euros per month, in order to take 2 months off to do the camino. She says she has wanted to do it for ever. I am still incredulous of the number and variety of people that do this. I read somewhere before I started that less than 50% folk do it for religious reasons nowadays but I get the impression that most people are on some kind of 'spiritual' journey. It's not always easy to discuss and I've put my foot in it once or twice so have to tread carefully.

The leaflet in the tourist information centre in Pamplona gives 5 reasons - to see World Heritage sites, for outdoor activity, to enjoy extraordinary food and wine, for the chance to stay in historic buildings and to meet people from different creeds and gain personal enlightenment on the way. I guess as many different reasons as people.

We're in the 'common room' using the internet. All around loads of different languages, people eating different kinds of food they have cooked (we're still full from lunch)