Day 5 - Cafe Con Leche and Sangria : Roncesvalles to Zubiri

Cafe Con Leche on the Camino Frances

Our third day on the Camino began with the sounds of the volunteers singing and playing music as they walked down the halls of the albergue waking everyone up at 6 AM. What a positive way to begin the day! We headed down to a breakfast of coffee, juice, muffins, and two apples at La Posada, and then headed out. 

As we passed the famous sign, with its humbling reminder of how far we still have to go, it felt like our journey was really beginning in earnest.

 

 

While much of the day was pleasant and warm, the morning was foggy and damp as we followed the path along fence lines, past farmer's fields, and through small villages. As the morning progressed, the route shifted from a dirt trail to a farm tract, to a gravel pathway, to a stamped concrete walkway. 

 

Rural Spain

As the landscape slowly changed and we passed through the villages of Burguete, Espinal, and Viskarretta, we were guided forward by the shell markers, yellow arrows, Camino cairns, historical crosses, and red and white GR65 markers that were starting to feel familiar. 

 

 

We were also greeted by numerous messages scrawled on the backs of signs, as well as skillfully painted murals and pilgrim-centred graffiti which made us really like we were part of a community of hikers.

Although quite a bit of today's hike seemed to be uphill, the day passed quickly, and we soon found ourselves crossing the historical bridge into the town of Zubiri, which is where we decided to stop for the night. According to Tourism Navarre, the footbridge over the river Arga is called the "bridge of rabies." It is said that Saint Quiteria's relics are contained in one of the bridge's piers, and a long time ago people used to bring their sick animals to the bridge and walk them three times around its main pillar, hoping for a cure. 

Zubiri Spain

Although our guidebook warned that Zubiri was a rough, unappealing, industrial town, we found it to be a clean, quiet, and rather charming village. The town itself provides hikers with a full range of amenities, including a backpacking outfitting store, pharmacist, bakery, municipal albergue, additional gites, several bars/restaurants, and a beautiful church at the centre of town. 

Warm, dirty and tired, we stopped at one of the first lodgings we came to after crossing into town, the Albergue Zaldiko. This establishment features much smaller dorms than we have shared the past few nights, with only three bunks in each room, which seems like quite a luxury.

 

Once we had checked in, showered, done our laundry and hung it out to dry, we decided to head into town to explore. Although the town is quite small, we soon found the bakery and purchased some apple cake, which we took down to the riverside to enjoy and we cooled our feet. 

 

 

Resting and Reflecting 

At the edge of the river, with our shoes off and a nice piece of cake to enjoy, we rediscovered the beautiful simplicity of not moving, not doing anything, not thinking, and above all not carrying a backpack! Sitting there peacefully, made us wonder why we don't take more time for silence and activities that we know will relax our bodies and fill our souls when we are at home? What is it about our lives - not bad lives or even overly stressful ones - whose routine seems to drain us and distract us? What makes us check our emails or pick up a phone when all we want is a break from the world? Here along the Camino, without cell reception and away from the internet, things that seem like priorities in our everyday lives at home are beginning to seem woefully misplaced. As we are beginning to settle into the rhythm of the trail, and our bodies are starting to adjust to the new level of physical activity, I think we are being blessed with a new refreshing perspective.

Pilgrim Dinner and Celebrations

By the early evening, several pilgrims met at a corner bar called the Cafe del Camino where we pushed patio tables together and enjoyed a number of sandwiches, salads, tapas, and several pitchers of Sangria. The result was hours of wonderful, joyous and honest conversation. Tonight we were fortunate enough to be able to listen to people's reasons for hiking the Camino, to hear their hopes, their dreams, and their fears - both in life and on the trail. It was an evening of beautiful honesty and openness. Many were trekking for spiritual reasons, some needed a break from life, some wanted to find direction in life, others had retired and had always wanted to see the world, while some were out actively hoping to find a husband or wife.

Eventually, our exhaustion overcame us and we all headed "home" for the night. Hopeful for a peaceful and quiet evening, we tucked into our sleeping bags, only to discover that around midnight, when the cool mountain air settled over the region, a lively soccer match was to unfold outside our window. The game lasted until 3am, and while it was wonderful to hear families and children together outside enjoying themselves, after three days of poor rest we were left wishing we could turn down the volume a bit. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change" and the strength to get through tomorrow's hike."

See you on the Trail!
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Practical information:

Distance: 21.9 km
Max Temperature: 28°C
Accommodations: Albergue Zaldiko