Pilgrimage Day 3: Arre - Puente la Reina

I found out at the monastery in Arre where I had slept, was a strategic place in Roman times. The bridge leading into town was from the Middle Ages and the monastary used to be pilgrimage hospital from the 1100s. There were many sick people who took the journey to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Ages, hoping to be healed. Many became more ill and died along the way. Many of these old churches I pass by have special pilgrimage tombs from the Middle Ages.

I went from Arre around 07 AM and entered the famous city of Pamplona, ​​just one hour later. I went through the French gate and up to the fortress, which was completed so early as 75 BC. The route in Pamplona passes through narrow streets with old, high walls from houses on both sides. There are now 250 000 people in Pamplona. The city was in the year 1000 the capital of the Duke supremacy of Navarra, Sancho III. There is so much history to see everywhere here. It's like going back in history and that time stands still. 


In these streets they it out one day every year in early July, loads of bulls. For some reason, people think it's fun to run for their lives in front of the bulls. It is called the San Fermin festival. It's nice to walk through these quiet streets early in the morning. The city has not yet awakened. I found a small bakery and ordered a cup of coffee and some pastry, and had a nice morning hour on a small chair on the sidewalk. But I had to leave this beautiful, historical city and move on. There are lots of yellow arrows in the city, painted on the walls or simply on the sidewalk. Many places have metal arrows in the sidewalk, too. 

 13 km outside Pamplona I come to Alto del Perdón. Here I find several yard high and long pilgrimage monuments. There are also a number of beautiful windmills. Here I sat a good while with my tomatoes and water. Fantastic views all around. Towards the east I could see in the distant my goal for the day, Puente la Reina.  

There is a steep downward slope from the Alto del Perdón and I began to notice that my ankles were a little painful. I had to walk in a zigzag several times inorder to relieve ankle slightly. Am I starting to get some problems with my feet? I pushed the thought away, but the pain was there. I drove on through beautiful small villages: Uterga, Muruzábal, Óbanos before I get to Puente la Reina. I had walked nearly 25 km. On the way into town I passed a hand-painted sign telling me that I have 747 km left to Santiago de Compostella.