I made it to Pamplona this morning and will stay here for two days. I’ve walked almost 50 miles in the last 3 days. The first day had the best scenery, but there have been fewer hills to climb since then.

The first day I didn’t run into many English speakers. For the last two days I’ve been walking with a group that includes two Australian doctors on their honeymoon, there Irish nurses, a Scottish hotel manager, and a priest from Baltimore.

The albergues where we sleep along the way are cheap (about $10 a night) and quite nice, but it can be difficult to sleep. There are always a few people that snore, and people start leaving at about 4a.m.  Tonight I’m staying at the Marriott.

There is a big festival in Pamplona today. There are bands in the streets in their Basque outfits and everyone has tables set up in the streets to eat and big bowls of sangria to drink. Unfortunately it just started pouring rain, the first rain of the trip. I’m sitting on the Plaza Del Castillo under the awning at Cafe Iruna, Hemingway’s old hangout (at least according to the Cafe), so it’s not too bad.