Pamplona

Howdy....found this little internet place that is cheapish. Best news is that they have a port I can download pictures on. Don´t know if I can do it yet, don´t have the cable with me, but I´m gonna try tomorrow so I can finally get some friggin´ pictures to you guys. That´d be swell wouldn´t it?

So...I am taking the day off the road to be a tourist here in Pamplona and to rest my bones for a day. It´s nice to walk around town with just my day pack on (rest of my gear is in my hotel room). I feel like a normal person...as normal as I can possibly be considering.

It´s been a wonderful last few days. Walking through the Basque country, I´ve stayed the night outside a stunning church in Ronscevalles (I couldn´t handle sleeping in a dorm with 120 people), found a nice little spot in the woods in a pine forest outside Zubrick and last night hiked into the little village of Huerta, just outside Pamplona.

I stayed the night at a pilgrim´s hostel that was ridiculously under-utilized, lucky for me. I had a dorm room set for 10 all to myself. In fact, there were only 7 other pilgrims staying there, I was the only woman and therefore had pretty much all the facilities to myself. Bonus. The place was really clean, had nice hot showers and a laundry room with free soap and a place to hang stuff you washed by hand. Where were all these hostels on the Walk?

The laundry facility was especially great because everything I owned still had a lingering sheepy odor from my night in the barn outside St. Jean´s. I´m pretty friendly and can be downright charming when I want to...but no one is gonna make friends with someone that smells like wet hooves and wool. I want to kinda keep to myself on this trip...but not because no one wants to talk to "that sheep girl."

So far though, people have put up with me enough to let me know they´re from Italy and Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Scotland and even someone from California. It´s lovely to hear so many languages in one place, it makes me feel not so lonesome somehow.

My Spanish is coming along, I can pretty much get what I need from any shopkeeper. The post office lady was super nice this morning, and so was the woman at the "fruteria." Had a little difficulty trying to get pictures printed off my camera, but no blows were exhanged so it worked out okay.

Need to sign off for now, but I´m gonna come back here tomorrow (if I can find it) and try to show you some photos of the last couple of weeks. I miss you all, but know that I keep all your little faces close to my heart and in my mind...no doubt one of you makes me smile at some point during the day. Love you lots.

Oh, by the way...I got an offer from a travel company (from Singapore no less) that is interested in advertising on this sight. I´m not gonna do anything until I get home and can research this kind of stuff... but what do you think about that? Any thoughts?

Okay, talk to you tomorrow.