Into And Out of The Frey (JULY 6, 2015)

Zurain To Pamplona 26, 002 steps, 17.5 km; Pamplona to Cizor Minor July 6, 2015, 15,000 steps, 10.15 km. 

I had a brain fart when I made our plane reservations to Madrid for June 29. When my brain recovered and I realized if I followed my normal plan (one night in Madrid, one in Pamplona, one in SJPP, one in Orisson, etc., I would be in Pamplona on the day the bulls started running. So I juggled things around so we would be there on the 5th and out on the sixth. I thought we would be through Pamplona before the crowds descended. I can't tell you how wrong I was. I had heard that Pamplona was busy during San Fermin (Running of the Bulls,) but "busy" doesn't quite describe it. Total madness might be closer to the mark and it was in full swing by July 5.

First of all, all the lodgings, including most of the albergues triple or quadruple their prices. We paid $60 for a bed. Yes, a bed and one that is normally 14€. Then there are the crowds. It was difficult to just navigate through the crowds without a backpack. It was one big drunken party through the streets. When we left this morning there was a guy curled up sleeping on the street. At least, I hope he was just sleeping. When the street sweeper came by it just swerved around him, but he didn't even stir.

We walked around some last night. It's like a huge county fair or circus with stalls selling junk made elsewhere. But we had some yummy empanadas, ice cream and chocolate with churros.

We left this morning while crowds of people were pouring in from all directions for the festivities that start at noon and go on through the night. The Bulls don't actually start running until tomorrow, the 7th.

We needed to go about 3 km out of our way to get to an Orange store to see if we could get Leea's phone to work. Her phone is supposed to be unlocked, but my guess is that it isn't. I think Sprint messed up the unlocking. She had a problem with the first SIM card she bought in Madrid, Sprint was called and we thought the problem was solved, but the card still didn't work. So she bought another card. The lady in the store put the card in her own phone and it worked fine, but it won't work in Leea's. She checked all the settings on Leea's phone and it still didn't work. It was a little embarrassing because she was trying to get it to work for about an hour while other people were waiting. I know there is a lesson here somewhere. We are looking for the pony.

By the time we finished all that, it was 11:30, 90 degrees and there were people everywhere. We finally got out of the city and decided to stop here in Cizor Menor because of the late start and the heat. It is still between 97 and 102 at 8:15 pm and humid. Yikes! I like dry heat, but no one asked me.

The Albergue is packed to the gills. We are lucky to have a bed for the night. About eight poor souls came dragging into the Albergue about 4 pm, only to be told it was full. I almost cried in empathy.

We were walking out to try to find some ice for our feet and my knee when these poor folks arrived. So, I don't know what happened to them. Leea and I found a little market. We bought some frozen peas to ice our sore parts. Peas actually work better than ice cubes because it molds to the body part better. Just a little helpful hint.

We took our peas and sat in a shady park for a bit. We're leaving early in the morning and will try to get to Puenta Reina tomorrow.