So Let's Talk About That Hat (Day 3)

So I”m a Pacific Northwesterner with a bald head and sunburn makes me sad. This said, I had to get a large hat for the camino. I went online and found a Columbia hat that looked like it would be perfect. It arrived and was a little bigger than I thought and looked goofy. I figured, who cares? EVERYONE will be in big goofy hats.

They’re not. Apparently there are all kinds of big, cool adventure style hats out there. Some are a little cowboy, some are kind of Indiana Jones style. Some are even that weird Australian type where one side is pinned up and they’re trying to look all cool. Actually, they were Australians so I guess that’s allowed. Also, they did look pretty damned cool.

My hat is the opposite of cool. My hat is Potsie to everyone else’s The Fonz (almost tore a muscle on that pop reference pull). My favorite part is when I got going at a good pace it would slowly bounce down and cover my eyes. Safety first. I did figure out how to tighten it down so that problem has been solved.

I guess what I’m getting at is that I know the hat looks silly. No need to comment on it. Nothing to see here. Just keep moving.

On to the day. Today was a relatively easy 10.5 mile hike to Pamplona. The trail followed the river Arga and eventually we came into the outskirts of Pamplona.

We ended up crossing the river 4 or 5 times on the trail. There were even some waterfalls but I couldn’t get a good shot without climbing down the bank. In my pack. Nuff said.

We popped out of the forest area and came walking into the suburbs of Pamplona. As we got closer to the city center the difference in atmosphere from the previous days was truly jarring. Pamplona is not a hectic city by any means. It’s really very pleasant, but it’s a city and we had all been out in the countryside walking for a couple of days at this point. I thought maybe it was just me but as we spoke to other walkers it seems everyone was having the same reaction.

That’s me and my hat at the gate to Pamplona.

All in all…

I worked my way to my hotel, got checked in and had an excellent lunch with Glenn and Jan. I’ve since spent a little time wandering the city center and it truly is a fascinating and vibrant place. Tomorrow I will be without my Canadian walking partners, they are over 6km down the road so we will all just be meeting up for a beer at our next stop tomorrow night. My goal is to not get lost. Anyone who knows me knows that this is a tall order. I get lost in Portland and I’ve lived there over twenty years. Wish me luck.

Oh and….

And if you don’t understand that picture it’s because you didn’t read the previous post and now it’s spoiled for you. Also, Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time and Darth Vader is Luke’s father.