We departed Barcelona on 23 September 2020 for what we later learned was our last trip of the year.  Mom and I had planned a trip from Pamplona to Bilbao passing through Lleida, Huesca and Donostia-San Sebastian along the way.  We would then wrap up with a day in Logroño as a nod to La Rioja and, if time allowed, a quick stop in Zaragoza on the return home.  Somehow, magically, that’s exactly what happened and we accomplished every single thing we had on our “to-do” list.  It was the perfect trip to end the year, even if it was a few months shy of the actual year-end.  

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We took the scenic route from Barcelona – catching the N-240 right away and proceeding almost directly to Lleida and then Huesca.  It was a lovely day and we must have passed literally every possible castle, church, tower, monastery, portal, convent, fountain, palace and/or historical or religious monument available in this region.  It was a tad overwhelming.  If you’re into that sort of thing and you have a couple weeks of life to spare, then I highly recommend renting a car and making this drive.  Plan to spend a lot of time finding a place to park and walking around, however.  Also, please note: traveling in this region of Spain in the late summer / early fall also generally means rainfall should be anticipated.  Pack an umbrella, a Mac and some hardy shoes for sure.  Kind of like any time you plan a trip to Great Britain.  (ha ha)

In fact, we stayed on the N-240 all the way to Pamplona.  What can I say?  It was a good route and we enjoyed all the twists and turns.  Since we left home fairly early in the day and we couldn’t check in to our hotel until the afternoon, we weren’t in a terrible rush to arrive.  Also, hello! V A C A T I O N = time away, so it’s not like we had a clock to punch. As it turns out, we could have been even more leisurely in our progress for the entire trip.  We had allocated more than enough time to see all the sights and we ended up wrapping up much earlier in almost every place we visited.  That never happens!  Go figure.  

Pamplona is so much more than a town where, every year in early July, the men try to play tag with toro bravo bulls running through the city streets.  Although, it is fairly obvious that El Encierro is a big part of the Old Town area as bullfight-related buildings and activities feature heavily on the tourist maps and in nearby shop displays. Pamplona is also the very beginning of the Basque region (located in Navarre) and the first place we noticed the Basque language, along with Spanish, written on signs.  Basque, by the way, is known as Euskara in the actual language and that word alone is an indication of how massive the difference is between Spanish, English and Basque.  Another sign of the lingual complexity is that you can’t actually translate the meaning of Euskal Herria into any other language, although outsiders generally refer to it as Basque Country.  This might be due in large part to the fact that the Basque are actually divided into TWO regions by the Pyrenees – with northern Basque in France and southern Basque in Spain.  Or it could just be that they like having a bizarre, unique language.  Who knows?  Either way, I’m glad that the Spanish government is now taking measures to help preserve this language where they once were much more like France in trying to eliminate it.  

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So, what do you know about the Camino de Santiago?  Did you know that most people start their journey in Pamplona instead of St Jean or Roncesvalles?  I didn’t.  In fact, I have to say that I never really gave it much thought.  But as we wandered around the city of Pamplona, exploring the Portal de Francia, the massive, gothic Iglesia San Nicolás, Catedral de Santa María la Real, Plaza de Castillo, Ciudadela and particularly Jardins de La Taconera, we repeatedly noticed the Camino del Norte signs and symbols that indicated we too were traveling the famous pilgrimage.  That was an unexpected bonus. I also didn’t know that the Casco Viejo (Old Town) of Pamplona is a walled-city.  There are literally 5 Km of walls around the city and they are a well-preserved national monument in Spain.  How I missed that little factoid during our pre-trip research is something of a mystery. Pamplona is also where we introduced ourselves to Pintxos (or Pinchos), a tapas-like serving of the delicious, world-famous Basque food, at a lovely little local restaurant in Plaza del Castillo.  As Mr. Kool-Aid would say, “OH YEAH!”.  

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I loved finally being able to wander up Calle Estafeta to Santo Domingo and see the famous city street first hand.  I could just imagine the people hanging from the windows and balconies and peering through the windows and over the fences as the runners in their white clothes with only red fajas (sashes) and pañuelos (neck scarves) come dashing past, being chased by and even chasing the bulls as they charge toward the Plaza de Toros.  Allita and I discovered the famous statue honoring the tradition (Monumento al Encierro) and she surprised me with a spontaneous burst of speed which I was lucky to immortalized on film.  She enjoyed visiting the Portal de Francia, the old city gate complete with drawbridge, and watching even the delivery trucks try to navigate through the tiny, torturous opening in the wall.  Mom’s favorite part of Pamplona was staying inside the walled-city, which was also a bit of a surprise to her, amazingly enough. 

Our hotel room had a fantastic view (including a nearby fountain) from its beautiful wrap-around balcony and was centrally located which made walking around the city so much easier.  In fact, I rarely do this, but for them I will make an exception:  if you are ever in Pamplona and in need of accommodations, I absolutely, highly recommend the Hotel Avenida.  They were exceptionally helpful, professional, courteous and went out of their way to provide us with an excellent stay.  Parking was secure and nearby, the room was fantastic, clean, well-stocked and ideally located, the price was very reasonable, and the staff were exceptional.   Allita was even able to attend online school classes from the little desk in the room and by using their internet service (excellent WIFI). Unsolicited endorsement concluded.  😉  

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