Argh… Last night yet again I didn’t sleep well.  There seems to be a pattern developing now which I very much hope I can break tonight!

I was on the top bunk for the evening but my set of bunks was so close the the other bunks that getting up and down proved tricky.  Once up, I wasn’t really going to come down without standing on other people’s beds.

Added to this the bunk was a few inches away from the wall… which I  discovered when my pillow fell through the gap and landed on the chap below in the middle of the night. I had to reach down in the dark and try and retrieve my pillow, whilst everyone else slept  on… including the guy below with my pillow on his head. And I know he slept on because his snoring never stopped.  He had such a loud snore that it actually made the bed vibrate.  Oh deep deep joy!

Sleep must have come at some point but not before the battle of the windows and I wish to make it clear that I don’t ever get involved with window wars! Someone left it open (yeah), someone else closed it (boo). Someone else opened it (yeah) and then someone else, who I think was quite cross, pulled it closed and then pulled down the shutter (boo) so we stayed very very toasty.

The icing on the cake this morning was the showering at 5.50am. There was an en suite bathroom in our room for 6. I had been thinking for an hour or so that maybe I could visit the bathroom but given the bunk situation decided it was kinder to wait. But with the shower running it was too much.  So I climbed down grabbed my pack and my sleeping bag and gave up on sleep and went downstairs.  Amazingly, breakfast was well under way and we were all soon tucking into fresh coffee and toast.

We hit the road at 7.00am and headed west again to Pamplona.

The mornings are fresh and it’s just so nice walking at this time of year.  It’s not dark as it was in the autumn and everywhere is vivid green and carpeted with wild flowers.  The smell of blossom is everywhere and it’s just so beautiful.

We walked beside the river as the sun rose and we greeted all the usual faces along the way.  Even after three short days there is a great feeling of camaraderie and stopping for coffee now usually involves moving around the tables with greetings and lots of buen caminos.

Half way along today Maggie felt she needed to slow her pace.  She had put new liners in her shoes and they had caused blisters.  Crikey I know how that feels. We struggled last night finding a bed, so Maggie sent me on. She could sense we were walking at a different pace. I didn’t want to leave her but I wanted those beds.  So I trotted on and she ambled along at her own pace.  I got a bed in a great little albergue just inside the city walls in Pamplona.  We don’t have beds we have pods.

We have our own little space and our own light and our own plug and our own cupboard and a key and a blind… its so lovely… The showers are fab, my washing is done, and as soon as I finish this I think it’s tapas for hungry pilgrims.