This was my last day walking the Baztan Camino as it ends here in Villava, a suburb of Pamplona. Tomorrow on I’ll be back on the main route, the Camino Frances.

It was a fairly unremarkable day – unchallenging terrain as all the big elevation was behind me and today was generally a descent down the Anue Valley. Generally good walking along side roads and farm paths that mirrored the highway south; except the middle bit where the route transversed the side of a hill, crossing muddy grazing fields and through dense woods thick with brambles and hanging spiderwebs. I swear I walked half the day with my pokes held up in an “X”-shape in front of my face to deflect the irritating, sticky threads.

Not a open cafe was to be found so I walked almost non-stop, pausing briefly only twice to munch on the delicious orange cake from yesterday’s hotel that I had the foresight to order “to go” at dinner last evening.

The albergue here is functional if not a bit sterile. There’s a cheap and cheerful bar/cafe downstairs that is the hangout place for everyone – 2 of the French ladies from the monastery at Urdax are here!

And Mom and John were here too! In Pamplona, that is. Today was their sightseeing day and they were kind enough to pick me up and take me to do a bit of shopping before they headed back up to spend their second night in the same hotel. From now on they’ll be concentrating on sightseeing the north coast of Spain while I’ll have a rest day in Pamplona before resuming my walk westwards.