We were so tired from walking in yesterdays souring heat that we would have probably slept anywhere last night. We were so disappointed when we heard that the main Alburge was full up but absolutely ecstatic when they said they had space left in the overflow Albergue. Unfortunately, sunburn, barking dogs, plastic mattresses and the top floor of an uninsulated old building do not provide nice sleeping conditions.
There was very little sleep had by anyone in this Alberguelast night. Everyone in the hostel seemed to get up at 5am, so we just woke up when everyone else was packing their bags and started walking at 5:30am.
Santiago de Compostela walk Day 3 Plan
As we were walking into Pamplona on the 7th of July, this meant that the famous San Fermín Bull run festival was going to be happening. Last night, everyone was talking out the “the running of the bulls” and a lot of people were either going to stay in Pamplona or either try to make the 8am starting time. After looking at our map and calculating it was going to be over 4 hours walk to Pamplona we decided to not even try to get there for the bull run.
Our Plan for day 3 of the Camino de Santiago, was to walk from Larrasoaña to Cizur Menor with a walking distance over 20km
As today’s walking distance was only slightly more than 20kms we felt that we would have loads of time to see the sights of Pamplona and soak in some of the festival atmospheres.
Starting the Santiago de Compostela walk day 3- Larrasoaña to Cizur Menor.
As we got out of bed at 5am, we were packed and ready to start walking at 5:30am. Obviously, there was no Cafe’s open at this ungodly hour, so we ate some of yesterdays leftover lunch and bought food in the vending machine on the ground floor of the Albergue. It was still Black dark outside and kind of nice to walk in. We used the torches on our phones to help find our way and to hunt out waymarkers. Next time we will definitely buy a head torch to help find the route.
As we were walking out of Larrasoaña, a young American girl passed us walking really fast, we both commented on her speed and how brave she was. We met her in the next Albergue and she said she got lost right after passing us and put 2 hours on her walk, we both felt really bad and felt we should have asked if she was okay.
The first part of the walk from Larrasoana to Zuriain was only 4 km and it was along a track cutting through fields but it was so dark that we had to walk slowly, always trying to spot the next waymarker. We reached Zuriain within 1 hour, we were hoping to see a Coffee shop but unfortunately, the one shop was closed because we were too early.
Just as we reached Zuriain, the sun started to rise and we could eventually see the road in front of us. Walking in the dark wasn’t much fun and we decided to try not to do it again.
It was 3.2km to Zabaldica, walking parallel to a river. At this stage we had walked 8km without stopping for a break, we decided to take a small detour up to Zabaldica to visit the church and maybe a sneaky break to rest the feet.
The Camino path does not walk into Zabaldica, but there is a signpost urging pilgrims up to visit the 13th-century church of St Stephen. It is a tiny building perched on top of a steep slope but its well worth the visit.
We now start our walk to Trinidad de Arre. The path seems to be roughly following the river toward Pamplona with fields and hills to one side of the trail. We pass an old farmhouse that has chickens and turkeys that seem to like Pilgrim attention.
Word of caution here: We were approached by a begger on this path (miles away from any towns) pretending to be a pilgrim. They told us a story, about how they lost their money and needed money to contact home. We had no spare change to give them but we heard that they had a very profitable day with some of the other pilgrims behind us.
We crossed under a road bridge 20 minutes before we reach Trinidad de Aree. We walked into Trinidad de Aree at 08:20, this little hamlet has a lovely bridge and we felt once this was the start of our walk into Pamplona.
It was now 08:20, 10 minutes after Trinidad de Aree, we met our first coffee shop in Villava, nearly 3 hours after leaving the Alburge this morning, we were only dying for a coffee. The coffee shop had loads of Bull running pictures and postcards up. From this point on, we started seeing people walking around dressed in the red and white attire of the bull run and they all looked extremely hungover.
We relaxed in the coffee shop for 30 minutes and got a good breakfast. We met lots of other pilgrims that stayed in the same accommodation as us last night. Every time a new pilgrim came around a corner and spotted the coffee shop they all had that pure delighted expression on their face. It was good to see that we weren’t the only ones suffering from withdrawal symptoms of coffee.
Santiago de Compostela walk into Pamplona
It took us 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Pamplona city walls from Villava. It felt like a long walk into the city as the closer we got the more saw more and more people dressed in San Fermín clothes. Even more surprising was the number of people sleeping on the grass, walls, roads and basically, anywhere they could close their eye was pretty astonishing.
Our first reaction when we entered Pamplona, was the overwhelming smell of stale alcohol, It reminded us of old St Patricks days in Ireland. Like all festivals, alcohol seems to consumed in large quantities here. We missed the bull run but we were happy in the end because the sheer quantity of drunken people around the streets was not very comfortable.
It was 09:45 when we entered the city walls, the bull run was over but the festival was still in full swing. We walked up to the church in the middle of the town to get a pilgrim stamp for our passport. From here we tried to follow the Camino sign the best we could, but it was nearly impossible with the massive crowds. The festival was a lovely experience filled with lots of marching bands, puppets, old bullfighters, and groups of priests walking through the streets of the city. It took us 1hr 30mins just to walk through the town with the huge crowds.
The Camino path uses the same path as the parade, we ended up following the bands into a sea of white and red t-shirts, which was pretty cool. We eventually found another Camino arrow pointing down a side street, we decided to continue with the festival to take in some of this amazing atmosphere.
At the end of the parade through the streets, we browsed through some of the festival markets to pick up a few souvenirs. We eventually found another Camino arrow and we could get back onto the route and try to get to the accommodation early. We left the hustle and bustle of the busy city behind us and we’re happy to be back walking on our own again. On the way out of the city, we walk past the local University.
Santiago de Compostela walk out of Pamplona
Just past the University, there is a notice board showing a map from Pamplona to Puente La Reina, along with a cross-section and a total distance of 19km. We cross the little footbridge to the rear and walk along the road to Cizur Menor, which is about a 25-minute walk away.
Cizur Menor Albergue
We reached our hostel at 11:45, 5km away from Pamplona, in the small village of Cizur Menor. We had to wait outside for Albergue Roncal to open, as we were too early. The hostel is a small family run business with private gardens, the woman that runs this hostel specialises in fixing blisters and sore feet. There was a long queue for her services, as most of the people who got blisters on the first day of the Camino were now in agony and need a remedy.
This is our first time staying in private an Albergue on our Santiago de Compostela walk and we noticed a big difference in the quality of the building and room sizes.
As we arrived so early at this Alburge, we had loads of time to mingle with other Pilgrims, have a small nap and explore the area. The Town was quite busy with locals eating and drinking after been at the festival all day. We got our Pilgrim dinner across the road in the local restaurant.
After dinner, we explored the local church which was perched upon a small hill and well worth the climb if you have the time, We returned later for the pilgrim mass. Later that evening, everyone sat outside in the gardens chatting and telling stories, which was great craic. There were people from Galway, Wales, England, Australia and the USA.
Time and distance from Larrasoaña to Cizur Menor
- We left Larrasoaña at 05:30 and reached Zuriain at 06:25
- We left Zuriain at 06:25 and reached Zabaldica at 07:20
- We left Zabaldica at 07:20 and reached Trinidad de Arre at 08:20
- We left Trinidad de Arre at 08:20 and reached Villava at 08:30, for breakfast
- We left Villava at 09:00 and Reached Pamplona at 09:45.
- We left Pamplona at 10:50 and reached Cizur Menor at 11:45
Advice for day 3 of the Camino de Santiago
- We both agree that we left Larrasoaña way too early and because of this, we didn’t get a proper breakfast for 3 hours.
- Bring a head torch on the Camino, phone torches cannot be depended on
- Allow enough time to explore Pamplona
- If you walk into Pamplona during San Fermin, the parade is well worth waiting for.
- We loved our nights stay in Albergue Roncal and highly recommend this Albergue