Camping!

Like I said in my last post, the camping first time didn't happen.  Here's a pic of me on the empty bus riding back to Pamplona after going camping for 30 minutes.

Wednesday night I walked around Pamplona for a bit.

I loved these Indian dudes and their music!

 I grabbed a drink at a tent that was set up in the streets with Paloma and some of her friends.  It was nice to actually partake of the San Fermin festivities with other people.  Then we watched the fireworks for the 3rd night in a row. The 2nd night my roommate and I were too lazy to go down to the Ciudadella so we watched them from the roof of our building.  Good view.

 I really do love fireworks.  Thursday morning I got up early again and set out on my camping journey.  

A little treat of the parade of the big statues coming through the bus station.  Don't ask, just enjoy.

This time around for camping, success!  I got to the campsite around 11am and set up the tent I had borrowed from the Professor.  Then I attempted to sunbathe for a bit by the river. 

I don't need no stinking boys to help me set up my tent!

Everything was so beautiful.  The campsite is at the base of the Pyrenees about 10 miles south of France.  It was beautiful.  Unfortunately, even though I wanted to go swimming so badly, the water was just too freaking cold.

This little creature also had something to do with me not wanting to get in the water.  No, I don't know what it is.

After I got bored trying to sunbathe, I went on a hike.  I think I was following an old logging road or something.  I didn't see a single person the whole time.  I enjoyed the quietness, but it also made me a bit afraid since I was hiking alone.  As I was walking back, I decided to follow a trail straight up the mountain.  Although I didn't make it to the top, I got some good pics.

Me running through a field.

My imaginary friend taking a couple pics of me.

I then went back and used the free wifi at the campsite for 4 hours.  I ordered a tortilla and ham sandwich which wasn't very good.  Then I went and read by the river for an hour.  I ate some of my smores too.  Sadly, this campsite doesn't allow you to have fires (What?!!!!!) so I had to eat my smores cold.  They were still yummy though.

Graham cracker (low-fat cookie actually in this case), chocolate, and marshmallow

Then I got snuggled into my sleeping bag around 11pm and dozed off.  When I went to sleep, I was hot so I had taken off my sweatshirt.  WOAH!  1am I woke up FREEZING!!!!!!  I put on all the clothes I owned (t-shirt, northface fleece, UGA sweatshirt, and Marmot rain jacket) not to mention putting a huge towel over me and I was still FREEZING!  Basically, for the next 7 hours, I went in and out of consciousness but was so uncomfortable and cold that I was pretty much miserable for 7 hours.  

Needless to say, as soon as the reception opened at 9am, I was there requesting a room in the hostel for tonight.  Strangely, the hostel room (which by the way I have to myself), is cheaper than sleeping outside in a tent.

Now this is more like it :)

Once it warmed up, I dozed off for another hour or so.  Then around 12:30pm, I set off for my hiking adventure.  I walked along the road for about 5kms, passing through Burguette, on my way to Roncesvalles.  

Cow herding!

Burgette

I love cows.

Roncesvalles, and it's chapel of Santiago de Compostella (I think).

Once there, I enjoyed a nice Diet Coke outside while enjoying the sights.  I then decided to go on a nice leisurely 4K hike.  Language barrier again.  My nice, leisurely hike turned into an 8K hike up a mountain toward France and back.  Although I was annoyed I wasn't following my "plan," the surprise hike turned out to be absolutely breathtaking and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

That's one big slug!

You can see Burgette and the campground in the far, far, far distance.

Mountain sheep

Yeah, that about sums up my climb to the top - basically straight up for 3.6km.  The sign reads "steep path" - couldn't they have told me that BEFORE I got to the top?

Once I got back to Roncesvalles (thinking the last time I left was for good), I sat down at the same table and enjoyed a beer.  I was exhausted.  But I knew I still had a 5k hike back to the campsite.

Keler 18 - a Basque beer

Well, that 5k hike (of course) turned out to be about a 10k thanks to me "exploring."  I decided to follow the Camino de Santiago route back, not knowing (how could I possibly know?) that it didn't go by my campsite.  I ended up passing my campsite by about 2K and wound up in another adorable town.  But again, the views and animals were amazing so I'm glad I followed my curiousity.  

I LOVE farm animals...I am such a city girl.

Sadly, the only food I had on me was cheese and I figured she didn't want any of that so I tried to feed her grass.  She wasn't interested.

Sheep!

I purchased some cheese, bread, and a peach at a grocery store in Burgette, so when I got back to camp, after a nice shower, I went outside and enjoyed a nice bread and cheese sandwich with reduced fact pringles.  Then, since it was getting chilly, I meandered back into my hostel room and settled into bed, and have been surfing the internet ever since.  It is so nice to have internet in my room.  And it's even nicer to be warm!!!!!

Yum and cheap!