We're off to the city of the running of the bulls - thankfully, that festival doesn't happen in May!
The scenery is delightful and ever-changing as we set off. We've been forewarned that there will be one long climb today before we have a straight and long descent. Sounds perfect for a tandem! The weather forecast is favorable, too.
A couple of kilometers from the summit where we were merrily riding along, our friend and the ride leader, Roxan, zipped past us. Well, we couldn't have that! Off we went. Roxan on her single and the two of us on the tandem had a race to the summit. We won, but it sure wasn't easy. She said the only consolation she had in losing was that we were breathing just as hard as she was. Yes, we were spent after that bit of ridiculousness.
Chuck and Roxan after our "race" to the top. Man that was hard!!! She made us work.
Today's route was a very short ride, so Chuck & I explored the maps the night before and came up with an extra loop. This valley is where we will be going - upriver from Pamplona before circling back round. It should add about 11 kilometers to the route.
This is the other end of the valley and it looks very inviting.
Pyramidal orchid - this photo is for our hiking buddy, Rod, because we typically do the wild orchid hike in May. We missed out this year, but we hear he hasn't gone either because it's been raining a lot in Foix.
After a quick coffee & hot chocolate stop in Etxarri, we headed up the valley along the Agra river until we came to this older bridge that's only 2.5 meters wide.
And we're headed down that road which will eventually take us to Pamplona, which can be barely seen in the middle of this photo. Still too hazy for a good view.
After arriving in Pamplona, we went in search of a hamburger (at Butcher's) and some ice cream before exploring the city center. Side note: They make really tasty hamburgers in Spain. However, after burgers & ice cream and during our exploration, the heavens opened up and we had to shelter in a bar with a glass of wine. When we finished, there was a pause in the rain that let us get back to the hotel for Happy Hour without much moisture. Our longer exploration happened that evening instead.
Bright colored buildings around the center square in Pamplona. The architecture looks much newer than other cities we've visited.
There were a lot of these plaques affixed to the ground where we were walking. During the Spanish Civil War, these people were assassinated and the plaques indicate where they lived, date born, and date assassinated.
