Camino de Santiago - Day 1- Pamplona to Villatuerta

Biking - Day 1

• Pamplona ---> Villatuerta
• 44 km (27.3 miles)
• 5 hours (including hospital visit and lunch)
• Highest Incline - 350 meters (1,150 feet) in 10 km (6 miles)

What a first day I had. I woke up at 6.00 am to the sound of religous music being played through the albergue. I had to be out by 8 am so I got up quickly to eat breakfast and pack up my things. I ended up leaving my old hiking boots and walking stick because they were useless to me on this trip and were extra weight. 

Breakfast in the Albergue

I left the albergue just before 8 am and started out on the Camino. Before I made it out of town I ran into everyone I hung out with the night before. I wished them luck knowing I probably wouldn´t be seeing them again since they were all walking and I was on bike. Once I got out of Pamplona I ran into the German girl who was also biking. She really wanted to ride on the road and not the path becuase it was too rough. I should have took her advice but I continued on the trail. It actually wasn´t that bad but the first 6 miles were tough; the camino was very rocky and steep. I made it o the top of the hill,  Alto del Perdón, where there was a large iron statue of peregrinos (pilgrims). I asked a teenager, who was in a large group to take a photo for me. They were from Germany and he was freaking out that I was an American and kept telling me how much he loved America. After about 5 minutes of entertaining this kid and talking about NBA I left and started to decend down the other side of the mountain, which dropped 300 meters (985 feet) in less than a mile.

In front of the albergue in Pamplona before I started biking

Starting out, just outside Pamplona

Alto del Perdón with peregrino monument

Marker guiding the way

From there until the town Puente la Reina it was all down hill. About half a mile from Puente la Reina I was passing a group of about 6 walkers. I looked back for a split second as I passed because I thought they said something. I took my left hand off the handlebar and looked back. Just at that moment I road through a deep pile of loose gravel and just ate shit... hard. My bike flew out from beneath me and I slammed to the ground, chest first, like I was sliding into homeplate. It did not hurt and I didn´t hit my chin or head but all of my weight came down on my left elbow. I gashed my arm pretty bad and it was bleeding pretty good. I felt like a complete idiot; I have bike so much and only have fallen like one other time, I just wasn´t prepared for such loose gravel and I was going pretty fast at the time. 2 hands at all times from now on!

Probably 5 minutes before the fall

Aftermath

Luckily the people were there to help me up and I cleaned it off with some water and road a half mile to the closest town, Puente la Reina, to find a hospital. I asked 2 police men where to go and they pointed me in the right direction. I got to the health center and they though I was Italian and were asking for my insurance card. I told them I was from the States and didn´t have insurance in Europe. They let me see a doctor almost right away. There was a good chunk of skin missing but they said I didn´t need stiches. She cleaned it up and put some antibiotic cream on the wound, wrapped my arm. She told me to keep it dry and go get it checked out in 2 days. I asked what I should do about payment and they said don´t worry and sent me on my way. I decided to rest in the town and have an early lunch.

All fixed up

Old bridge from 11 century in Puente la Reina

Small pueblo along the way

After hanging out for about an hour in the town I decided it was best to keep moving since it didn´t hurt and I wanted to cover more ground. I continued on my way to a town called Villatuerta, which was 22 km (13.67 miles) away. Along the way it started to bleed through the bandages I got to the Albergue and checked in then headed to the health center in the town to have it rebandaged. They cleaned it up without any charges again there and told me to be safe. How lucky I was to have 2 health centers bandage me up without even thinking about asking for payment. 

Inside the Albergue in Villatuerta

 I relaxed and read a book for a while in the albergue then went to check out the church and eat dinner. The albergue was really cool, I was the only one for a few hours but about 5 more people showed up.

Church in Villatuerta

Albergue in Villatuerta

Tomorrow I am planning on biking 53.3 km (33.1 miles) from Villatuerta to the town of Logroño. My arm is still bleeding, but the lady at the health center assured me I didn´t need stiches and to just keep in bandaged for another day or so. I am pretty tired and plan on just hanging out and reading a little more of my book before heading to bed. Hopefully I will have no more problems, even though it seems this trip has been filled with them already. More updates to come in the near future. 

Sad day in bean town