Oh how I wish I'd put this day on Strava! To see my route would be priceless.
Today, I needed to do three simple things:
Go to Albergue Jakobi to get a pilgrim credential. You must have this to stay in public albergues. It is also stamped at each stop and then used to certify your walk once you reach Santiago de Compostela.
Buy trekking poles.
Buy sunscreen, shampoo, and clothespins.
I left my hotel at 9:45 am and walked the straight 2 km to the albergue, only to find it closed. Turns out everyone must be out by 8 am and they don't open the doors again for the new incoming pilgrims until 4 pm. I then walked to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Juncal because I'd heard they also gave credentials. Closed until 4 pm. Then tried the tourist office...walked and walked and it was not where the map led me. Does it even exist? I'll never know. Next, I tried the police station but got scolded for waiting in the wrong place, so I slipped out, mortified. Tried the tourist office again. Looked for another police station. ... Long story short, returned to my hotel at 5:30 pm with this data on my watch:
To explain, my phone battery died at about 1:30 pm. I thought I could still manage without a map as I'd walked quite a bit of the town by then. Hahaha! I can hear Kevin, Neill, and Mark laughing. Of course that did not happen. I saw many familiar landmarks and had no idea what they were telling me. I confidently walked many wrong ways.
To give perspective on what it's like to be me, here is the route between my hotel and the hostel.
2 km. Straight shot. Impossible to get lost, right? As Disney famously said, 'It's fun to do the impossible!' (This might not have been what he meant.)
In the end, I got my poles, sunscreen, shampoo (a bar), and clothespins. I sat outside and had the Menu del Dia at a lovely bar (restaurant). And most important, I got my pilgrim credential AND my first stamp.
Oh, and I washed my dirty clothes with hotel shampoo! My first wash. :)
Photos of Irun from the day (there are only three due to the aforementioned phone battery crisis):
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