11 Zubiri, Spain

In Zubiri, we stayed at the Concejo de Zubiri Pilgrims Hostel, which boasts 72 beds and two floors with several dormitories. Below photos show the hostel and our dormitory with approximately 14x2 beds.

My neighboring dormmates were a group of ladies from Belize, all of whom had terrible blisters on their feet. They were curious as to why I had none, so I mentioned that it might be due to my shoes and socks. Since none of them spoke English and I didn't speak Portuguese, we used Google Translate to communicate.

In Zubiri, I also reunited with a couple of pilgrims I met at Roncevaux, including Peter and a few form rooms who only spoke Spanish.

After checking in at the hostel, taking a shower, and washing my clothes, I walked to town to find some groceries for dinner. On the small-town square, I ran into Riki, Eric, and Stephen again, along with a couple of other people, all waiting for the grocery store to open. Stephen advised me to buy eggs for their protein content and ease of cooking. While we were standing there, waiting and chatting, a village dog approached us. The dog seemed to enjoy chasing the water, not because he was thirsty but because he wanted someone to play with. I managed to capture a video of one of the pilgrims teasing the dog.  Riki and Eric also took turn to entertain the dog.

Soon, it started to rain, so I decided to walk to another grocery store that was already open. The others followed suit. I purchased half a dozen eggs, potato salad, and a big tomato, and then made my way back to the hostel.

There was a kitchen where a few pilgrims were already cooking, including a mother and son duo and a group of four bikers.

While enjoying my dinner, I struck up a conversation with a young girl sitting next to me, who was quietly studying the stage map. She informed me that she planned to start her 30km hike very early the next morning. Although she appeared to be a 16-year-old schoolgirl, she smiled and revealed that she was actually 29 years old and already working. I complimented her English skills and mentioned that most French people I had met didn't speak English.

That evening, Lilian and I separated. I stayed in an upstairs dormitory while she stayed downstairs.

Unfortunately, she was upset with me for reasons that I have chosen not to disclose in this blog. Feeling exhausted, I decided to postpone addressing the issue, hoping that things would improve the next morning when we were both well-rested.

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By exploring the town, I came to realize that Zubiri had evolved from a village into a small town, offering a variety of restaurants and stores. It was noticeably larger than the villages and towns we had encountered thus far on our journey. Some notable landmarks I encountered included (reproductions from "Buen Camino" app: