CAMINO FRANCES: DAY 4

Fourth day hiking.

 DAY 4 | 5 km | From Pamplona to Cizur Menor

Today, it was already raining when we woke up. In the morning the city of Pamplona seemed to be sleeping, as most shops are closed on Sunday. Pamplona is a city of 200,000 people and the capital of Navarra. The empty streets in the city, its cathedral, its several churches, its walls and its many alleys gave us the impression that we were back in the Middle Ages.

Although we had decided to stay for another night in Pamplona, we eventually changed our mind and walked up to the small town of Cizur Menor 5 km away from Pamplona.

We arrived at the albergue Ordre de Malte where a surprise was waiting for us, as we realised that it is built opposite a church of the Knights of Malta. The site of the albergue used to be a monastery built in 1135 with the donations of knights who had taken a vow to protect the pilgrims. Today, only the church has still remained, which is a sample of the knights' architecture and is still under their supervision.

It is worthwhile noting that in the afternoon there was a special liturgy for pilgrims, during which the priest read a prayer for them. This prayer's verses will accompany us from now on, one different for each day.

[...]Blessed are you pilgrim, if you discover that the "Camino" opens your eyes to what is not seen...[...]