May 25

          Today was hard and the heat was nearly unbearable. By the end of the day we had gone about 37km, which is much too far for one day. We had left the hostel in Pamlona around 6:30, but were slowed down since my card did not seem to be working at any of the ATMs along the way. It worked at the 4th machine and I still don't know what was actually wrong.
          We split a baguette for breakfast as we walked. There was a lot of uphill and far too much exposure to the sun. I had to reapply sunblock three times. We stopped at a cafe along the way to eat lunch and take our shoes off for a while.
          We reached the town where the book suggested stopping around 1:00, but Caleb wanted to continue on to a town further down the trail. I didn't want to because I thought it was too hot for us to stay outisde, but eventually we decided to head out. It was a bad decision. The sun was hot and the path was mostly uphill. The Albergue in the next town was closed, but Caleb wanted to go to the town after that anyway. The next town was about 3k further.
          The albergue in that town was completely full so we would either have to walk another 5k or take a taxi to the next town where the albergue had some free beds. We decided to take the taxi. There was no way we could make it another 5km in the heat and the shape we were in. So for today, we walked 32k and took a taxi another 5km down the road. I don't think we are going to risk hiking that many miles, in that kind of heat again during this trip.
          It was around 5:00 when we finally reached the albergue where we would spend the night. It was nicer than I had expected, although there was only one shower. We had dinner at 7:00 and I spent the rest of the night reading and trying to figure out what to do about the heat rash all over my ankles. Sorry if that's too much information, but it really stings!
(Written May 25)