We spent the day walking around the outskirts of Pamplona admiring this ‘green’ city. Pamplona went to a lot of trouble to protect itself from invaders over the centuries, and not only built a fort, but waterways and stone walls erected in a way to slow the invaders down. Today, all these defensive constructions have been filled in or enhanced to create green areas.
One of these areas has been set aside as a deer park and we spent time just watching them at play. A day old deer was also still wondering what it was supposed to do with those 4 long limbs beneath it’s belly. I was wondering whether it would be a better life dodging cars and the odd farmer’s bullet, or being locked up in a pleasant area confident of their future.
We spent time shopping on our last day and passed yet another street parade and later ate tapas at our favourite bar. After lunch I put some finishing touches to a small accommodation guide for our friends in Canada who might be joined by our NZ friends (we met both on the camino last year), in Le Puy next year. I will also be doing some writing, and putting photos together from the Le Puy trip.
Another thing I am going to explore (may add it to my blog site) is a website that contains experiences from those with Parkinson’s that have helped them make more sense of their disease. I am hoping that these experiences will help others discover parts of themselves that may have been hidden because of the overwhelming effects that Parkinson’s can have.
I have built a lot of defensive walls of my own over the years. They, like those in Pamplona, have little use today, and can either remain without purpose or be brought to life to serve another more useful role.
Living without a disease can be comforting for us, but it is easy to simply wander across the road without realising the simple dangers that can also cut our life short. But enclosed with a disease, can allow you time to reflect on the opportunities that are there, bringing new life to what can be seen as a limited space. It’s a “deer” life we have, and I am confident of my future, hoping that others living with Parkinson’s will be able to be more confident of theirs as well.
We leave for Barcelona tomorrow, I wonder what we will find there!
Hello dear William and Coralie
Thank you so much, William, for your continued blogs and gorgeous photos.
Congratulations to you both for overcoming the inevitable challenges on the way of such a journey to achieve your outcome. You managed damaged knees (congrats Coralie!), your limited understanding of the French language, and the daily challenges that invariably come up on your pilgrimage. It was great to hear that you had no falls and injuries, and that you in fact had improved balance and well-being, William.
When you linked Ernest Hemingway to Pamplona, I was interested in looking him up on Google. I had seen the movie ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ with my parents well over 50 years ago, and I still vaguely remember it. I read that he survived two plane crashes two days in a row, which is pretty incredible.
Anyhow, dear friends, enjoy the coming days, and we look forward to any further stories you might care to share.
Much love
Narayan and Janine
Very thought provoking and gives me cause to ponder and reflect. Thanks xxx