30 km. Rainy and cool today. The Camino made its way back to the sea at La Arena. It was a solitary walk. Saw Dave and Sue and caught up briefly, and that was about it.
Left with Andy and the kids before 8 to drop the kids off at school. Then Andy brought me back to the Camino, not too far from Puente de Viscaya, the hanging bridge. That cut out a few km of the walk from central Bilbao, but I assuaged my guilt with the knowledge that I had a big walk yesterday in Plentzia, probably about 8 km. Anyway, it’s not every day I can visit these important friends in Spain!
Had breakfast, then started by crossing the hanging bridge. You can take the elevator up and walk across, or go in the hanging car. I chose the latter for a unique experience. The Camino then mostly follows a bike path through Portulagete and on to La Arena, which is back on the ocean. At La Arena, I stopped at a lovely cafe near the beach, filled with pilgrims drying off. Had a pastry and a juice. Set out again along a boardwalk, then right across the beach and over a bridge into Pobena. Then I walked back to La Arena, because once again I’d forgotten to pay my bill! I’m special. Back and forth, add 2 km, why not? Ha.
I had originally thought I’d take it easy today and stay at Pobena. (Bilbao to Pobena is the recommended stage.) I arrived a bit early, at about 1 pm, so I settled in to have a menu del dia while I waited for the albergue to open at 3. But by 2:30 I was restless. I didn’t feel I’d walked enough (16 km with my backtrack) and my legs were feeling pretty good. So I decided to walk the additional 6 km on to Onton. There are two choices at this point, a ridge route, or stay low along the coast. I chose the ridge route and was rewarded with some lovely views. While walking along the top, one of the locals helpfully pointed out that I could have walked the lower route and avoided the climb. At the time I was happy with my choice. Later, the lower route seemed like it might have been a good idea…
Once in Onton, there are two choice on to Castro Urdiales. The original 22 km route, or a shorter 8 km route. It was 4 pm. Optimistically, I thought, ‘Hey, if I walk just 8 km more, I’ll be there in no time and will make two stages in one day, making up for the rest day.’ So, I kept walking. I did not account for how angry my legs would be at the initial 250 km ascent out of town. It was not aggressively steep, but at 23 km into a walk, it felt relentlessly unending. My legs were not holding back their complaints. There was some very unpilgrim-like language. I tried to ignore them, because, well, that always works.
I survived, made it up and over, then was cruising. Arrived in Mioño and had only 2.5 km to go, when suddenly, I see in front of me one more giant hill between me and Castro Urdiales. Shock and horror. I was trying to stay strong, giving myself a pep talk about not being in a hurry, when there appeared my angel of the day: a tunnel! Can angels come in the form of inanimate objects? Maybe the angels are whoever built that blessed tunnel. I was overjoyed. I limped through and all the way into the historic center of Castro Urdiales, to the Pension Del Mar.
Once I arrived, I stretched, showered, then went out for some sightseeing and to find food. Castro Urdiales is beautiful and impressive. I walked to the Church of Santa Maria which was built during the 13th and 14th centuries. Then I wandered around the pueblo viejo (old village) and found some pintxos.
How can I sightsee after a 30 km day? You’d be surprised how good it feels to walk without a backpack after a long Camino day. Also, Mark bought me some ‘barefoot shoes’ before the trip, thinking I’d wear them in the hostel after the long day. Instead, I wear them all over town! I highly recommend them for a situation like this. I was still limping, for sure. But I feel like walking ‘barefoot’ stretches my feet and walking on cobblestone is a form of acupressure.
I have injuries and leg ‘situations’ that I won’t even list here. Here’s hoping a good night’s sleep has me ready for another big day tomorrow.
PS Thanks again to Andy, Leire, Paul, and Maia for a lovely visit!
Photos from the day:
Beautiful and I wouldn’t want to share a room with strangers either
Sounds like you're having a great time, just keep on truckin'!🚛