24 km. Much climbing and continued gorgeous views. I left Zarautz this morning with a slightly heavier bag (which I can’t really afford) due to the fact that my clothes did not really dry at all overnight. What to do? Nothing really. I shoved them into a plastic bag and carried on.
About an hour into the walk I ran into David (New Zealand), whom I had met on Day 1. He’s an older man and was concerned about slowing me down, so he urged me to go on ahead. I was happy to walk with him, though. The Camino is not about hurrying, after all, and it doesn’t get dark until 8 pm here. At the first town, we stopped for coffee and he wrote my name down in his angel list. What an honor and what a great idea! I decided I would do that, too. (Stay tuned.) Shortly after the coffee stop we met Marica (Switzerland) who was walking with her dog Ronja. The three of us had a great walk together until Zumaia, which was David and Marica’s stop for the day. We had a snack in the park, then I headed out with 14 km still to go.
This is where my angel showed up. I had two big ascents ahead of me, and one very long, steep descent. I was feeling my pack weight and was a bit concerned about my pace, when suddenly I hear behind me, ‘Let’s go! Keep walking! Go slowly, just keep advancing, step by step!’ This was Javi (Barcelona), my new personal trainer/cheerleader of the day. Many times I urged Javi to walk on ahead, but he didn’t seem interested in that at all. He kept saying, ‘No tengo prisa! Es el Camino, solo tenemos que caminar.’ (I’m not in a hurry. It’s the Camino. All we have to do is walk.) We walked together all the way to Deba, Javi cheerful and boisterous, practicing his English. At one point we ran into Werner (Germany) stopped on the path ahead. Javi called out, ‘Keep going!’, and we picked up Werner, too.
It was not all sunshine (literally). At around 3:30 our glorious, sunny day became dark and cold, then it started to rain. We covered our packs, put on rain gear, and marched ahead. At the top of the last steep hill there was a lovely small town. Javi suggested we stop, have a snack, and relax a bit, so we did. It was an outdoor picnic, huddled against an old church wall, overlooking a very rainy valley. We were wet and cold, and it was awesome. After that, a long trudge down steep slippery roads and cobblestone paths into town. We arrived late, at about 5:45 pm.
Deba is small and accommodations can be tricky, so I’d chosen tonight as one of my hotel nights. Thank goodness! I was soaking wet, very cold, and desperately needed a long, hot shower. It was glorious. After that, I took my only two, very wet hiking outfits to a local laundromat. While my clothes were in the wash, I picked up pinxtos from a restaurant nearby and brought them back to eat. Pinxtos are small plates, similar to tapas, that are typical in the Basque region.
Before I end the daily account, I must mention one more angel today, and that is Mark. I was on a call with him as I left the hostel this morning, and mentioned I desperately needed a breakfast beyond bread. I was googling good breakfast locations and thought I’d found two options, but when I walked to each they mostly served… bread! Mark knows me well, and could hear the ‘hanxiety’ creeping into my voice. Within minutes he got online, googled my town, and found a tiny place in a shopping center that had tostada (toast) with avocado and poached eggs! He had me there in minutes and I wanted to crawl through the phone and give him a big kiss.
Here are some photos of the day:
Addendum: If you are planning to walk el Norte and may stay in hotels every now and again, definitely choose Pension Zumardi. It’s lovely, well-located, and the beds and pillows are excellent!
Glad to hear you got some eggs!