Today was a hard, long day, but also satisfying and beautiful. 26 km, over 1000 m of ascents and descents. Lots of rain, but didn’t get as soaked as yesterday!
Didn’t start until almost noon. I discovered last night, after the stores had closed, that I had left my plug adapter in Zarautz. Stores here don’t open until 9:30 or 10 am, but there are very few towns between Deba and Markina so leaving early without a working device would have been a bad idea. Another Camino walker, Belinda, whom I had not met, overheard my predicament at breakfast and gave me hers, telling me to just bring it back to her in Markina. Angel #1 today! Unfortunately, hers was very, very slow. At 9:30, I went to the shops to buy a new adapter, but still didn’t manage to finish charging everything (watch, phone, power bank) until about 11:30. I finally set out at 11:45. Was it a good idea to leave so late? Debatable. But I had to return Belinda’s charger. And the sun doesn’t set until 8:30 here, so…
Highlights of the day:
I learned how to make it rain: Stop, take off your heavy pack, take off your rain jacket, wrangle with your pack to get it tucked away, pick your heavy pack back up, and start walking. It should start again within 10 minutes. (Pro tip: Don’t learn your lesson. Just keep doing it over and over.)
Because I’m me, leaving so late does not mean I can live without lunch. Especially knowing the route was going to have a 16 km stretch with no towns, food, or water. So 5 km in, I stopped at a lovely restaurant at the top of the hill near Olatz and had the most delicious spaghetti bolognese. It was perfect and gave me the energy I needed.
Also because I left so late, I did not expect to see other pilgrims. But I did - exactly one! Vladimir, from Prague. He caught up to me when we still had about 19 km to go and we walked the rest of the way together. Good thing, too, because that’s when the serious climbing began, and it was grueling. At that point my hip was really hurting. I had begun to worry about the pain, knowing I had no choice but to push ahead. It’s so much easier to face the challenge with a friend. Angel #2.
Arriving at Markina. It was almost 8 pm, but I made it! Vladimir was planning to stay at the same hostel as Belinda, so he offered to take the charger to her. Saved me from having to add extra kms for that errand.
Seeing my hostel. I had booked a bed at the private Albergue Intxauspe, a casa rural. Wow. So beautiful! Just outside town, an old farmhouse on a hillside. 30 euros includes a bed, a communal three course pilgrim dinner, and breakfast. When I arrived everyone was already eating together at the table. Such a warm and inviting sight. Then I heard, Hello friend! It was Javi. I decided to eat first, shower later so I could join everyone. At one point during the meal, Javi was telling the table about our walk yesterday and how much fun we had. My heart was full. There were four pilgrims from Spain and three from the US. Some broken Spanish, some broken English. So much fun.
Photos from the day:
Comments