Day 15 & 16 Caborredondo to San Vincente to Pendueles

Day 15 pics

It was a wonderful evening in the alburgue with a hostess,  Giulia who truly embodies the Camino spirit.  She washed our clothes, prepared dinner and was delightful.  She said it was her gift and that it was on to leaven nothing,  which I accidently did do... or not do.  I left early and forgot to make a donation.

Layer I texted her to find out how to send to her and she said give it to next alburgue or help Simone on the way.  😲 a rare qualityin today's world. 

The day was long hilly and a pretty walk ending with a walk along the beach. I also stayed at really fast pace,  not sure why but I seem to have forgot lessons from week one ... slow a and steady.  

Ending in San Vincente we stayed in the local alburgue which had 38 people in two rooms... not something for everyone,  and sometimes hard for me,  but good spirit and meeting tons of people and also reconnecting with others from along the way.  Sleeping can be difficult (chances are high for loud snorers in such a big grouping.

Tomorrow staying in small family type alburgue... only 10 beds 

Day 16 pics

Another long one but with a sure and stay pace arrived at the alburgue by 2, so had a relaxing afternoon. 

Was a another long day and now seem to be traveling with a pod. It's not unusual to travel together for weeks with folks and go a lill deeper

Tonight's alburgue is also top notch and"free" including dinner and breakfast.  I already put something in the box., to be sure not to repeat my last mistake. 

The house cat has decided I'm the first she sleeps with or at least naps with. 

Great dinner,  great stories and another nice day on the Camino

Day 14 Cam del Norte Boo to Caborredondo

 Today's pics

Today was a great day, so much so that I decided to change my name to the the name of the village I ended in,  Caborredondo. And whenever you say it you should have this background music.

Last nights alburgue in Boo was wonderful, great place,  great food,  wonderful pilgrim company. 

Today was one of my strongest walking days,  even though many hills and sun,  I didn't really notice much of a change when climbing and finished strong. 

Started with a short train ride as you are no longer able to walk along tracks and over train Bridge... think the scene in Stand by Me.

I walked with a Dutch lady,  who became my pace horse... each helping the other stay strong and steady.  As we finished up the day with the last three miles to Caborredondo, it became our inside joke that this was my new name and this helped us finish strong even with big hills at end. 

Came across this weird snail phenomenon where they were congregating on posts and electric lines.  Not sure why🤔

Walked through beautiful ancient city, Saltillo del Mar, but a bit touristy now,  but still beautiful. 

The downside was the entire way was on paved roads though some with nice views. This tends to help the climbing (not so steep), but is hard on the feet. 

By chance, got the last bed in the alburgue here which is the family home of a Swiss man and Italian lady who really embody the spirit of the Camino.  Lovely home with dinner,  breakfast included and they also washed All our clothes! 😲 All for free with a non descript donation box. 

The reviews are stupendous and I look forward to dinner and another good walk tomorrow. 

Ciao from Caborredondo!

Day 13 Cam del Norte Playa de San Juan to Boo de Pielagos

 Today's Pics

Murphys law day

Today was intended to be a medium walk continuing along the coast back to main Camino in Boo, about 8 - 13 miles,  but The Way had other plans. 

Several thoughts come to mind...

Murphys law

Be careful what you wish for

Things are not always as they seem 

The best laid plans often go awry

The Way always provides...

I woke early to another lovely sunrise and planned to relax and leave two hours later than normal (7am) as my phone indicated thecafe bar across the street opened at 9.

So an enjoyable morning just reading and relaxing.  When I left the bar was still not open,  but they had a soda machine outside so I bought an energy water with naranja juice in it. (Best laid plans...)

I began a nice climb to the coast path.  A lovely walk quickly turned awry,  as I took a left along a wider path which was the wrong one. I continued for a bit but was getting further from the main path. Being unsure where it would lead,  I made several attempts to cross field of wild flowers with some evergreen shrub type plants with stickers.  Each time I tried I would get close but then think maybe there is no path as this route is not heavily traveled.  It's an alternative path much longer along the coast.  

As the path I was on kept getting further away I decided I really needed to get back to the path and again attempted to cross a now wider field,  with more of these evergreen shrubs and a few blackberry looking plants with big stickers.  Even though warm here I always wear hiking pants not shorts because of plants like these, as often the path is narrow all along the Camino. 

This field was wide and on an incline down.  My Pilgrim GPS looked like the main path was just 50 - 70 feet away, so I decided to try again and not give up until there.  This time the flowers and plants and shrubs were thicker but still only about 2 - 3 feet tall but with pants and stick I could get over or thru but with just a bit more difficulty,  often my stick getting stuck on a plant. 

As I got closer,  I could finally see the path just another 20 feet ahead,  even as the shrubs were seemingly thicker.  I was basically high stepping to get on top of the shrubs and stickers, each step landing om a stickery cushion of plants. I was sweating with the extra effort but seeing the path goaded me on,  plus the thought of climbing back the way I came thru the dense plants, really left little alternative. 

I took a step and where the cushion should have become firm,  was not.  I had stepped into a small ravine about 2 feet deeper,  likely a path cut by water runoff.  I went face first into the ravine,  twisting my sore ankle, but cushioned somewhat by the sticky plants.  The sight line as i trapsed thru jungle made it look like one solid terra, As all the plants were the same height the ravine was camouflaged. (Things are not always as they seem).

 I was stuck in more ways than one.  The plants scratched up my arms and being in a more horizontal position with my pack on top pushing me down,  i found it difficult to right myself and then even more difficult to get out of ravine as I did not want to crawl on my hands with all the stickers.  

My stick helped me to right myself and then plant one foot really high and then I was able to step out. Then carefully testing the depth moved away from the ravine and made it to the path.  Luckily I also had an antiseptic wipe from a past united airlines flight which I washed the scratches on my arms... nothing major.  I always save these wipes and throw in my backpack for the next Camino. 

About 30 minutes later I realized my sleeping bag was gone,  it had obviously fallen off in the ravine,  as it was strapped to the back of my pack. This morning was the first time i did not slide the strap thru the sleeping bag string and thought,  i am not going to redo (10 second job) as surely i would notice if it slipped out 🙄.

 Weirdly,  I was just talking the day before about how I had only used it twice in the past two weeks (most alburgue provided sheets and blankets) and in future would not bring it,  instead just bring a sleep bag liner- sort of like a pillowcase shaped sheet used inside of bags. It made my pack heavier and worse bulkier and i even mentioned i wish i could get rid of it.  I knew I had little to no chance of finding the ravine as I would not remember where I entered path and plus had no desire to go back into the jungle. (Be careful what you wish for).

I worried how I would find something to replace as most towns are small and wondered if I should deviate route to go to a bigger city a little off the Camino. 

As I neared the next town,  I decided to deviate from the coastal path and take a more direct street route to Boo, to get back on main Camino.  Luckily walking on more solid surface,  my twisted ankle was not injured and the gentle walk stretched the tendons so all seemed well. 

Coming to an intermediate town I stopped at my first bar of day and had a lovely and well needed Cafe con Leche and yummy half BLET sandwich (blt with egg). 

Still feeling a little off after the morning adventure,  I headed to Boo worrying about my need for bedding. 

I came upon a tiny supermercado on the outskirts of town and wanted to replenish my fruit.  Love the peaches here and always a banana. 

 The outside was deceiving, as inside the store was deep and run by Asians,  who tend to have markets more like lill Walmarts. There was a section that had sheets and sofa blankets for about$18. But then I saw a small beach blanket,  much cuter and cheaper $7. So bedding problem solved.( The Way always provides).

I went across the street to a shady spot to pack my new purchases and was about to leave when I realized I left my stick in the supermarket.... again!!! Luckily just had to cross street to find. 

I continued to Boo along a busier street but it actually was rather nice, obviously frequently walked as it had little parks and ocean overlooks every 1/2 mile. 

I decided to just get to the alburgue in Boo and call it a day.  Arriving here found a beautiful alburgue with a brand new cafe just opened last month.

It seems the Way wants me to have a lighter pack and a real rest day!!!

Courage does not always roar  sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day that says I will try again tomorrow. 

Buen camino!

Day 12 Cam del Norte Guemas to Playa San Juan

 Today's pics

You need to add an hour and two miles to my walk as I forgot to turn on until an hour into the day

I didn't expect to do another long day... but did well and though tired had no mishaps like two days ago. 

I just agreed to walk with a south African woman along the coast to the place im staying and did not think it was going to be so far. 

But it does prove that I'm definitely stronger. 

Lovely night last night in an alburgue that converted his great grandparents family house (with cows living on first floor and people above - not uncommon in Europe in  19/ early 20 century). 

Today's walk was meant to be short and then chill on the beach...oops. so instead of walking to hotel,  I took the long way along the coast.... the really long way. 

Was so glad to finally arrive at another beautiful place... this time another lill apartment on the ocean. 

This Sunday morning started with a sublime walk on the coast,  reminding me that the most beautiful cathedrals are really the natural ones. It really reminded me to slow down,  enjoy the wonder,  and why I love the caminos.  I just had to stop while listening to chill music and fully feel the Gratitude. 

While sitting on top of the mountain just chilling this Pilgrim came by that I've been hearing about who's got a little wagon and a dog and he's walking the whole way to Santiago with both and the wagon is so when the dog gets tired he puts him in it. You definitely want to check out that picture.

Followed by a ferry to santander.  From there just a short walk to my hotel.... that changed when a new friend,  Jessie suggested we walk the coast some more. 

Tired but strong. 

Buen camino

Day 11 cam Del Norte Santona to Guemas

 Today's pics

Today was a good rest day... with just 13+ miles

Funny to think 13 miles is a rest,  but so is the life of the pilgrim after more than a week of hiking.  Few climbs and done by 3 with nice rests by a river and in a few bars. 

My foot/ ankle was tight and sensitive at the start,  but after an hour of walking it warned up with no pain.  It's still sensitive to stretching so tomorrow I'm in a big town and will look for ankle supports. 

Mostly on roads with mixed scenery, but I did skip a beautiful walk over a beach cliff,  to allow my ankles a break. 

I am in a famous Albergue in guemas, that all pilgrims talk about,  "You MUST stay in guemas." I realized when I rounded the corner that I stayed here before.  Everything is given to us,  bed,  breakfast and dinner for a donation... your choice.  A lovely place designed to meet all the needs of a pilgrim in a beautiful setting and buildings.  They have a capacity of 88, but it is not crowded. 

So now I go to read and relax. 

Buen camino!

Day 10 Cam del Norte Castro Urdiales to Santano

 Today's pics

Last night I splurged on a wonderful Seafood meal with a new friend from Germany. We had lobsters clams scallops crab two or three different kinds of shrimp and the langostino which is like a small lobster and as well as octopus it was a seafood feast.

Sort of reminded me of when my parents had the seafood restaurant and we would visit from Dallas and dad would go in the kitchen and just keep bringing out different foods and different foods such a wonderful meal and this was not as cheap as the rest of the food has been.

Is not unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night with my bladder urging me to take care of business and this certainly does not make me very happy. But this morning when this happened as I got out of bed I turned around and the sun was just peeking about the horizon and so all I had to dance between legs because I didn't want to miss the show it was a glorious morning watching the sun rise it really makes you appreciate the gift of the day. There's a whole series of these pics which I love

Today really felt like my Pilgrim legs were there finally I had a really strong morning walking the first 10K within 2 hours which was a pretty fast pace and I've been going slower today's goal was to get to Laredo which was at 32 km or about 20 miles which would be my longest day yet.

During the first 10K I had a wonderful surprise and that I stopped to sit on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean it was still cool in the morning I was just enjoying a short pause just because the spot was so beautiful and several pilgrims walked by including a couple of ladies and we chatted and I asked them where they were from and surprisingly they were from Delaware I hardly meet anyone who even knows where Delaware is let alone is from there. Their names were Marianne and Colleen but later on the walk I decided that I would give Colleen a different name to make it easier for myself and so I said would it be okay if I called you Ginger thinking of The Castaways on Gilligan's Island and she immediately turned to me and said I guess that would make you the professor even though she didn't know what I do which was quite a laugh.

There was really only one big climb today and unfortunately I really reached that area right around noon and so the Sun was shining down on me during some of the steep climbs but I did remarkably well. 

Arrived in the last town with the bar before getting to Laredo a little bit tired but felt strong and so continued on to Laredo and arrived in Laredo about an hour later and decided that since leaving Laredo you needed to take a boat and it didn't leave till 9:00 was the at the earliest I thought I'd go ahead and get on the boat get on the other side and stay there. 

And then I realized the last boat left at 6:00 and this was about 4:30 so I thought I had plenty of time cuz I thought it was only a few meters away maybe a half a mile and I started walking it turns out it was actually 2 miles away it was along a long string of condos reminding me of Ocean City Maryland and I wanted to make sure I caught the last boat so I continued on instead of resting all on hard surface which most of the day was which was really hard on my feet and my ankles. Added to this is that they have an interesting sidewalk tile that when you look down at it it looks like it's three-dimensional like a wave and made me kind of dizzy so I had to quit looking at the ground there's a picture of it but I'm not sure it gives you the full effect

At one point I realized so we're not realized but I wanted to find out how much time I had left to get to the boat and it said like 40 minutes and while this was going to give me time enough to get to the boat I didn't want to stop because I wanted to wait until I got to the boat I didn't realize it was this far away which may not seem like a lot but at the end of a 20-mile day another 2 mi is a lot. On top of that my Google app said the boat wasn't running which made me nervous even though I thought the boat was going to be running and their website said the last boat left at 6:00 so I decided to continue on instead of taking another break and just take a break while I waited for the boat. The whole time I walked this I was really nervous so I was walking fast cuz I was wanting to get the boat and I was also nervous that maybe Google was right and I couldn't imagine having to walk the two miles back into town to find a place to stay

I did make it to the boat area which is interesting cuz the boat actually lands on the beat Beach but the boat when it was heading towards me started circling which I thought was strange and I thought I hope they're not leaving for the day evidently somebody had dropped something overboard and also with the tide going out the boat landed further away than it does normally so I had to run down the beach to catch the boat before it left again not a fun thing after 22 miles now.

Today may have been the longest day I've ever walked on any Camino if not it's at least in the top five I did catch the boat and luckily the alburgue was just on the other side 

Another great Pilgrim menu or menu of the day for 15 Euros which included paella and some other grilled fish something called a bream which I've never had before and it was really good and now I'm off to bed with a tweak of tendinitis in my right ankle,  which I hope gets better overnight or at least feels a bit better overnight. Tomorrow's not such a long day but it's not a short one either but there's a great out there that we're going to end in that everyone's been talking about so I'm looking forward to that.

Day 8 & 9: Bilbao to Pobena to Castro Urdiales

 The pics

Day 8 Bilbao to Pobena

After a great day in Balboa and a great evening meal of pulpo (squid), I decided to walk out of the city along the river which actually was kind of a bad choice as it was mainly industrial on the other side and pretty close to a road on the side I was walking. But it was a flat walk which was a welcome break and after the next city there were Hills that went up and overlooked the ocean. The first city I came to was portugaleta and this was kind of cool they had this most interesting fairy that was actually suspended from a bridge above that carried people and cars across the river.

Pobena is a lovely small City on the ocean and for the size of the town we had a hole Plaza full of bars and cafes and restaurants the one I ate at you probably would not pick cuz it didn't look very nice from the street but it had a wonderful menu of the day that was discounted slightly for

pilgrims. The food here is amazing and for$12 I got a beautiful goat cheese and walnut salad followed by grilled bass and vegetables and included wine bread and dessert it's unbelievable the cost in the quality of food here a great place to take a vacation I highly

recommend it even if you don't want to be a pilgrim you could take some of the hikes and stay in places that are incredibly cheap. I mentioned that I had a room in the city in a beautiful apartment to myself for only $50 and at this time of year especially it's easy to find rooms and pensions for right around that rate of course you can find much more expensive ones.

Day 9 Pobena to Castro Urdiales

And you today was going to be a shorter day with only about 12 miles of walking so I plan to sleep late but everyone in the Alberta last night was up early and even though I woke for a few hours in the middle of the night I decided to get up and go ahead and walk.

I met a lovely German woman from Frankfurt last night at dinner and this morning we both were leaving a little bit late and found the only open bar in the town to have a early morning coffee and snack before we hit

the road. So we walked together today and it was a pleasant day with mostly nice walking few Hills not a lot of climbing especially as there were two cool,  literally, tunnels through mountains for pedestrians only,  as well as great views of the ocean and Best Yet a bar about every 3 Mi which gave us a refresher coffee or a beer and a snack.

Last night when I was looking for accommodations for today I came across a private room overlooking the ocean for $42 and had booked it and was telling her about it so when we got to this town we sat on the ocean and had some

drinks and some snacks and she decided to look and she's staying here too so I'm looking forward to another good seafood dinner and another good hike tomorrow which should be a bit further. 

The room is quite lovely and

overlooking the ocean and interestingly again as I've commented before how often I've seen cows and farmland on ocean front property between this condominium type or townhouse row in the ocean is actually a cemetery that's obviously hundreds if not a thousand years old. It's really makes me curious about the difference in the US that all of this becomes private land and only available to the very rich even if family is owned they can't afford the taxes of the value but it's being given. I wonder if something about the thousands of years of History here and tradition make that harder to happen here.