Via Regia 2016

Walked again with Erich from Salzburg today, only part of the 18.6 km (11.6 mi)--what a blast. He has quite the view of life, perhaps influenced by earning great wealth by the age of 26, then traveling the world and squeezing in a Camino or two in all that. He's also experienced death at least three times, going to the other side: the bright light and incredible force! Has studied with Tebetan monks, Hinduism, on and on. It was an interesting day, to say the least. His is an easy come easy go attitude. A few kilometers before my goal, we parted, he deciding to go a bit further.

La Isla was rather remote, but most of our group arrived there. No restaurants near, so we all used a nearby local market to create our own version of dinner.

Some interesting sights along the way today. Many home owners creatively use flowers to decorate their landscape around the house. The colors in this homescape stopped me in my tracks. Then, the hórreos started appearing right and left. They're a typical granary found in the Northwest of Spain (Galicia and Asturias)--we're still in Asturias. Views of the ocean or walking next to the beach were real treats.

The only down side was that my phone carrier locked my SIM card and I didn't have a PIN. So I was forced to go without cell and internet until the next day when I can stop by the Orange store.

I posted that I was alone last night until nearly 9:00 PM, but then an Austrian from Salzburg joined me. Nice fellow (pic incl), and I thought I had bad bedbug bites, well his were an order of magnitude worse mainly on his back. He had already discarded 1000€ worth of equipment because he claimed that that was the only solution. So now he has a small day pack. BTW, the town had a music celebration that lasted until five in the morning--made for a real interrupted night of sleep--oh well!

Leaving Llanes, we saw beautiful ocean views. I struggled with the 29.7 km (18.6 mi) and concluded that it's my limit with tendinitis burning the last hour. Will try to hold the distances down to 25 km (15.6 mi). Beautiful day in 70s with cloud cover and three or four nice breaks, but didn't get in until after 4:00 PM. At the destination, I was floored at how nice the albergue is: right next to the ocean, they have a three-story building with lots of two double-bunk bed rooms overlooking the ocean, for 19.80€ including breakfast. The very first thing I did was wade in the ocean to cool off my feet and ankles. Then I encountered many of the old group and had a beer/coffee together on the premises. We'll try to have breakfast together downstairs at 7:00 AM then do a shorter walk.

I reclaimed my "aloneness" today by leaving my group. They elected to go to a destination slightly ahead, and I felt like stopping earlier at Llanes, in fact, at the first promising place, which turned out to be an albergue (15€) that is an adjunct to a hotel. It's quite large and seems to have 8 rooms, each with about 4 double-bunks. At 8:30 PM, I'm still the only one here.

It was an easy day: 21.9 km (13.7 mi), breakfast within 30 minutes of starting, only high 70s, lots of cloud cover, and not too much climbing. Most of the route was within a kilometer of the ocean, glimpses of which appeared now and then. The coastal mountains were off to my left, as I captured in one pic.

I was settled and had my chores done by 2:00 PM, so I was able to take a two-hour nap that I hadn't had in days. Toward evening I walked into town about a half mile and looked around. I ended up getting groceries and eating here at the albergue.

Llanes is celebrating (all year) its 500-year jubilee with banners everywhere. Lof people were out and many seemed like tourists. On the bridge in the town center, I saw bows tied on that marked anniversaries--that was new for me (BTW, locks seem to be out--they get removed!).

Today I left the Albergue at 8:30 AM, somewhat later than usual and arrived at the Colombres Albergue at nearly 5:00 PM--lots of beds available and no wait to check-in. The walk of 28.4 km ( 17.8 mi) had a good share of up and down hills, and although tired, I managed especially since the weather was overcast and only in the high 70s.

Today's headline story was the many cases of bedbug attacks, at least that's what the consensus seems to be. My attack was two days ago, whereas most others were last night, including the Spanish lady whose picture of her arms I took and posted it along with my feet on FB. I include that picture here. There have been at least half a dozen other folks that have had similar complaints.

Another observation is the Camino waymarkers here in Asturias. They're quite pretty and easily spotted (see the picture).

An easy 19.6 km (12.3 mi) got me to the next 16-bed albergue where I again saw many of the old familiar faces. Today I can comfortably say that I'm coming home this month. On the way out a block away, I stopped for breakfast and had to take a picture of the newly prepared pinchos. The other three pictures of the baroque church Iglesia de San Martín, en Cigüenza fascinated me how it just appeared over the horizon.

Mostly gently rolling hills except for brief periods of steep ascents moved me along the way. At Comillas, we encountered one of the last crowded vacation beaches. The picture I took includes a beach with rip currents and warnings against swimming, but the one next to it had many bathers.

I suffered an attack of itching last night on toes and arms and couldn't figure out what had caused it until today: probably a mix of bed bugs on the toes and heat rash and flying insects on the arms. Some others had also complained about the bedbugs! I bought more cream thinking that my Cortizone-10 Plus had lost some effectiveness because it's been subjected to heat. It was a miserable couple of hours and tonight is starting out itchy again.

The upper two pics of the second quad are the albergue and the lower two are of the Comillas church both exterior and interior.

A number of us took Father Ernesto's advice at the Güemes Albergue to take the local train out of the industrial part of Santander up to Mogro. So I rode the train for 13.1 km (8.2 mi) and walked the remainder of 16.3 km (10.2 mi) through moderate rolling hills. The weather was comfortable in the low 70s and the path was along small country roads.

Since I was nearly last to leave the albergue, I expected my compatriots to all be here when I arrived, there was only one familiar face and one came later. Now at 6:30 PM, the albergue has long filled its 16 beds. So I'm not sure where they are--but that happens on the Camino.

Now for the surprise: In Jean Sartre's philosophical novel "La Nausée", Sartre described Santillana as the prettiest village in Spain ("le plus joli village d'Espagne")--I quote Wikipedia. After walking up and down the few streets, I tend to agree, but the town has become a little kitschy with the many stores trying to sell tourists their souvenirs--as, by the way, has Santiago become, or all beautiful destinations, for that matter. The pics I include are all from Santillana, the first being the Colegiata, a Romanesque church and former Benedictine monastery and the others being a sample of the medieval flavor of Santillana. I could have posted a dozen more, but these will do.

Hated leaving that beautiful albergue, but knowing it would be a scenic walk near the ocean and ferry ride to Santander got me going. Several of us covered the 21 km (13 mi) in just over 5 hrs. and then had to wait several hours for the albergue to open (either at a cafe or in front, as you can see from the pictures). We found the Santender albergue extremely cramped--so much so that we couldn't bring our backpacks into the little 8-bunk rooms. They barely had room to turn around.

After we got settled, we toured the Cathedral and had time to visit the Santander Prehistoric Museum that was most interesting in that its focus was on the Cantabrian Region (that we're in).

The three of us who roomed together last night decided to leave at 8:00 AM so as to get breakfast at our place, but our place was still closed. Bob then hobbled to the bus stop, Susanne and I walked the few kilometers on the way into town for breakfast then put on our panchos for the light drizzle and parted ways because she had a much faster pace. The trek was a comfortable 17 km (8.8 mi) and ended at an amazing albuerge, arguably the best on the Camino! I include here the URL to the albuerge: http://www.alberguedeguemes.com/

When I arrived at a little after 1:00 PM, someone greeted me, told me to put my backpack down and showed me to my place at the dining table. I already knew most of the other 20 or so pilgrims from before. They were already serving food and wine. After the meal, they registered me and showed me to my bunk. It's an 11-bunk room (one of many) each bunk having lots of head space and, get this, its individual electrical plug for charging smartphones, etc. It's the amenities that are so outstanding: washer, dryer, clothes lines, everything!

A piece of artwork at the bottom of the stairs, included as the last picture, is captioned at the bottom: CAMINO UNIVERSIDAD DE VIDA (CAMINO UNIVETSITY OF LIFE). It seems so germane!

Left the albuerge at Liendo at about 8:00 AM for the 19 km (11.9 mi) trek to Noja via Laredo and the small ferry over to Santoña. Hate getting up while it's still dark, so I just delay until someone turns on the lights. Right from the start at the albuerge it was a steep climb which stressed out my tendinitis for the rest of the day.

Top two pictures were of the ferry and me riding it across the ocean inlet between Laredo and Santoña. Then I followed a bike path that skirted a huge penitentiary in Santoña. On arriving at the albuerge, Bob and Suzanne (from Denmark) were already there. I had made reservations the day before. A young fellow from Quebec joined us for a pilgrim's dinner menu.

Took one of two optional routes between these two towns and ended up picking the shorter of the two at 21.0 km (13.1 mi). Except for a few long climbs, this was one of nicest hiking days with some great views along the way.

I arrived at the albuerge at a little after one. The door was open and I was told that the hospitalero will come at 8:00 pm and stamp our credentials and collect the fees.

The first pic is in front of one of the rustic gates to keep the herd of sheep, goats, or cows in. The rocky path is not one of my favorites, but luckily it wasn't very long either. The pics of the sea are the essence of the Del Norte Camino--can't get enough of these kinds of views. The fourth pic is of the church at Liendo with the albuerge, the white two-story building, just down from it.

Some 40+ of us headed out this morning from the albuerge at Portugalete being treated by an escalator sidewalk to move us about 100 meter to the higher ground. Nice gesture! But we also knew that the albuerge here in Castro only had 18 beds. I didn't want to get into the usual Camino race and simply took my time walking the 21.9 km (13.7 mi). When I arrived, I headed to the tourist office and found an inexpensive hotel in the center (30 €)--soooo nice not to have to wait in line for check-in, shower, laundry, etc. I did my chores and then went a few hundred meters up the hill to the main attraction: the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción that looks more like a citadel than a church. I thought the arches across the nave were very different--one doesn't usually see that.

Much of the walk was on a dedicated bike/pedestrian path that later switched to a "Camino" path. And I actually walked on wooden boards across the beach--yes, this was the path. The temperature was at least 10 degrees less than yesterday--high 80s--still, it was a taxing walk with some healthy uphill segments.

My hotel is half a block from the square that the last two pictures portray, just coming to life at about 8:00 pm. While sightseeing at the church, I ran into three other pilgrims I had chummed around with, so we all went for a tapas dinner.

I could have sworn that I walked more than 11.5 km (7.2 mi)--crazy steep, very warm, but no problem finding water spigots. I barely came in an hour and a half before it hit 100 deg F. Had thoughts this morning of going another 10 km, but couldn't have made it. Basically skirted the estuary on the west side. The first picture shows a transporter bridge high above the water in the town of Portugalete to allow cars and people to cross (the transporting car is the white container on right just above the water) and yet boats to pass underneath. This bridge is a world heritage site!

The town is so steep for pedestrians that they installed moving sidewalks (see the pic).

Had a good walk of 20.7 km (12.9 mi), but when some of us arrived at Lezama we discovered that 20 had arrived before us so that we encountered the "no vacancy" sign. Two of us made a decision to catch the next bus to Bilbao, where we barely filled one of several rooms at one of the closest hostels and this is one of three hostels, probably best located. The pulse at Bilbao was over the top!

So many impressionable things I saw today: the Basque flag flying everywhere and statements about wanting their freedom; the fanciest Office of Tourisme at Bilbao that I've ever seen with marble floors and pillars, etc.; the Bilbao Museum we paid homage to (a Frank Gehry design); street celebrations with what seemed like thousands of people; and fireworks out of our hostel window (part of summer celebrations) to bring the day's celebrations to a close.

Another taxing day of 24.1 km (15 mi) of up and down with intense heat in the afternoon. And what's worse is that three of us missed a turn and ended up adding some 5 km to the distance--the receptionist tells me that most everyone does that. Many of the uphill segments I took sideways to spare my Achilles' tendon from overstretching. It all worked out in the end--last of the ugly hard sections for a while.

We were so grateful to find water sources at four strategic points to be able to rest, cool off with splashing water and rehydrate.

Guernika (Basque spelling is without the "u") is best known (according to Wikipedia) to those residing outside the Basque region as the scene of the April 26, 1937, Bombing of Guernica, one of the first aerial bombings by Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe. It inspired the painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso.

A couple of high points: the secluded Hermitage we encountered on the way in Ziortza-Bolibar, which is or was a monastery and allows pilgrims to stay over; a steep down hill section was completely modernized with wooden steps and railings; and countless Basque farm houses with the red geraniums.

The hills just get steeper both up and down--we're talking better than 20% grades where you go up and down sideways! It was 26.8 km (16.8 mi) and many idyllic scenes. The path is more inland--no ocean views today, but the occasional cool breeze made the warm weather more tolerable.

Our albuerge filled up and offered only sleeping on the floor on your own mat. I had to take a picture of the crowds standing in the check-in line and the dozens of shoes lining the hallway. The spin dryer was a welcome gadget to spin extra water from your laundry so it dries faster--it seems to be standard equipment!

And above all, the international spirit of the Camino prevailed at our dinner table: USA, Belgium, Australia, and Denmark--and that's just seven of us.

Am on the north coast of Spain, today one of the best Camino days: 26 km (16.3 mi) of steep climbs and descents that created unforgettable views of the local landscape and ocean coast, with cool weather, great paths--some rocky, but no mud. At the end of the day I felt a genuine Camino accomplishment. Although I had a few moments of doubt, I feel I can make this route--I love it because it reminds me so much of California's Pacific Coast Route. The land kisses the sea and the sea hisses back in a continual, unpredictable motion with forces beyond one's imagination.

Deba has a long history of being a port town, but it already remade itself into a tourist attraction as early as the 19th century. It offers tourists and pilgrims alike a quaintness and resting place to enjoy. The view from the second story is from our albuerge as I lust after the beers folks are having below.

A 21.2 km (13.3 mi) day, much of it uphill, half in the rain, a fall in the mud that bent my walking stick left me with one of the warmest of memories and it's the only pic I'm attaching.

At about an hour out of Donostia-San Sebastián after much climbing, this man had a stand in front of his house with water and pictures and the possibility of a stamp. We started talking and he mentioned he had visited Orinda, CA as well as Yosemite, etc. I told him I was very familiar with Orinda. And in jest said where's the coffee? Well, he took me aside 10 steps down to his house and served me a big mug of coffee, a dozen cookies and homemade jam. After telling him about my four Caminos and this one starting in Poland, he opened up with having done 10 Caminos and he had visited over 1500 nursing homes in Spain to entertain with the folks with the guitar. We just hit it off and touched each other's soul then left with a big bear hug. I was so deeply touched by this man--unbelievably so. And so, I close with: que Dios te bendiga (May God bless you) and attach his picture in his honor:

Today I started out at sunrise and it was my Camino entrance exam: only 18 km (11.3 mi) but the climbs and descents taxed me most along with a rocky path for much of it. On a pass/fail basis, I think I passed.

Oh, there was also a patience part. When I called to make a reservation, the fellow told me they were full and I need to go to the Corazon de Maria and they will provide me with a bed. So I imagined this completely different place, Googled it, and went on a two-hour chase into the steepest parts of San Sebastián that was the wrong place! My energy and patience were nearly gone. It turned out, the place I called was the Corazon de Maria, and they didn't even take reservations! When I arrived there they were still closed, and I easily got a front-row bed--I'm facing a basketball court. The place is huge with rooms elsewhere, too. Right now they have 80+ pilgrims.

The views from the walk as well as my "extra sightseeing" were gorgeous. The hills on the other side are the Pyranese. The cathedral, the El Pastor Cathedral, while relatively new (1897) is one of San Sebastián's major icons.

As Seniora Socorro drove her husband to an appointment, she offered to drive me to the Chemin de St Jacques, their house being somewhat off the route. Well, that offer turned into a tour of the area that ended up taking me 33 km "down the road" to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. And from there I walked a short 14.4 km to Irun--yes short, but with some steep climbs that gave my tendinitis a good test. So far so good. Although I won't be crossing the Pyrenees mountain range, some of its rolling mountains were visible in the distance.

Biarritz was most interesting with its conspicuous wealth everywhere especially the Hôtel du Palais originally built for Emperor Napoleon III's wife Eugénie. Somehow, the Chemin de St Jacques is conspicuously not routed through Biarritz! At the town of Budart, one could see the Basque language and architecture everywhere.

Walked the 5.9 km (4 mi) to Bayonne when I decided to stop at the Office de Tourisme to see if they could get me lodging at Bidart, my planned goal for the day (17.8 km). The lady called her counterpart and the result was that nothing was available except very high-priced vacation hotels. She highly recommended to stay in Bayonne, the last French city to cater to pilgrims. I took her advice and she found a chambre d'hôte within a kilometer or so.

As luck would have it, I arrived at the Aguirre Family's place called "la Gayonette" and both speak fluent Spanish, he stemming from Bilbao and she from Colombia, South America. It's a perfect opportunity to train my ear for Spanish. I used the day to get some sightseeing in--Bayonne is part of Basque country and has a beautiful cathedral. The city was teeming with tourists. Its population proper is around 50,000 but the greater area has some 300,000 people.

They invited me both for lunch and dinner, and we played games late into the evening--one a scrabble-type game but with numbers. To lighten my load, I left my jacket and a pair of trousers. And Seniora Socorro was nice enough to do a load of laundry for me, with drier since rain was predicted for the night.

I still need to sort out my next move.