Day 51: Bilbao - Castro Urdiales

Distance: 30k (1295.4/663.5)
Weather: 27C, sunny and warm
Mood: bit emotional and tired
Blisters: 0
Staying at: Aqua Via H & Spa Hotel

Up and down

Just like this route moves up and down (and I truly believe it's harder than the Camino Frances!), so does my mood. Bilbao didn't help, being such a big city with so many noises and people, in contrast to the stillness of my walk.
I had a look at the amazing shapes of the Guggenheim museum in the early morning sunlight and then took the metro to Portugalete (inspired by a German mother and son) to avoid some of the industrial areas of the city. But even here I found uninspiring and industrial buildings, including a crazy cycle highway over the main roads. The landscape slowly worked on my mood and my legs felt tired.
After a little climb (I now regard 180m as little) I rested on a bench and met Sonia from Romania, living in Germany. It was just what I needed. We had some good chats and laughed at the many similarities between us. The highlight was encountering a large truck with both a Dutch and a Romanian numberplate at a petrol station. We thought this was the most brilliant thing, but the grumpy guy being the counter was oblivious to this and demanded us to take of out backpacks but fire getting in. How beautiful these contrasts are!
We ate our ice-creams while walking a pretty big main road (bit crazy to walk here if you ask me) and enjoyed the last of the sun.
It was starting to get late and if there's one thing I haven't quite been able to let go, it's the need for a safe place to sleep, so I was getting a little nervous. No need though, as we slept at a lively little spa hotel and even caught a rise there for the last 1km. I slept like a baby! It was a memorable day of ups and downs...Read more