First day walking —to Pancorbo

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What a superb, wonderful, happy day. Alun and I left Miranda around 7:30 and walked through a beautiful gorge and into the village of Pancorbo. Olga met us in town and after a good long shoes-off break and an obligatory Kas de Limón (for me) and café con leche (for them) we said goodbye and off they went.

I had found a local loop hiking trail, about 15 km long, that went up to the medieval castle first and then started a substantial ascent to the site of the 17th century fort, Santa Engracia, Now totally in ruins but with some amazing views and raptors! I met a couple of local people who were out for a walk and we had some nice chats. They told me that the town is alive mainly because there are lots of good jobs in the city of Vitoria, about 40 km away. The town still has a school, still has children being born, still has some young families, even though there are fewer than 500 residents.

I was definitely starting to drag by the end of this walk. And it was after four when I rolled into the Hostal Pancorbo. Nothing fancy, perfectly adequate, clean, and only €40. Actually, a few years ago this place probably would’ve gone for 20 or 30, but there has definitely been a substantial price increase since Covid.

After a shower and washing clothes, I decided to take a walk up to a mirador a couple of kms above town. Late afternoon sun made dramatic shadows and more raptors appeared.

On the way down, I stopped to watch large numbers of (mostly) young people maneuvering their way on what is called a Via Ferrata. Rock climbing with chains, swaying wooden slat bridges, all sorts of stairs up and down, and at the end, a zip line! The locals say it brings a lot of people to town, and the setting is surely spectacular.

37 km and 1050 m is a lot for this old body, even though 6 km were pack-free. I’m going to take it a little easier tomorrow, but I feel fine and am happy to have met the challenge and enjoyed so much incredible natural beauty. Grateful is the word of the hour.Read more