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  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 18

    Day Ten: Guemes to Santander

    August 8, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    This was a great last walking day! The scenery was just as marvelous as the people that I walked with. (James, Andrew, Gill, Belle, Everette, and Sam). The day started with a bit of rain and I was happy to be able to use my rain jacket I had been lugging along. To the disliking of James, Andrew, and I we did not get our typical second breakfast but it was not a big issue by any means. At one point we walked along the path that had cliffs on the one side and corn fields on the other. We found a steep winding trail down the cliff to a cove of sorts and stopped for a swim. Luckly no one fell and we were back on the path pretty quickly. We walked along the beach for a long time today. It was nice to take our shoes off so the salt water would wash over our legs. Some kind gentleman saved us from walking way to far along the bach and missing our turn off, saving us an extra 10ish kms. We took a ferry across the inlet and finally arrived in Santander. It is a much larger city than I imagined it would be. The hostel was nice and we were just in time to get beds for all of us. The man running the hostel seemed annoyed with nearly everything people did. He was actually very nice, but James said it best when he said he had a greay heart but horrible manners. Andrew had to use his spainish skills to diffuse an argument between the host and Timothy. But all was good in the end. It had been a shorter day walking despite it feeling long. We had some difficulty finding somewhere for lunch but that was expected for the size of our group and we walked a on the waterfront and saw a castle. And checked out the surf beaches. After a lovely dinner of french fries and "nachos" of sorts we concluded the last day of walking.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 17

    Day Nine: Sontonia to Guemes

    August 7, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We woke up this morning to our host getting home from work. Andrew was able to secipher that she is a nurse or something and works night shifts. She prepared a breakfast of sorts for us consisting of microwaved coffee that had been sitting out since we arrived, a pear, and assorted biscuits and cookies, the kind they give you when you order a coffee from a restraunt. Despite our efforts to leave nice and early we forgot a few items and had to wait out on the steet for our german friends to bring down our things. The hostel we are aiming for is supposed to be another cant miss spot so we were eager to get there early so we could rest and spend some time with friends we met along the way. It was a gorgeous day, lots of sun and not too hot. We had our usual second breakfast and had and had some good discussions as we walked along the beach. We bought some food at a campsite 5km before the hostel and ended up arriving there just after lunch so it turned out to be a good call. The staff ushered us into a small shed that had been converted to accomadate three people, despite there being more typical rooms available. The hostel here can hold up to 100 people, the property is run by an old man named Ernesto who is famous along the camino and i think elsewhere. He has traveled all over the world and had an amazing attic filled with his films and prints of his journeys. We attempted some laundry but ended up using a broken machine that turned off after adding soap so our things smelt clean but couldve used another wash. We wrung them out for some time and hung them to dry. After we officially checked in we had a shot with ernesto who was just sipping them, he loved that i was from BC ("near Vanvouver!") And told me that is was the most beautiful place he has ever been. We found some friends who had apparently been there the whole time we were. Sam, Everette, Belle, and Gill. After a quick cat nap we met up with them and caught uo sharing stories of the last few days. At some point everyone staying there was herded into a room with seats around the outside and cushons on the floor. Ernesto gave a speech talking about the history of his property and his intention for it while also sliding in some of his own personal politcal views that made people only slightly uncomfortable.. but it ended quick enough and we enjoyed and amzing community dinner before winding down for the night with the friends. A group of us decided we would leave all together in the morning for santander, it will be my last walking day.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 16

    Day Eight: Castro Urdailes to Santona

    August 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We took advantage of the privacy to sleep in just a little comprimisng on the a 715am alarm. We had been up later than expected looking for places to eat. I am always caught off gaurd how we will arrive somewhere and it is quite calm and peaceful and then siesta ends and the streets beging to swell. People dont go straight to dinner either they first get a drink and a snack (theres a name for it but i cant remeber) and then they begin having dinner around 830 or 9. It also didnt help that it was saturday night. But despite some aimeless wandering we found a place. We continued today to get mode dramatic coast lines and were given a nice break from all the pavement for some time. The three of us joke a lot that we've become boogie pilgrims, leaving around 7 or 8 (most pilgrims seem to be up and on the road by 6am!!), and then stopping for first and second breakfast before lunch. But its what we like and the camino has something different for everyone. We also decided that we would be called the White Lotus, a homage to the secret society good guys in Avatar the Last airbender. As we we are all quite non drama and try to be respectful as much as possible, something that cant always be said for other pilgrims. Our feet continue to be sore and the extra weight from all the extra clothes I brought seemed to be catching up to me today. I really needed to focus when going up hills. After some amazing views and scaling some large hills we decended into Laredo. Another larger vacation city situated in a cove of sorts. It was like a penisula with something like a 5-6km beach running its length. We stopped at the hostel there and even though they had beds we decided to take the ferry out of Laredo into Santona. The hostel there said they were full but if we showed up they would call "families" and we thought that would be a worthy experience. We bumped into Samuel and Timothy again. They seem to make their once a day appearance, to give us the scoop on the town or the latest tea and keep going. It almost feels like they are ths NPCs of a video game. At the hostel the two other girls from germany arrived at the same time and the guy running the hostel was very frustrated with them over a miscommunication. It was really akward but i barely had any idea what was happening. He did indeed call "families" and he shuffled all 5 of us outside to meet this lady that was taking us to her apartment. It was tiny. And we laughed to ourselves over the situation we got ourselves in. We blew up an airmatress in tbe living room and i rolled out my mat. The girls took the bedroom. The three of us went down for a quick swim and dinner before settling in for the night.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 15

    Day Seven:Portegaleta to Castro Urdailes

    August 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    This was a long day. Blisters were starting to accumulate on our feet and despite my efforts to convince people that i am still in school people still wanted me to take a look because i was the closest thing to a doctor that we had. I was not much help. James, Andrew and I have sort of made a bond at this point and it seems that there was no ridding myself of them in the foreseeable future. Not that i would have wanted to because they were good company. We finally began to leave the city and pavement and get more epic coast lines and dirt trails, although there was still quite a bit of road walking. We inititally were going to take a shorter route that went along the highway to save time but were told by several people that it was quite dangerous and unammusing as it simple shouldered a busy highway. We opted for the longer route heading south over a moutain before weaving north again to Castro Uradales. Our go with the flow, take it as it comes demeanor was catching up to us though, we arrived later than we expected to castro urdailes and having walked bearly 37 km did not think that the 15 person municiple albergue on the outside of town woulf have space for us. We settled on a small boarding house with 4 beds right along the waterfront. Castro Uridales, not unlike many of the coastal cites here, is popular toutist destination. Which made find somewhere to stay quite difficult. We were also having a hard time getting used to spanish time often arriving in town during siesta and many restraunts did noy begin serving food until 8 or 9. But after much wandering and a beer and a snack we found somewhere sufficient enough. James and I were even able to squeeze in a quick swim before dinner which was exceedingly refreshing.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 14

    Day Six: Bilbao to Portegaleta

    August 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I did not want to walk this morning but after a great firat breakfast James and Andrew convinced me that the camino didnt count if we didnt walk the whole way. Many people that we knew were taking the train or bus to the beach for a rest day but we trudged on. This was probably the least beautiful walking day. We were out of the hill side and now walked along the river in urban areas. BUT we still carried on, Andrew and James are great people and we talked and joked about the night before and our lives back home. I was happy in the end that I walked with them. We finally arrived in Portegelata after 2 breakfasts and lunch. The hostel was something out a news broadcast for hurricane victims. A row of bunk beds on either side of a long corridor out the side of a gymnasium. There were only a couple places to put your things and the washrooms were only old change rooms. We laughed a lot about this. As pilgrims we were becoming more accomadated to these municple albergues (public hostels). They are for pilgrims and by donation only, however they also have a curfew and a strict check out time usually out by 7 or 8. Three other guys in the hostel joined us for drinks and dinner (samuel, from italy, timothy, from Spokane, and Oscar 3 (from norway i think). The converstaing were interesting to say the least but we had a good time and James, Andrew and I decided to carry on together the next day.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 13

    Day Five: Dirt in Gernika to Bilbao

    August 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    I barely slept last night. But was in good enough company. Despite enjoying the large group we thought it might be best to split up and walk in smaller groups. I began walking alone in the dark, and that messes with your head. I dont think there are any animals here that would do anything but the forest in the pitch black likes to play with your mind. It wasnt long before i caught up to Sam and Everette, two americans who were traveling together. We walked together for nearly 4 hours chatting about life and social issues. Eventually i decided i needed a bit of time to my self so i walked on ahead. There was a lot of pavement walking this day. Even though it made the path smoother the road is quite jaring on the feet especially the long descent down into Bilbao. Bilbao is a city almost on the ocean, a river runs through it the ebs slightly by the tide despite the ocean being about 20km away. A few of us had decided to meet up in Bilbao to find a hostels together. When I got into town i got a call from James and Andrew, we met after some time and booked a hostel. After lunch we had the most agonizing check in process ever. After a nap we set out to meet some others, the two girls from Madrid and three brothers from the south of spain were finishing in Bilbao. The night was so much fun although I was upset that we never found anywhere to dance. Unfortunately, I ended up having a bit of a rough night and require just a little bit of assistance from James, Everette, and Sam to get back to the hostel. But i think everyone enjoyed themselves well enough!Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 12

    Day five: Monestary to dirt near Gernika

    August 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I woke up early to the sound of some of my spanish friends (andrea and lidia) i met the night before getting ready. Probably around 5am. The left with another group and i watched the sunrise while i waited for the people i said i would walk with to wake up. Eight of us set out on our way. We had long discussions about all sorts of things like our personal lives, philosophies, and ethics. The people i met have really exceeded my expectations. As i am not walking the camino for any religous reasons i thought i might be a bit of an odd one but i have quickly realized that almost everyone here is just here for the experience itself and not specifically religous by any means. It was a lot of fun to walk with everyone although it was very slow and at time frustrating when our indecision became evident in towns. We sat under a very old bridge in a creek and soaked our feet, exchanging and listening to music. It felt like a dream. It was a particular level of peace that was amazing. As we walked into Markina we walked past a building where people were singing and dancing. Just a group of friends and when we looked in the quickly ushered us in and poured us wine and fed us meats. We continued on after lunch and buying some ingridients for supper. We walked about 7km past Gernika had some drama eith the hostel own and 4 of us ended up sleeping outside on a dirt road.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 11

    Day Four: Deba to Monastery

    August 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    I walked today with Gill and Andrew, we lwft early in the morning because we wanted to stay at this old monastery that had limited beds. We were told it was a cant miss and they were right. We got there in record time. Slowly it is getting more difficult as my body starts to feel the effects of all the walking. We found many pilgrims who we had all met alonh the way and formed a really good group. We enjoyed beer that is brewed there by the monks, it was amazing. And also shared a large group meal all together. It is amazing how the camino will bring everyone together and makes them all feel like family, there are no expectations, even when walking with others you can just zone out and walk alone for some time. So far i love the caminoRead more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 11

    Day Four Deba to Monestary

    August 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I met several people at dinner last night. The main three were Baptiest, Gill, and Andrew. Andrew and I decided we would walk together to the monestary and Gill decided to join as well. We left pretty early and had a good start heading up the mountain. We moved further away from the sea so todays hike was quite hilly but we were thankful for aome cloud cover. It was a bit of a grind and the long days continue to put strain on the body. We made it to the Monestary by 1:30 and claimed our beds. As we settled in we meet many other pilgrims who had gotten there before us and we welcomed alot of poeple arriving. Man of the faces were familiar to us as we had crossed paths with many along the way. The Monks at the monestary brew there own beer and ferment wine and sell it out of a small shop they have there. I tried all three beers they had (large bottles of course) and we spent the night sharing stories of all our adventures. A large group of us decided we would all walk together the next day.Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2022
    Day 10

    Day three: Getaria to Deba-ish

    July 31, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    I slept in late and didnt start walking until 12. I spoke with someone in Getaria who told me I needed to get going so i went to high gear. I can really tune in while walking. I made it go Deba in 4 hours only taking a couple small breaks. Unfortunately the hostel in Deba was full. Two ladies who worked there were very helpful in helping me find somewhere else. The brought me water and gave me lists of places to call or try and sat with me for some time. I must have looked like i had no idea what i was doing but i think they wete just very kind. I ended up walking another 4 km to a hostel that had space. Its fun to have the community vibe of all the pilgrims. I bought dinner with my stay which ended up being a big group dinner with the other pilgrims. It felt like campand we all talked about our lives and what we are here for if any reason. Ill walk with some of them tomorrow. It will force me to get up early because ive been really bad at getting up early and they all seem like keeners. The goal is to make it to a Monestary just outside of Markina tomorrow before it fills up. Its apparently a cant miss experience.Read more

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