Pasaia to San Sebastian

What a spectacular second day on the Camino Del Norte! Bonnie and I are officially in San Sebastian, and we are glad that we took our time getting here.

After yesterday's brutal climb, we were SO glad we decided to break up the journey and have fresher legs this morning for the relatively short day into San Sebastian. Staying in Pasai (which I've seen spelled as Pisaya or Pasajes) was an adventure in itself! Staying at the hostel there can be quite challenging – it has a limited number of beds, doesn't take reservations, and only opens its doors at 4 PM. We'd even heard accounts of pilgrims waiting in line only to find no room, or arriving at 4 PM to discover beds were filled because doors opened earlier!

To counter this, Bonnie and I tried to make reservations at the one hotel in town, which is also small with a limited number of seven rooms. Initially, they told us in an email that they preferred to reserve rooms for people staying two or more nights, so we were declined because we only wanted to stay one night. They told me to contact them back in a couple of months. Down, but not out, I messaged them again a few weeks later, saying, "I know you said to reach back in a few months. However, I’m asking again as it is now a new month," I figured the worst they could say was no, again, but they actually agreed to reserve the room for us! It was certainly more money than we usually budget for a night on the Camino, but it was incredibly well spent for the rest and hospitality we received!

When we arrived, they gave us the key to a little attic apartment with the air conditioner already turned on and cold water in the fridge. Amazingly, there was an elevator! Bonnie and I typically always take the stairs, but when we found out the elevator opened directly into our room, we opted to use it as our own private entrance into our mini-flat! This place also came with breakfast, and knowing we had a shorter day to walk, we decided to stay until 8:30 AM for it. We joked it would just be toast, but we were pleasantly surprised at the array of foods set out – a very pleasant breakfast served with hospitality. We even had a good conversation with three French pilgrims we'd met yesterday on the mountain pass, who joined us at our table, chatting about yesterday's walk and today's path all in gestures because of our inability to speak French and theirs to speak English. But the best part of the breakfast was the croissants, which were to die for, so flaky – certainly what we were expecting yesterday in France!

Speaking of food, on the flight to Madrid one of our flight attendants handed out Nestle Crunch candy bars to Bonnie and I with our cups of coffee. He said, “Energy!” with a smile as he handed them to us. We found it a strange word to use. We thought of the candy more as a sweet reward for behaving well on a 10-hour flight while being crunched together in a cigar tube. We shared one of the bars and Bonnie put the other in her backpack. Well, yesterday, we crested the top of one of the hills and sat down to take a much needed break. I looked at Bonnie expectantly and said, "Energy?!" She laughed, said "absolutely!" and dug into her pack. We shared the second chocolate bar, praising the memory of our flight attendant who was our first Camino Angel of this trip!

After our wonderful breakfast, we donned our backpacks and took a 2-minute boat ride across the river. We decided to find another cup of coffee as there would be no stops along the route today for additional caffeine. One shop owner wasn't open yet but kindly directed us to a cafe down the street where a nice barista made us great coffee con leches.

We took the trail to the end of town where we passed next to a shipbuilding factory. The trail turns into a vigorous set of stone stairs switchbacking up the mountain. We met a couple of locals heading the other direction, with a large battery on a cart, lowering it down one step at a time for the lighthouse below us– quite an effort!

We had several amazing views of the coast today under another cloudless sky, while at other times the forest we passed through was so thick you would have had no idea you were near the ocean. Many locals take to these trails for exercise, and there are scattered picnic benches along the way for people to enjoy.

At one of these picnic benches we met three female pilgrims from Romania. We noticed that one, named Diana, was walking barefoot! I was flabbergasted, but she said it helps her connect to the Earth and that she's conditioned her feet. She mentioned that when she started, even sand tickled her feet, but now she can walk over almost anything! Unfortunately, this afternoon, we saw her heading back up the trail towards us. We asked what was wrong, and she said she lost one of her sandals! She had decided it was best to put her sandals on when she got to the hot pavement, but one was missing. She was literally wearing just one sandal! Her other Romanian pilgrims were waiting with her further down the path with her backpack while she searched for the lost shoe.

Halfway through our trek we came upon a sign welcoming pilgrims to come up the hill for rest and refreshment. I hadn’t read about this place in any of the guidebooks. The owner said he ran an albergue for pilgrims and that they also bake their own sourdough bread in a wood fire stone oven. I was a little sceptical, fearing that he kidnapped pilgrims who wandered by his place and ate them after preparing them in the oven, but he turned out to just be a baker. We ate our second breakfast and had our third cup of coffee because we have learned to never pass by an open cafe on the Camino.

Finally, we arrived in San Sebastian, which is just amazing! There are thousands upon thousands of people enjoying the beach on this beautiful sunny day. The beach is nestled into a cove, so it doesn't get large waves, making it very fun for families to bring their kids to swim. The sand is soft, and the water is warm. I honestly think this is the nicest beach I have ever been to! Bonnie and I walked the entire length of the beach after showering and doing our laundry. Even though there are so many people, it doesn't seem too crowded; it feels like it was created for this purpose. I love the ocean and beaches, and I think I could spend much more time here. But who knows, probably after being on the beach for a few days I’d be hankering for another long walk.

For dinner tonight, we headed out to Old Town, under the Good Shepherd statue on the top of the hill. I introduced Bonnie to Pinchos, the Basque version of Spanish tapas. I had been taught well by my friend Nancy Reynolds when I passed through Pamplona two summers ago when she was also in that city. She encouraged me to invite my friends to come along but was a little surprised when I showed up with 17 of them! It’s easy to make friends on the Camino, especially when you invite them to have Pinchos.

If I tell you we ended the night with a piece of Basque cheesecake, you may stop believing this is a pilgrimage and instead an indulgence. Well, tonight it was…Читать далее