Laredo to Guemes

Life is a beach .. And then you fry.

Bonnie and I stayed on the east end of Laredo, on the rim above the city. It presented us with an incredible view of the sunset over the beach last night, as well as the sunrise this morning. What didn’t happen in this heat wave was any cool air making its way up to our room. We woke up this morning already needing a shower.

Laredo’s beachfront is really long, with two beach fronts combining for almost five miles of soft sand and rippling waves. Bonnie and I have been walking the length of all the beach fronts in the towns we have been staying in after dropping off our backpacks. The sand and water on our tired feet has been rejuvenating. Yesterday, we only traversed half of Laredo’s beach due to its size. This morning, however, we had to walk the entire length to get out of town, but now in hiking shoes and loaded backpacks, We then headed to a ferry that would take us across the river. We met up with several friends we have made along the Way, as well as met some new ones.

Our time on the North coast of Spain is coming to a close; only three more days on the Norte. Our stages are a bit different from some of our friends, so we realized that we could be saying ‘Buen Camino” to them for the last time.

Next we navigated our way up and over a pass and through a lot of shrubs and bushes. We were finally deposited onto the edge of Berria beach, which we think meant "Bare Naked" beach because most of the people we saw on the outskirts were without skirts. Bonnie looked at me in my long pants, long sleeves, sun hoodie pulled up over my ball cap and sunglasses, and said, “I think you are seriously overdressed for this place.”

It was a diverse day of walking. We meandered through vacation towns and rural neighborhoods. By the end of the day, we were on hot pavement and wished for the cooler air and softer sand from this morning. We arrived much later than we anticipated, having spent nine hours in the sun. The heat wave that is hitting Spain right now is relentless. We needed a shower so bad. Then, after washing our clothes and hanging them to dry, we needed another shower.

We asked our host if she had a fan. Since she didn’t speak English and I haven’t learned the Spanish words for “Where in the name of God and all that is Holy is the air conditioner unit?”, I had to play charades with her. I tried to mimic what a fan looks like and what it would do. When it was her turn, she acted out that I needed another shower.

She did her best to explain to us that they don’t have air conditioners or fans in this town because they are never needed. They aren’t used to this heat either.

Bonnie and I retreated to our room, making plans to leave really early tomorrow so we could beat the heat, not sure that we would be able to sleep that much anyway. About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and our host showed up with her friend who had brought us his room fan from his home and a gigantic bottle of very cold water. They were both beaming that they had found a way to soothe the llamas del infierno.

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