Debako itsasadarra / Ría de Deba

Camino Del Norte - Day 3
Distance 22km. Time taken 5.5 hours.
Total ascent/descent 640m

I walked around Getaria last night. It was a small bustling town. I enjoyed a few pinoxs and watching the basques playing handball in the square. A lovely atmosphere.
I returned to the albergue to find the place packed with Spanish kids. Extra beds were put up and confusion reigned. Thankfully, I had all my admin completed.
Eventually, everything settled down and I was in bed for 9.30pm. Walking in this heat is exhausting.
If any of you have stayed in an albergue, you will remember that unique small of sweaty clothes and kit everywhere.
It was a very warm night but I had a fitful sleep until someone's alarm went off at 5.30am. Someone else's alarm went off every 10 minutes. By 6am, I lost the will to stay in my bunk. I simply had a quick wash and was out the door into the dawn and fresh air.
It was a beautiful day and I could feel the temperature rising.
As usual, it was a case of struggling up and down hills all day.
I have fallen into the usual perigrino routine, stopping for lots of water breaks and consuming my cheese and bread sat on a picnic table.
Eventually, I arrived in a beautiful town called Zumaia and marvelled at the 15th century Church of San Pedro.
I continued on my merry way and struck up a conversation for the next few kilometres with a German kid walking the Camino before starting nursing training. She was delighted to hear about my daughter path to nursing.
As usual, the day involved walking with Italians , Spanish and even a fellow countryman.
I finally arrived in Deba around noon and initially planned to carry on for another 5km to an albergue in the middle of nowhere. This involved another 60m ascent onto the ridge out of town. Everyone seemed to be in the same frame of thought. We all checked into the Albergue de Pergrinos for 5 euros.
It is actually part of the train station and bang in the middle of town.
A number of us shared a washing machine and dryer to get our kit cleaned. All admin done, I am off to explore Deba.
Tomorrow, I will leave the coast for a time to make my way to Markina-Xemein. It is a remote part of the Camino with 930km over 23km with little or no facilities.
In another three days, I will be in Bilbao.

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Buen Camino.

Chris, a big thank you for your generous donation. 😎Read more