Soano

I was thinking that there is something about Spain that has caused my unusual conversations to evaporate and I was missing them. And then out of the blue two ladies asked me if I was walking to Santiago. "Yes!" I replied. At last I'm talking to non-pilgrims! They asked me lots of questions about my walk then they told me they were going to Santiago too. This was surprising as they were very elegantly dressed so I had to ask if they were walking too. They must have realised I was less intelligent than they first thought because at this point they switched to speaking in English. They were flying to Santiago for a three day visit next week after they have attended a friend's wedding. That made sense! Anyway, I must still have made a good impression because they took selfies with me. I felt a bit like a celeb!

I was calling home when a guy walked over and started talking to me. I told him I was on the phone but he just carried on so I listened. He was telling me the best path to take so I thanked him. He didn't tell me his 'best path' involved using hands to climb up. That is not what you want when it's 33 degrees and you've already walked more than 20 miles. Nor did he tell me that his 'best path' meant you had to walk along the nudist beach! It's the first time I've felt overdressed on this walk!

Photos - the beach at Noja... the 'best path'...Berria beach which has a prison at the far end and a lagoon behind...the little boat that took me from Laredo to Santoña...I love goats and it was super to see a heard this morningRead more