Stage 7: Bilbao - Castro Urdailes, 28 kms, Hot & Wonderful🌞 27!

This Is More Like It!!

Up early before the sun this morning, breakfasted and on our way through town to the train station where we caught the metro out to Portugalete to begin walking. Pretty urban and industrial on the way out of Bilbao, and as this is a no obligation walk, we figured we could miss this small section and get out into the country air that much sooner and try to beat a little of the heat. Sorry Dad, no chance to get the sunrise for you this morning as we were speeding along underground. Perhaps another day if this heat continues.

Almost from the get go we walked on this bike and walking path for over 11 kms as we made our way out to the coastal town of La Arena. Tough on the body, but far easier than the first week and look, no chocolate!

We soon began to catch glimpses of the Atlantic. We were getting pretty excited. A gorgeous morning with unlimited blue sky and colour everywhere. The challenges and adventures from the first week quickly eased into the past as we slipped easily along being greeted regularly by the locals. How nice it is to be welcomed instead of ignored as now happens more often than not on the Camino Frances. We must have been wished a Buen Camino at least 40 times today! Very refreshing. 

We stopped for a cold drink and a snack just after 10 when we reached the ocean. A small celebration if you like. It was already 21 degrees with more heat on the way.

Tide low and loads of sand for the beach walkers. We were both so tempted, but we had miles to go.

We began to meet other peregrinos was we proceeded. A whole new crop, many of whom had started in Bilbao or had taken the metro out as we had. Hopefully we will reconnect with a few of our starting group the next couple of days. The big cities tend to shake things up a bit.

As nice as things were today, it’s easy to see that it can live up to its reputation and storm here in the off season..

But the cost is what we came to walk this year and without fog or rain it was quite amazing.

We set off on a coastal walking path from headland to headland. Easy walking.

It’s always the same. You can see your destination in the distance, but it will take hours to reach there with all the weav8ng along the coast. That’s Castro Urdailes in the distance. It’s home to a young woman who helped us to book our accommodation for tomorrow night when things were looking pretty bleak. Weekends and a holiday coast add up to signs in the window saying complete or full. Many of the albergues are not just for pilgrims along this coast. Most anyone can take a bed, and our friend Mary said this led to a lot of partying last year as not everyone was thinking the same.

We stopped to take a photo of a German cyclist and he insisted in taking ours too. Yup, floppy hat time.

It was around here that we left the Basque Country and crossed into Cantabria. One last reminder. Takes me back to Ireland in the mid 1970’s and early 1980’s. Positive things have transpired there. Perhaps they will here as well, though there is no military intervention or on going killings happening here. The whole process seems more subtle, less dramatic here, or at least that’s my sense of it after a brief visit. Really enjoyed our time here.

At Mioño we deviated off the road and found a beautiful coastal trail to take us in.

I was pretty happy today.

Home for tonight.

View from our room in a small, simple pension.

And more of the same tomorrow with more headlands and a bit toastier forecaste. Time now to go wandering.