Lisa's last evening

Lisa leaves tomorrow, to head off to Brussels then the south of France. It's been a great couple of weeks, and it will be very strange heading off tomorrow, on my own, having to find the route, find dinner, talk to people, etc., by myself. 

Laredo, sunshine after greyness

Arrived in Laredo today, and it was lovely to arrive somewhere in bright sunshine, after a few days of damp greyness. The past few days, since leaving Bilbao, the walking has been rather dreary, on a lot of pavement and hard shoulder. The weather has been very grey, and uncomfortably warm and humid, so the walking hasn't been that pleasant compared to the first spectacular days. 

However, coming into Laredo ( by bus, we cheated for the last 10 km or so, just couldn't face the hard shoulder in that heat) the sun came out, the scenery looks lovely, and we've been told by a fellow walker that the next couple of days are lovely .... so the Camino is looking up. 

We're also staying in a fantastic albergue, privately run by the local order of nuns, it's full of Catholic saints looking down on us, flowery sheets, comfortable sofas with yet more saints looking down in us. Just great, one of the best we've been to yet, and the nuns are certainly providing lovely support to the peregrinos. Given it's run by the nuns, interesting there's no curfew or great restrictions, very different to the monastery in which we stayed. 

Kittens exploring Lisa's rucksack and hat

Castro Urdeiles, lovely harbour town with Roman ruins. 

Shame about the noisy street right outside our bedroom window, no aircon and the streetlight shining through the virtually non-existent curtain. Not my best night's sleep ever

Laredo, today's lovely town, and 13th century church

A grey day, in Pobena

A grey day, of walking out of Bilbao ( we happily caught the metro out 10km, to avoid some of the suburbia) along paths by the motorway, in a humid and muggy day, where it really needed to rain. It never quite got there.  Luckily there were a number of Buen Caminos along the way, which were welcome reminders that the trudging along does actually have a point. 

Life's better now, we have our beds for the night sorted, we're at a bar with wifi, and there are two beers on the table ! The bar even serves dinner early for peregrinos, as we have to be back at our accomodation by 9:30pm. As for accomodation;

There are a number of types of accomodation on the Camino, 

- donativo (donation) albergues, run by volunteers. These are extremely basic, with normally one large dormitory with a pile of bunk beds, and no food provided. This is what we're staying in tonight, due to utter lack of choice

- private albergues, costing a bit more, with food often provided if you want it, smaller dorms, and luxuries like power points, everything just a bit more comfortable

- the usual range of cheap to expensive hotels, what you get is what you pay for. Certainly by Australian standards, these are very good value

Lisa and I are realising that we really aren't into the donativo albergues, just a bit basic ! And a horde of noisy Germans arriving and taking over .... so from now on, it's first choice private albergue, followed closely by simple hotel. The donativos are a fantastic facility, but we're happy to leave them to those for whom they are intended. Also, I think we may be suffering from leaving our Bilbao paradise of comfortable beds, clean sheets, own shower, breakfast buffet ...

Speaking of Bilbao, we managed to meet up with Roz & Ian, a couple of friends from Perth ! Didn't think the timing would line up, but in the end, it's amazing what can be arranged with a few emails.

A life of luxury, in Bilbao

Well, a life of luxury for a couple of days anyway ! Luxury is currently defined by two of the most comfortable beds we've ever slept in, and a shower with plentiful hot water, to ourselves. Life's simple luxuries ... we're staying for two days in Bilbao, 8 days of continual walking and a lot of hills to ascend and descend has left us both rather weary. 

Another taste of luxury, we walked into a restaurant last night, dictated by Lisa's superficial requirements for a nice tablecloth and big wine glasses, looking for a couple of salads. Well, it wasn't quite that sort of restuarant ! Avant-garde Basque cuisine, beautifully presented, served by fantastic waiters, and the wine by the glass was superb. Chargrilled baby vegetables with walnuts, followed by roasted octopus wih orange oil and powdered squid, followed by porcini risotto. Oh my god, we thought we'd died and gone to heaven. It's called Porrue, if anyone wants to know, and ranks 9th in the whole of Bilbao on TripAdvisor, a lucky choice by Lisa. 

Today has been a massage, a haircut for me (all in Spanish so I'm pretty proud), and a wander around Bilbao, it's hot and humid so a rather short walk. The waterfront around the Guggenheim is amazing, a really good example of urban renewal and activation of a previously defunct space into a fun, lively, contemporary communal area. 

Lisa admiring the spider sculpture 

I don't know how to photograph the Guggenheim, it's massive and majestic, I think I'd need a much better camera to do any justice to it, so will just show a few views. We'll visit it tomorrow, it's meant to be a really hot day so hiding inside may be well advised. 

El pupp, Spanish for 'The Puppy', he was a temporary display which the Bilboans decided they liked so much they'd keep - he's made of a wire frame and begonias, and has birds nesting in him. The joke in Bilbao is that they had the puppy, so they had to build a kennel for him, just behind him !

Food for the soul, food for the stomach .... Part 2

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The monastery was beautiful, serene and tranquil. We needed the rest, and the place was amazingly peaceful. The singing, accompanied by the church organ, was haunting. 

However the grumpiness of the French people, and the tactiturn nature of the monks, not to mention the fact that they didn't bring anything for breakfast, left a slightly sour taste. This was not the normal experience that we have had on the Camino, either this or the previous walk. 

After about 5 km or so, of beautiful walking, we knocked on a cafe door to buy a coffee - the owner gave us coffee, muffins, croissants, and apples straight from his garden. He completely restored our faith in human nature, and the kindness of strangers. Being guided to the albergue this afternoon, by an older gentlemen, to make sure that we got there safely, just reaffirmed our faith in human nature. 

Today's walk was lovely, wooded paths and farmland, shady and cool. 

We are now in Gernika, a medium sized town with a horrific history - it was a Basque stronghold, and resisted Franco during the civil war. So he arranged with Hitler that the Luftwaffe would use Gernika as a practise run for their bombing runs, they destroyed the city and killed hundreds of inhabitants, in 1937. It's the background and reason for Picasso's amazing painting, Gernika. 

To lighten the mood, we've just had pizza and beer in a grubby bar, watching an old Heath Ledgar movie ( Knight's Tale, great vintage Heath ), and are now debating Venuzuelan politics with a guy from, guess where, Venezuela. So coherency may be a little lacking ...

Food for the stomach, food for the soul .... Part 1

An interesting few days, and without wifi  so no easy way to capture the highlights, lowlights and updates !

This pretty much summarises Friday, a rainy, wet, muddy day. We had about 26km to walk, on forest tracks and through hills and small villages. This was great as long as the sun shone, and all was bright and light,however then the rain came in ... the day ended up with two small, muddy, tired people just wanting to get dry again. Our boots were weighed down by the mud, every step felt twice as hard as usual, sweaty inside the raincoats and soaked from the outside. 

In a stroke of amazing luck, or coincidence, Astrid from Germany had arranged for a bed in a beautiful albergue, they had come to pick her up from the town and had space for us .... So a shower, a clean bed, a dinner that soothed tired tummies and frayed nerves, and the world was a happier place again. The dinner was salad, pasta, followed by bacon, eggs and chips, followed by fruit, for 9 euros including decent wine it was great, and three slightly mad but lovely French Canadian ladies kept the table fun. 

After the long day, we decided to do a small walk (7km) yesterday and to stop in a monastery for a night, and attend the Vespers ceremony. The monastery was beautiful, tranquil, really lovely scenery and the service had hauntingly beautiful singing. The rest and relaxation in such a beautiful place was really appreciated, we desperately needed an easy day. 

Shame about the French people with whom we had to share the albergue, they were really grumpy and inhospitable, really not according to the spirit of the Camino. 

Lisa and I heading off up to the monastery 

Deba, tonight's resting place

It's an easy day we thought, it's only 12km we thought, we'll breeze into town at midday and have a relaxing afternoon, we thought. How hard can 12km be ? Well, the first 6km were fine. 

Then we got the narrow, windy,  absolutely beautiful but very long and steep ascent, after a number of gentler but still impressive hills, followed by a long descent to the sea, which is rather hard with a full pack, our knees were screaming by the end.This 6km section took just over 2 1/2 hours, the only saving grace being that everyone we spoke to found them really hard. 

So it wasn't a very hard decision to go for a hotel, rather than the communal living of an albergue. Own shower, own room, luxury ....

This Camino feels very different to the previous Camino, rather than being the life blood of small communities you are one amongst a variety of visitors. We feel very welcomed, and have had some really valuable assistance from people, but you are very much left to get on with your walk. So far, so good with the accomodation, there's been plenty of space and tonight is a definite luxury after a surprisingly hard day. 

This was the easy part !

So different to more southerly parts of Spain, the lushness and meadow flowers remind me more of the Black Forest or alpine meadows. The ringing of cowbells had a distinctly Swiss flavour. We've been so lucky with the weather, often cloudy but that's a welcome relief, some sun, only a very small amount of rain. 

Zumaia, 18km today

A couple of Camino moments

- leaving my shorts on the line at the albergue, and a bicycle peregrino coming after me with them tucked into his bike backpack

- two Spanish ladies incredulous but extremely happy that we'd come all the way from Australia to do the Camino, and really pleased we love the Basque coastline

- lots of people wishing us Buen Camino, "good walking and a good pilgrimage". 

Not sure if they are Camino shells, but maybe ... anyway an easy and scenic walk to Getaria

Zurriola, longest beach in this part of Spain

Zumaia, tonight's stop, and a very quiet, peaceful albergue

38km down, 787km to go

OWell, we have survived the first two days of the Camino del Norte ! 

It's nothing like the Camino de Frances, far less people and far tougher. It's continually climbing then dropping, as it hugs the coastline, at least within a kilometre or so. As there isn't the continual flow of people, the services are far less prevalent, but saying that, there's no problem ( so far) with food or coffee  when needed. Saying that, we had a breakfast panic this morning when nothing was open at 6:30am, but a vending machine supplied emergency food.

Now we are at a beautiful albergue, near to Orio, with wifi, a vending machine selling beer, hot showers and not busy. All is good ... and apart from a few blisters, the feet and bodies are holding out. 

The very start, spot the critical yellow arrow. We were panicking a little about where to go, but yes, the arrows were there. 

Last night in Pasajes, beautiful place and a spectacular meal. The albergue was somewhat basic. 

A very kind volunteer left out a pile of water, information, and a stamp for our credencia, also his address just across the road in case anyone needs advice. He's done various Caminos more than once, so knows how appreciated this type of assistance is. 

The road less travelled. We see maybe 5 fellows peregrinos ( pilgrims) in a day. I am sure that this will change as we keep walking, but it's a refreshing change from the Camino Frances. 

The view from my seat, right now. 

Lisa's here !

Lisa, my travelling and Camino companion in Dan Sebastián, has arrived. We celebrated with a few glasses of champagne last night of course. 

Both of us a little hyped up, me from caffeine and sugar, Lisa from the Docker's recent spectacular win against the Dockers !

Fantastic wineries, and countdown to the Camino

 There was a day trip to the Rioja region yesterday, to visit a couple of wineries and taste some wine. As I've reflected before, the Spanish have a very progressive attitude to architecture, and two of the wineries are pictured below, they were sensational. The wave-form winery, with the hills behind, was designed to complement the landscape, while providing a superb building in which to make wine where the shape of the building complements and enhances the wine-making process wherever possible. 

The wine was great, I like tempranillo anyway so was always inclined to be a fan, but I can see why the Spanish only export 5% of the good wine, 95% is for domestic consumption. Smooth, velvety, fruity to start then with a coffee undertone, very expensive for Spain at 20 euro a bottle but well worth the money in Australian prices. 

A Frank Gehry designed wine cellar

The usual suspects, myself, Sanne from Denmark and Mira from Germany. This photo was taken from the same spot as the previous photo, just turn around 180 degrees to go from beautiful tradition  to amazing modern innovation. 

The winery where we tasted the wine, with it's amazing backdrop. The wave form reflects in a pool at the base of the building, when the reflections are just right it's meant to look like a row of wine barrels. 

The grape vines, and the roses at the end of the row, the story is that the roses act as an early warning system for fungal diseases which both roses and vines catch, allowing the winery to treat the vines early. It's extremely common everywhere vines are grown, to plant roses at the end of the row. 

Why a boring room of wine tanks when you can have a beautiful, and very functional, room ?

******** new topic ;-) *********

I've finished with Spanish school, and will be leaving San Sebastián in two days to start the Camino del Norte. It's been great here, hard at times and the Spanish lessons have been challenging and inspiring in equal parts, but I have learned so much and greatly improved my Spanish. It's been well worth the time invested, and I have met some lovely people. Also, I am going to miss my beautiful little flat with its superb location in the centre of San Sebastián. 

I posted a parcel of clothes to Santiago de Compostela this morning, and am nearly finished with packing my backpack ( I'm sure it should be lighter still), I'm now functioning with only my Camino wardrobe. So, all photos from now on with me will be a rotation of a very limited variety of clothing ! Breakfast this morning was the peregrino ( pilgrim)  standard, coffee and a croissant. 

Now for the Camino .... I am feeling excited, nervous, anxious about the walking, some trepidation for sure, but more, keen to commence the adventure and see how I manage the physical and mental challenges. 

Dazed and confused

Somewhat dazed and confused after learning a few phrases in Euskado, the Basque language, with the lesson 100% in Spanish. I now have even more regard for those who learn a third language,learning that language through their second language. It was fun, I can now say my name, country and greet people in yet another language ! 

Off for dinner with a German lady, I have a feeling she can speak very good English, however she's a Spanish teacher in Germany so I think she's practising her teaching skills on me ;-( seriously, I am very happy that I can actually spend an evening speaking only Spanish and it doesn't get too hard, there are some interesting silences as we search for a word but then the conversation flows again. The wine might help a little. 

Some photographs from Grande Semana, which appears to be a week-long excuse for a party. There's fireworks every night, giant figures walking down the street with kids running haywire around them, live music and dance ... it's a celebration of Basque heritage. 

Grey days

There have been a few grey days, both literally and figuratively. I hasten to add, not dark grey, just a bit murky. A bit like a typical Scottish autumn day, but I might be taking analogies a bit far. 

The weather has been grey, wet and just a bit boring for the last couple of days, nowhere sparkles in quite the same way on a day of drifting drizzle. The Spanish has been a bit of a struggle as well, I keep feeling as if I will never understand that swirl of language and colour that is Spanish spoken by Spaniards. I must remember not to compare myself to other students, that's unfair on them and I. There was an arrangement to meet someone, it didn't happen through no fault of anyone and I had an unexpected evening alone - not a problem when expected ( I enjoy a meander on my own at my own pace) but I struggled hungry through crowds of joyous Spanish, searching to find a place to eat with a free seat, let alone a table. 

Then today I had a lovely meal with Sanne, a Danish lady who has walked the Camino, in that most un-Spanish of cuisines, a vegan restuarant. Veganism is unheard-of by, and incomprehensible to, the vast majority of Spaniards ! And to most Australians I reckon ;-) apple gazpacho, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, meat(less)balls with oats and lentils in a vegetable sauce, followed by tiramisu ( almond milk I think) and good coffee. 

I just bought basic Camino supplies i.e. plasters for blisters, and tape, for our feet. The Camino is getting closer, and in my heart I know my Spanish is getting better. So the grey is lightening. Really, it's pretty light grey now, with large chinks of sunshine, both literally and figuratively. 

Robin Williams passing away, that I still have to process. Heath Ledger passing away was a similar tragedy, men who had so much talent but for their own reasons, felt their lives were not worth living. 

A trivial fact, the spell-checker in my phone turns podemos, which means we can in Spanish, into a pod of emus. I've been sending pods of emus to my German friend here for a while without realising !

Spanish architecture, the mix of old, new and natural features

It's one of the aspects of Spain that always amazes and delights me, the way buildings, natural features and public places are treated. 

There are so many old buildings, but rather than letting them fall into ruin or preserving them as exact replicas, they are melded into amazing juxtapositions of old buildings with ultra-modern extensions, additions and upgrades. 

Today's museum visit was a case in point, to the San Telmo Museum of Basque history and art. Half of the museum is an old monastery with cloisters and a beautiful, now deconsecrated, church. As part of the old building, and compelled integrated, is an ultra-modern building, of concrete and glass and polished wood. It works, it's bright, and light, and quirky as anything. Spot the plants growing out of the concrete building. 

In the old church, there are some great artworks, depicting maritime scenes form previous centuries, but all painted in the 1920's and 30's. Each hour, there's a sound and light show, where the story of San Sebastián is projected onto various walls of the church with a narrative, using different parts of the church to capture different parts of the history. This then was followed by a beautiful piece of music, as the backgroud to another light show, broadcast on different walls, depicting the important issues for the city - environment, tolerance, human rights ... it was beautiful, and while no longer a consecrated site, the space felt very special. 

As another example, the sculpture park I visited yesterday was a park, set around a headland, paved over to provide a public space ( very well used yesterday) with large sculptures set in place and various levels of paving set to enhance the natural rock structure. The whole place is called "The Wind Comb", so the wind is figuratively straightened as it comes into the bay. See yesterday's pictures as well as this one. There is a blending of natural features, public space, and artworks, that I've rarely seen elsewhere. 

Update on the cider place

Well the visit to the sideria was really interesting, and fun. They make cider In a very traditional way, with no artificial additives or preservatives - the final product is very cloudy, strong and with a more acidic taste than we are used to,  however it's a taste I could easily get used to.  

Dinner was unique .... they bring out platters to share knives and forks, no plates to use as you just eat communally from the same platter. Double dipping, what's that ? Crumbs all over the table, who cares ? It started off with tortilla with bacalao, salted cod, then a white fish and pimientos dish with fired onions, both of these were really good. However then they brought out what must have been 1kg of rare beef, on a platter, sliced thickly, for each two people ! Possibly the best beef I have ever tasted, we nearly finished ours but couldn't quite manage it. Followed by cheese, quince paste, biscotti and fresh chestnuts to crack and eat, somewhat full at the end. 

However the most interesting, and enjoyable, aspect to the meal is that it was help yourself to cider, straight from the barrel, as much as you want. In what other country could you do that and not have people passed out under the table ? No-one was drunk, lots of merriment but nothing messy. With a wide cross section of nationalities at the table, we were all amazed. 

It was a late night, so this morning was that typical Spanish breakfast, strong coffee and a large, fresh, chocolate croissant ;-)

OK enough about food, I do more than just eat here, although it is one of the pleasant aspects about San Sebastián ! Attached a few photographs from today's hike up Monte Igelda, to the castle and amusement park at the top. 

A great sculpture park

The view from near the top of the hill

Beach tents for hire, and the drama of soccer 

A few musings

Ok this really is turning into a diary, I find I enjoy capturing the highlights and lowlights of the day, in just a few moments before sleeping/ siesta/ going out. 

Talking of going out, this place makes you do crazy things - 10 pm last night and I was just about to go to bed after a pretty intense day of Spanish then a walk along the beach. Then I got a text form Angela, an American lady, asking if I wanted to go out for a glass of wine .... immediate reaction was "oh no I can't, it's way too late" rapidly followed by "why not ? It's an invitation and an opportunity". So there I was at 10:30 heading out for a glass of wine, which of course turned into 2 glasses of wine, lots of gossip with a pleasant companion, and I got home 12:30am. Spain is un poco loco, a little bit crazy !

Good thing school starts at 9:30am and getting up at 8am leaves me heaps of time. 

One thing I am really enjoying is having minimal stuff i.e. only that which I could fit in my backpack. Getting dressed in the morning is really simple when there's limited choice, even more limited by what's clean at the time. I have to be honest, I am struggling with not shopping, but pass everything through the filter of " carry it on the Camino or post to Australia" which does limit what I'm prepared to buy. One of my favourite shops, Desigual, is having a sale but I am being strong, I think I'll content myself with a very groovy IPhone case :-)

Tomorrow is a visit to a sideria, a cider-farm, out in the country, followed by dinner, so I have say that I don't think there will be any (sensible) updates until Saturday at the earliest. 

Photographs from yesterday's hike

Noticing the heat, but loving the coastal breeze

Rugged coastline

The walk down to San Juan de Pasajes

The square where we had dinner, and a very good rose wine

A great walk, and good dinner, and conversation in three languages, Spanish, English and German ! My brain gets confused easily. 

Spanish school

Not sure quite how to explain Spanish school, it's one of the hardest things I've done since university. It's non-stop concentration for 4 hours a day, 3 hours in a small class where you have to speak a lot and intensive grammar practise, with the teacher speaking only in Spanish then a 3/4 hour lesson one-to-one, which I know will do me a lot of good, but my God intensive is not the right word. Talk about nowhere to hide. I am continually challenged by how little Spanish I actually can speak. 

The a good few hours on an organised walk (along part of the Camino ) conversing in Spanglish with Japanese, Austrians, Germans, Spanish and English people ... Strange that there are people who speak really good English but with whom I have only ever spoken in Spanish. And yes, I've been asked again about Scottish independence. 

The walk was beautiful, photos tomorrow as they are on my camera but I'm way too tired to download them. A bit further than most people had expected, but a really good training session for me and spectacular scenery, very lush and green and a wild coastline. Followed by a fantastic seafood meal in a restuarant by a harbour with the expected fat, prowling cat looking for scraps of fish. He didn't go hungry. 

Shame we missed the last bus home but the pleasant result was realising it's a 10 euro taxi fare home, split between four - de nada. Mira from Germany paid me back with a nice ice cream, bargain for both of us I reckon. 

Second day in San Sebastián

It's been an interesting day. 

I managed to get the key stuck in the door of the apartment, and it took me ages to work out that I'd made a stupid mistake. Meanwhile, I panicked and imagined all sorts of scenarios, and had worked out the Spanish I needed to call a locksmith. When I finally worked out the error of my ways, it was such a relief I had to go drink a glass of wine and eat some tapas for my very belated lunch. Lesson learned ... think the situation through and don't panic. It always works out well in the end. 

Then I went for a lovely walk up Monte Urgull, see the photographs below, a bit of a climb but well worth it for the view and a great little museum in the old castle. Puts a different perspective on various wars, as it was the English pounding San Sebastián during a few conflicts. Looking at the hills in the background makes me a little nervous about the Camino. 

Finally I met Maria Eugenia, she's very friendly.  While she speaks excellent English, she believes in the immersion method of learning Spanish, so I got the odd explanation in English but that's all. Part of my panic this morning was Maria's absense, I should have known she was just with her family and boyfriend. 

This photograph shows the Basque flag, I have been asked a few times about Scottiah independence and the referendum, the Basque are watching the developments and will await the outcome with keen interest. It's a link I had not considered, they see that a successful outcome would pave the way for expressions of Basque independence from Spain. I do plan to work out my opinion and arguments in Spanish, as I am sure the questions will come again.