Islares to Laredo

Lovely walk from Islares to Laredo. It was another hot day so we set out early knowing there was a big hill climb. Islares had the most beautiful blue sea, check out where we swam in the picture below. We could be in the Greek islands.

It was interesting to leave the coast for a while and walk through tiny rural hamlets and see wetlands.

We passed the Ermita de San Juan as we kept trekking upwards.

A steady climb but check out the views back towards Islares.

As we came to the top we could see down to Laredo and Santona beyond.

Was a steady climb for sure, 'glowing' at the top and red faced but the view....made it all worthwhile.

You never know what you may run into as you wander through the old town streets.

We were fortunate to stay in a Monestary in Laredo, Monestary Monjas Trinitaria, a special place with some special people welcoming one and all.

A scout group from Madrid were volunteering at the Monestary as part of their summer holidays, they were great and later  sang for us. Wonderful young people.

The Monestary had such beautiful artwork, the cathedral was stunning, a wonderful experience.

Castro Urdiales to Islares

Woke to a gorgeous sunrise. It was 28°at 7.30...uh-oh it's going to be a hot day.

Fortified with cafe con leche and breakfast tortilla we were off.

 Lovely coastal track and then inland for a bit of shade. We missed an arrow somewhere but soon rejoined the trail.

Cafe Elisa was a  great little coffee and lunch stop under shadey trees.

 The view from our hotel is lovely. We filled the bathtub up and did a load of washing, strung up a line and now the wee balcony looks like a laundry.  It's 37°degrees, great drying weather, with chores done its time for a swim.

Onton to Castro Urdiales

We had a beautiful stay in  Tu Albergue with hosts Maria and Guiseppe. Maria cooked lunch and dinner for 30 peragrino's and was as cool as a cucumber. It was lovely to have shared conversations with pilgrims from across the world.  A real stand out is a mum and two girls from Ireland. Mum us walking with her daughter's aged 7and 9 and boy are those little girls full of energy and their Irish lilt is delightful as they chatter away to us.  They get up in the morning and put on their boots and wee packs and fill their water bottles and they are off. What an incredible experience, hats off to mum for creating this memory for them.

 We set off early with a bit of road walking until we dropped down to a coastal track.

 As we walked through a little beach settlement there was a beautiful grotto, so simple and peaceful.

 Beautiful stunning coastal path today.

 You can't believe the colour of the sea, it's deep, deep blue and so inviting on a hot day.  We started out at approx 24° and by noon it was up to 30° as we walked into Castro Urdiales.

 What a 'chocolate box' fishing port. Turn a corner and another stunning view will stop you in your tracks,

 The town was alive with a rowing fiesta. There were rowers and supporters and all the fun that goes with a regatta, music, food, wine and banter amongst different rowing club supporters.

 Castro Urdiales is an historic fishing port. The lighthouse above the breakwater is a goodie and the Cathedral is outstanding.

 Exploring Castro was hot work so time for a swim. Anything goes here, the beach was packed, a bit different to our Northland beaches where mostly we are the only ones there. Click or zoom in on the photo below and check out how crowded the beach in the background is.

 A big day, some tapas and food and an evening promenade. Old and young were out enjoying the beautiful Sunday evening before work the next day. There was dancing in the plaza and young kids jumping off the wharf...a stunning end to a great day.

Pobena to Onton, a short day

We decided on a short day today to get slightly out of synch with the usual camino stops. We are also conscious of not going out too hard and fast in the early stage as we need to take care of our feet, knees and backs. We are bonding with our backpacks gradually 😊.

 Clear blue skies today again. Check out the photo below, not a bad way to start the day.

 I loved hearing the gentle tinkling of the cow bells on the cattle in the fields alongside the track.

 A steady straggle of pilgrims this morning and some wonderfully friendly locals also out early enjoying this special place.

You have to keep your eyes peeled for yellow arrows, they could be anywhere. If you are going the wrong way a local will call out to you and in Spanglish and help you back onto the right path.

 We had a swim in the Bay of Biscay today, it was wonderful and so refreshing.

The little village of Onton is seriously pretty. Little traditional houses, vegetable plots and not a shop or bar to be seen. We asked the locals how far to a cafe and they all said 1k, so off we set.  After a bit of walking and no shop we found a gas station. After purchasing some nice cold water we asked  how far and we got the correct answer, 2 to 3 k's. Time to flag it and have a swim.

After a swim  we did our  hand washing for the day, had a nice shared lunch and tonight we will have a shared supper with our fellow pilgrims at the albergue. Fantastic day.