Laughing in Gijón

From Llanes we took a long wet walk to beautiful Ribadesella, but it was not so great when we arrived late in the day and could not find any accommodation, but atleast we found Tanya from Australia and she suggested we taxi to San Esteban which is another 5kms (uphill) and has an Albergue. Here we also left Pierre behind as he catches a bus  to get back home.

We got there and found Chanelle all alone, and heard that Ester has left for home :( and Elizabeth and some others had fallen behind, and that was a little sad - we are not sure we will bump into any of these people again. We did see some other peregrinos we knew and met some new ones :)

The next day we walked to Colunga with Tanya and Chanelle, but we were all pretty tired and tired of the rain. In Colunga Colette and I caught a bus to Gijon (the G is pronounced like a G in Afrikaans or ch in Lochness). 

In Gijon we did an Airbnb and stayed with Luis and Carmen in there great home near the beach. I bought a big pot of Nutella and we have almost finished it in 3 days! 

I have never laughed as much as I have laughed in Gijon, we were so tired... and our hosts could not speak any English... Carmen did once say "good bye" and that was it! These people were soooo friendly and wanted to help us so much but it was sooo hard, and it just became hilarious... all we could do was laugh at ourselves :) we stayed 3 floors above the kitchen and we love the kitchen, every time we came back from it we had to lie down... and laugh 

We had a wonderful experience in Gijon, we ate at a Sidreria and Colette had the best prawns of her life, and she was also able to Surf on my workday. The Asturias was really beautiful, the Picos de Europa is rugged and massive, more like the mountains in the Cape and the people are wonderful.

Today we decided to take a bus to Ribadeo, so we can have shorter, more enjoyable days before Karin joins us. She is fit and rested so we want to take it easy before she comes so we can keep up!

We got to the bus station this morning, and believe it or not we met an Argentinian lady and her dad whom was taking the same busses than us. She heard us speaking and started speaking English with us. This was the biggest blessing, as 2 minutes later a Spaniard came by explaining something in Spanish... and everyone looked upset. She could explain to us that the busses are striking and we need to take a taxi to a train station to catch another bus, she hailed us a taxi and got us to the right place. If we hadn't met her we would perhaps still have stood at the station laughing in Gijon!

No hay mas camino que amistad

There is no other way than friendship, this is what we were taught at Guemes. The folks at Guemes had a lovely talk with us, sharing their story by means of a peregrino that had to translate, it was really heartwarming... and we can share the full story over a braai one day :) The timing was also really apt, as the next day we were heading to Santander, which was the end of the road for many of our new Amigos :( and we were due our weekly work break, so we were sure to fall out of rhythm with our group...

From Santander we took a bus to Santillana (santijana) where we stayed for 3 nights, one in a Albergue and the other 2 in another establishment. Santillana is a preserved medieval town, it's beautiful, but now it has become a tourist trap. On our day off we decided to run/walk to Suances (20km round trip) and this was our kind of place, a beach town with surf and really good coffee and Napolitanas (chocolate roll meets croissant), the next day I had a workday and all went well, but we were itching to start walking again!

The following day we walked to Comillas, and reunited with some of our previous amigos! We also found that our new group was much better in English, so this was really great. Well except for Elizabeth... our new Chinese amigo... we met her really early on in the day. Her name is not really Elizabeth but our Canadian friend gave her this name after a couple of days of trying to figure out her name. This lady has no English or Spanish language skills and no guidebook and a big backpack (Colette and I also call her small pack) but she is doing the Camino! Very brave! She has become our friend, and sometimes in conversation she just talks a bit of Chinese and we all just smile :) it's so bad she doesn't even know the word bed or sleep, she just puts her hands next to her head and we know she means where is the Albergue... we think, lol. The people really are the biggest blessing on the Camino, so many souls, all really caring and great companions, people we will always remember... but too many to mention.

From Comillas we walked to Colombres and today we arrived in Llanes. Everything has been really beautiful, a bit more tarred road than we would prefer, some tough walking and some nice walking, I won't bore with details, instead see the photos below.

Beach Walks

In Bilbao we realized that the "little" we packed was way too much... if we want to survive and thrive on the Camino we need to shed some more weight. Keeping in mind that I am carrying my laptop as well, this is not so easy. But we posted about 4.5kg to Santiago including a camera, our only warm tops, and even minor things like underwear... and the toiletries bag. When we posted that bag, we felt so relieved and excited to start walking!

From Bilbao we took a bit of Metro to save us some of the city walking. Our first day we walked to Pobeña where we found a lively Albergue that was way too small for the many tired pilgrims. We were lucky to get a bed each, but later we offered the one to two German girls... and that was the best decision ever, we discovered 24 hours later. We swam in the ocean and had a good rest. 

The next day we got to Castro Urdiales, another beautiful beach town really early, so we decided to walk on to the next town, the scenery was amazing; meadows, mountains and beaches. Close to the next town it started raining, we zigzagged the town several times, but found no Albergue or accommodation, so we headed to the next town(Guriezo). Here we found what looked like an abandoned Albergue with only a few beds and many tired wet pilgrims... amongst them two German girls who then offered us a bed! We had a nice cold shower and had an awesome evening, we moved the mattress to an empty room where many less lucky pilgrims had to sleep on the floor. Amazing thing is that everyone was so just so thankful that they had a roof in the rainy conditions.

The next day we walked to Santoña, again so many beautiful beaches and mountains and this time more than enough accommodation! We stayed in an really nice Albergue, the owner José was really friendly, and we know that, even though we could not understand one word he said, and he couldn't understand one word we said! That night we had a menu del dia for the first time (paella and steak and cheesecake and wine and water for R200pp) After this stay we felt like millionaires:)

Today we walked to Guemes (even more beautiful beaches) and now tonight we are staying in what the guidebook says is the best Albergue of the Camino, and yes it does feel like that, and it's donativo. Amazing how nice human beings can be if they focus on their fellow man and not themselves.

Before we start, we need to...

Have a holiday! Yes we needed a holiday, our adventure already started 2 weeks before our flight... packing up our house in JBay and putting our lives in storage... in JBay, where we hope to return to :) 

After a one night holiday in Prins Albert we headed "back" to Cape Town where our dear friend Karin opened her home to us, thanks again Karin ;) We spent 10 days in Cape Town, both Colette and I worked so we were back to traffic and hectic city schedules. After one final meeting we rushed to the airport for the traditional Spur burger and Castle before we boarded our 26 hour journey to Madrid :) We took full advantage of Emirates hospitality and saved every last biscuit and cheese, which later saved us on our bus trip to Irun.

In Irun we just about walked a full stage trying to find a gas canister,  but this allowed us to see it properly. We stayed at a wonderful Albergue "donativo"... meaning they just ask for a donation. It was clean and bright and friendly!

Our first stage was to San Sebastián, where we would first holiday for 3 days before continuing, as we had it on good recommendation that this is one of Spain's best beach cities, and... indeed it is! Triple wow, we loved this place, as we walked down the mountain to San Sebastián we heard the sounds of Summer holiday, music, laughter and waves... we were in love with the place immediately. We were there  during a festival, so street parties and fireworks was the order of the day, and we even rented a surfboard!

Now I must confess, after this little break we didn't feel like hiking. The first stage +- 24km was beautiful, but tough! The guidebook also said it was the best stage, so why do the rest if you did the best??? Why not just surf and chillax? We are still asking this question ourselves, so in the following weeks we will be discovering the answer to this question.

After our holiday in San Sebastián we took the bus to Bilbao, since I have to work one day a week, we need to be in a private place every Tuesday and Wednesday night. Today we stepped into the wonderland of the Guggenheim... it is just fantastical... the architecture and installations are overwhelming, but.... Bilbao will never be San Sebastián, we miss the beaches oh yes we do!

Wake me up for food and drink!