Timing was brilliant this morning. Left the hotel and made it to the first coffee shop to start the day right.
Stepped onto the beach and enjoyed watching the sun come up from behind the mountains and light up the smooth sand. It was low tide and as I walked away from town I followed the path along the sea side and was able to watch the tide come in and smell the cool salty air. It parallels a road to the next town but that's OK. It's very forgiving to have the sea by my side.
Getaria was just a quick 5km and very easy on the eyes.
Leaving town however was a steep and painful ascent. Funny how after the 1st 5km of the day, it's all about finding a place to pee.
The Camino tends to have a morning rush hour of hikers trying to beat the heat and get to their next destination. Today I am slow. It's not that I'm lacking motivation...I just want to absorb every, peaceful moment of quiet contemplation. That's why I am here. To walk. To think. And to just be. My goal today is to just embrace the solitude.
A very smart friend reminded me yesterday that the Camino is broken down into 3 stages. The body. The mind and the spirit. I am currently in stage one and my body is definitely breaking 🤣
I know it will strengthen me... eventually. After it breaks, it rebuilds. It reminds me that life isn't just pleasure. Life is also pain and if you can find something positive even in what brings you pain, you are winning. It may be love or it may be loss or it may be hiking a 30km trail until your feet can no longer support you, but to appreciate the gift of life, to allow yourself the luxury of feeling it all, that is living life to the fullest. If it doesn't feel good, take what you can from it, learn a lesson or two.... then let it go and move on.
I climbed a mountain and was blessed with a view of an ancient church and view of the sea below and more mountains that are waiting to be conquered. I have found myself here in a little farm village with 3 local farmers having breakfast at the only establishment. I had my 2nd coffee and met another pilgrim Bernardo from Mexico. All the while a rooster letting me know it's morning.
I walked on through the countryside high above the sea.
The views descending onto Zumaia were spectacular. I sat on a shady park bench by the harbourfront and ate some of my snacks.
Leaving Zumaia was a steep climb as they all seem to be and my calves are screaming at me. I met a nice Spanish girl and we had a surprisingly lovely chat although my Spanish no much Bueno and her English very minimal. What a friendly, happy soul.
It's noon. It's hot and I've made it maybe halfway. It's a beautiful walk today.... but it hurts. Everything hurts.
I've got 8kms to go and one mountain left to climb. Today's priority is finding a laundromat. I've got one set of clean clothes left and I otherwise stink. I'm not hungry and I am staying hydrated. I am not alone out on the trails today. It's Saturday and everybody is walking today.
It turned out to be a very long, very challenging day but an important day. Today I met my Camino family. My people...
Harold and Jorge, both Americans and both great humans with hearts of gold. Harold with Colombian Heritage and Jorge with Mexican heritage and both speak fluent Spanish.
I met Jorge first. We hiked together and had great conversations in English and this helped get through the last part of the trail. Jorge hikes faster than most and sometimes that can be very motivating for others. It worked for me.
Sometimes it's more fun to watch him start swinging his arms and turn into Speedy Gonzalez 🤣 We got to the top of a steep, rocky climb and bumped into Bernard. He joined us for a quick, cold beer and we ordered lunch. Harold caught up to us looking exhausted like we did when we arrived. Harold is also great to hike with because like me, he likes to go slow and steady and stop to smell the roses. We enjoyed lunch together and walked into town together and it was so nice to have found my people.
There was a young festival in Deba and as a result the streets were packed, and dinner options limited. So Jorge and I found a laundromat and had a laundry party. Harold met up with us after and the 3 of us had dinner after 10 in the town square. I stopped in a little market just as they were closing and bought some fruit and ham, cheese, chorizo for the following day. I read that the 2 restaurants on the trail the next day were unreliable and may be closed.
We were all exhausted and conveniently were staying in the same pension. It was an exhausting day with more than just the physical challenges but in the end was a fabulous day.
Buenos Noches x
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