And On the Sixth Day, He Rested...

"Yesterday was so hard", are the first words in my head as I reach for my first aid kit to pop two of what willl likely be many motrin or advil I devour on this trip .

It is late, again, past 10am but I know I have to get on the road, so I shower, bid goodbye to Lorrine and Anya, and head out the door.

A short lived goodbye at the hotel...

I walk a short distance to where I remember seeing a convenience store and Cafe, and proceed to buy a Poncho and then coffee with tortilla (Spanish omellette, often filled with different choices, I go for the ham and cheese).

Not 5 minutes later, Anya joins me, and 10 minutes after that, Lorrine passes by. None of us have solid plans for the day, we are all still hurting from yesterday, the forecast calls for more rain, and the next stage from Deba to Markina is considered the hardest stage of the camino. This does not please us in any way.

As we linger, the apprehension is palpable, and you can sense that everybody is contemplating shorter days. Lorrine books an albergue only a few kms down the road and Anya and I decide to start walking with her, and see how we feel. I am feeling like I should be putting in more kns so early into my journey, but it is starting to rain again, and I have visions of sliding down hills.

Then, as we enter a small grocer so the girls can restock their candy supply, somebody taps me on the shoulder.... and there stands Jo(anne), the mother portion of the mother /daughter combo from Australia, Jo and Serin, two wonderful people I met in Passaies, and enjoyed great conversation with. They have spotted me from the patio they are having lunch at in the town plaza, and have come to say hello. In conversation, we find out there is an albergue about 6 km up the road with a bar, communal dinner and a box lunch they send you away with. This sounds interesting...

We begin to walk out of town, and our loads seem just a little heavier today.

On the way out of Deba..

Just another beautiful path in the woods..

A lovely path, and one of the last times we'll see the acean for a couple of days...

Truffle alert! But false alarm, as it is only a deer truffle, not edible...

It's starting to rain heavily again, and the sheep are coming home...

...but not all the sheep make it before the deluge...

The pouring rain was really the deciding factor here...

The next few hours are spent doing laundry, having a deep philosophical conversation with Steven from Dublin, and enjoying Grolsch Radlers at the small bar with Pat and Josh, both Americans. But the highlight of the day was the communal dinner served at 7pm...

Dinner started with a wonderful platter of mixed salad and veggies. .

Everybody's hungry!

Very moist chicken with roast potatoes for the main, and dessert finished with roasted bananas topped with a rum sauce, and a most delicious lambs milk Panna Cotta, topped with honey...yum! We enjoyed an herbal liquor from the Basque area, and then off to bed for 10pm! A perfect rest day!

Distance walked today 7km

TOTAL DISTANCE WALKED SO FAR- 97KMS