Time to Grind Out the KM's

I knew it was coming. It was, really, inevitable. That doesn't mean I was ready for, or looking forward to, it. I'm referring to the grind of long days putting foot to pavement. I couldn't go on forever doing 15-20kms a day... i promised you, my audience, 25-35kms a day, and by jolly, I needed to make it happen, and soon. Today would be that day...

But first, a little tour of the convent I stayed in last night...

Some of the common areas...

This s#$t's about to get real!

Some of the sculptures along the beach promenade in Laredo, before I take a ferry over to the other side..

Taking the ferry over from Laredo to Santona... Once in Santona, I had to cross a hill from one beach to another, and this was by far the scariest experience of the trip so far. At places, the ledge was foot width at most, and in some places it was foot width and at a 45 degree angle towards a death drop off the side of the cliff. By the time I was done, I was completely soaked in sweat and very happy to not be maimed or worse!

The worst part was that as I was just finishing the hill I was passed by a group of two couples in their late sixties, who obviously knew this hill, and were in their SWIMSUITS AND FLIP FLOPS... How embarrassing!

Coming down from the hill to the second beach, with Noja in the background...

View from the restaurant I met Jo, Serin and Ramona at for lunch. At this point I was thinking I might just stay in Noja, as I wasn't feeling up to snuff and the temps outside were near mid 30s, but at the last minute, decided to go a little further, as I just couldn't justify only 15kms..

Walking down a country lane...

There's a lot of cows in Spain!...

Along the road to Guemes... I feel like I'm heading to a resort in Mexico... Turns out, I may end up walking just about as far today, as I've miscalculated on the map where there is accommodations, and I now have no choice but to make it the full days walk...

Of course I got lost! It's what I do, apparently...

The miles are starting to add up now...

And of course, every destination is always uphill... Tonight, I am hoping to stay at Father Ernesto's hostel, the Cabana del Abuelo Pueto. He's a bit of a rock star on this camino, having one of the oldest albergues around, which he started after he inherited his parents home, which had been in the family for 115 years. Now 87, the Catholic priest and his collection of pilgrim buildings are considered a must stop for those walking the Camino del Norte.

But before we talk more about the hostel, I wanted to give you guys an as it happens moment, as it's been suggested that I may just be faking the walking, and instead sitting in the same plaza in Barcelona or Madrid for a month and a half drinking Sangria, and presumably paying some poor monkey to shoot photos of Spain for me... As I rewatch the video, I notice I called my right foot my left foot, and it occurs to me perhaps why I'm getting lost so much...

This is Father Ernesto . I know that my next comments may be controversial to those who have travelled the camino and stayed at the Cabana, but I just felt there was something a little off about the place. I will say upfront the staff were superfriendly (too friendly?), the place was clean and well kept , and the food, although no meat, was simple but healthy, and not unpleasant. Despite this, there was a glaze in the eyes of the staff that was unsettling, and we were basically forced to sit through an hour long presentation before dinner, which started with Father Ernesto stating, this is not about me, and then proceeding to talk for 60 minutes straight about his life. Maybe not necessarily a cult move, but certainly like you're about to be presented with a timehare opportunity. Meanwhile the 21 people in the room have just walked 30+ kms, are sunburnt, tired, hungry, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open... Maybe I'm just too cynical, but another pilgrim, unprompted, said the same thing to me a few days later about feeling unsettled...

Community dinners seem to often be similar... tonight we started with a squashed squash soup...

... followed by rice and mixed vegetables and a yogurt for dessert. Wine and bread is always on the table and replenished...

After dinner I finished my laundry which I had started before dinner, and then slept fitfully, as my knees were causing me problems through the night...

Distance walked today- 32 kms

TOTAL DISTANCE WALKED SO FAR- 286KMS