Camino de Santiago del Norte
Days 1-3: Portugalete to Liendo
This is a camino of gratitude for me. Each day, I choose something I am grateful for in my life and think and journal about it throughout the day. I will share an excerpt from my journal entries at the end of each day’s post.
Day 1: Portugalete to Pobena ~ 7 miles
19 September 2017
My first day was an easy one—learning how to look for the arrows, shells and signs that point the way to Santiago…and just coming to terms with the fact that I am here on the Camino…Really!
I passed many gardens and lots of fruit trees. Look at these beautiful peppers!
At the end of the day, I found myself on a beautiful beach—the first of many—where I just sat and contemplated for a long time before crossing the bridge to Pobena and my first pilgrim’s albergue.
Day 2: Pobena to Castro Urdiales ~ 10.5 miles
20 September 2017
It was a long day, at least for me. At about the 8-mile mark, I got lost after faithfully following the yellow arrows through some old tunnels; I ended up in a bunch of weeds and had to slog through them until I found a viable trail. Luckily, you cannot get truly lost when the vast sea is at your right side all day. My albergue was on the far side of Castro-Urdiales, so there was a lot of concrete and busy streets to walk through right at the end.
Behind a small bull ring, I found my resting place; and right down the street a great little bar where I had about the best grilled chicken and friendliest cook/bartender/server you could ask for at El Chiringuito de Castro.
I had six eggs that I had wanted to boil, but none of the hostels I had stayed in had a way for me to cook them. When I offered them to Carlos, he offered to cook them for me! What hospitality. He also made the best pollo a la plancha I have had so far.
Day 3: Castro-Urdiales to Liendo ~ 14.5 miles
21 September 2017
This was a long and challenging day. Much of it was on pavement, which is so hard on your feet. But from a lovely sunrise to the monastery at El Puente to the eucalyptus forest near the end of the day—it was a good day, especially since I did not get lost one time!
And when we arrived at the Albergue de Peregrinos in Liendo, they let us wash our clothes for free! Such little things that can mean so much…
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The walk started uphill, which is not the best way to warm up cold, unstretched muscles. The pea-soup fog was lovely in the village, but once I was on the highway, I felt truly unsafe, knowing drivers could not see me until the last minute. Once I left the highway, the trail became tranquil.
1 thought on “Camino: Days 1—3”
I'm living the trail with you, Cathy, having tackled a couple hard hikes this summer. Gratitude, what a great guide for your trek! love, Kate